A point to keep in mind - Sony Vegas Video is not easy, but is still simpler than other suites like Premiere or Final Cut Pro. Also, the program is very well documented, so you'll probably find the answer to your questions in the Help section. Thorough documentation, together with a nice interface that will be familiar to anyone who has ever edited video, makes Sony Vegas Video an excellent choice.

Sony Vegas allows you to work on your videos with total freedom; you'll be able to import your media from various devices (including HD video), use more than 300 filters and special effects, leverage specific tools to work with text layers and subtitles and easily optimize image quality.

But Sony Vegas Video doesn't just allow you to edit video. Soundtracks are also important in this editor, which includes more than 30 sound effects and support for VST plug-ins, among other features.

The Sony Vegas Video interface is similar to other video editors. There are several windows to preview your media and current work, as well as a timeline to organize the various audio and video tracks. The best thing about the Sony Vegas Video interface is that it's totally customizable: you can freely open, close and arrange the program's diverse modules to best suit your needs.

In all, Sony Vegas Video is one of those programs that seems off-putting for newcomers and requires some effort to get to grips with. But it's also one of those programs that are totally worth the effort!

Sony Vegas Video is an excellent choice in the area of video editing software: powerful enough for professionals, but easier than other video suites.

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Features

Being part of the Windows Live Essentials suite, Windows Live Movie Maker has to be installed through the Essentials package installer. Also, bear in mind that this version only works in Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Usability

Windows Live Movie Maker is dead easy to use. All you have to do is import the photos and videos you want to use, select the background music and add some titles and end credits if you want. The program displays extra buttons on the title bar that gives you access to configuration settings for video, music and text respectively. As regards effects, you also have plenty to choose from: transition effects, animations, zoom and pan, and also visual effects that will spice up your images.

Quality

When your video is finished, you can save it in different formats and sizes, depending on where you plan to use it on: computer, high-definition TV screen, mobile device, instant messaging client, etc. Windows Live Movie Maker also includes the option to upload it directly to YouTube, Facebook, SkyDrive and Flickr. The only drawback is that Windows Live Movie Maker saves videos to one single format: WMV.

Conclusion

With Windows Live Movie Maker you'll be able to create nice compositions with your favorite photos and videos, and share them with anyone.

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Full of features

Photoscape includes just about everything you need to view, optimize, edit, print and have fun with your photos. In fact, it's so complete that many would call it a free Photoshop alternative. Sure, it's not quite up to the level of Photoshop, but it's truly a great alternative to Adobe's big shot - and it makes photo editing a lot more fun!

Easy to use

From the program's main window you can choose what you want to do: view pictures, optimize those that didn't come out so well, print several photos on a single page collage-style or perhaps add any of the dozens of filters and special effects included in the program.

Smart interface

One of the first striking elements in Photoscape is its uncommon interface design. The application is very striking and in many ways it's easier on the eye than Photoshop.

Conclusion

There's really nothing negative to say about Photoscape. Just download it, test it, love it and keep it forever. It's free!

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Windows Movie Maker 2012 is the stand out application of Windows Essentials 2012. This basic video editing tool remains great while offering a few new, useful features.

Windows Movie Maker 2012 takes advantage of hardware acceleration, which will speed up video exporting and encoding. There is also a new video stabilization feature, which will be a boon to those with cameras that don't offer this feature. Videos now output to h.264 by default.

The interface of Windows Movie Maker 2012 has stayed the same for the most part but integrating audio is easier as you can now look up music from services like AudioMicro, Free Music Archive, and Vimeo Music Store. The video timeline also features a wav form so you can easily see where audio is placed within the video.

Overall, Windows Movie Maker 2012 is a great update to an already great video editor.

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The new Windows Live Messenger 2012 comes as part of the Windows Live Essentials pack. It's an incremental development over Windows Live Messenger 2011, looking almost identical, while introducing a couple of changes.

When you install Windows Live Messenger, you have the option to install the rest of the Essentials pack, including Mail, Writer, Sync, Companion, Family Safety, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker.

You can choose to connect Windows Live Messenger 2012 to social networks Facebook and LinkedIn, making the app your social hub in Windows, if you want. Facebook is still much easier to use in your browser though, and integration into Windows Live Messenger 2012 is only really useful if your Messenger contacts are still really active and important to you.

The interface is almost unchanged; so if you were unhappy with the changes we saw in 2011, there is nothing here to make you happier! When you open a chat, there is a new Video call icon, and when you receive a video call, there is a new floating window, much like in Skype. A neat feature of this is the option to answer without showing your video feed - we're not always ready for a video call, after all!

Windows Live Messenger 2012 is no revolution, slightly improving on its predecessor. It's still a little bloated, and considering Hotmail's recent transformation to Outlook.com, which features a great messenger service right from your browser, it could be curtains for this venerable application.

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Windows Live Messenger 2011 is finally here. Far from being just a chat program, the all-new Microsoft instant messaging client is now a complete communications center with support for social networks.

As with previous versions, Windows Live Messenger 2011 is part of the Windows Live Essentials suite, which also includes other apps such as Mail, Writer, Sync, Companion, Family Safety, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker, as well as the Bing Bar. Luckily the installation process lets you choose exactly which apps you want on your system.

Windows Live Messenger features a revamped interface. Right after launching it, and thanks to new integration with other services such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, the so-called Social Highlights lets you check your friends’ latest news and status messages at a glance. If you still prefer the old style, worry not: Windows Live Messenger lets you switch to the traditional contact list by using the Contacts mode. Bear in mind though that if you use a different email account for your social networks, you’ll have to connect the services on the Windows Live website.

Besides the social element, everything else is pretty much the same on Windows Live Messenger 2011, only with a slightly fresher appearance. You can still do video and voice calls, play online games with your friends, share files, and of course customize the program’s appearance with skins and color themes. Emoticons have been revamped, and – finally! – you can have multiple conversations tabbed in one single window.

The main drawback to the all-new Windows Live Messenger 2011 is that it only works on Windows Vista and Windows 7. So if you still use Windows XP you’ll have to stick to the old version – or upgrade your system!

Windows Live Messenger 2011 is the long-awaited new version of Microsoft’s IM client, now integrated with social networks and other services.

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