Snappy 
Hardware Review by Stephanie Sawyer

 When I purchased SNAPPY for my business last November, for under $200, I received the SNAPPY hardware, SNAPPY software, Fauve Matisse SE, Gryphon Morph 2.5, video cables, an illustrated manual, and a 2 year warranty. In addition, I received a Quick Start Card, which may seem insignificant, but for people like me who just want to get in there and do it, this little card proved to be very important. 

 SNAPPY requires Windows 95 or 3.1, 386 or better, 4 MB of RAM, 4 MB of free hard disk space, and 640X480 16 color or better. My experience with SNAPPY has been on a 100 mhz Pentium with 16 MB of RAM and SVGA (256 colors or better). On my machine the software runs great, but I have my doubts about a 386 with 4MB and seriously question using a VGA (16 color) monitor. 

 My first task was to plug in my SNAPPY and get started. Remember I have an aversion to reading manuals so I just pulled out my Quick Start Card. The SNAPPY hardware is described in the manual as a "futuristic looking battery-powered, graphite-and-blue module (vaguely reminiscent of a Star Trek tricorder)". Never having seen a Star Trek tricorder up close I am not sure, but I do know the SNAPPY module is light-weight, fits easily in your hand, and installation is a "snap". The module plugs into your printer port (remember to unplug your printer first) then you use the video cables provided to connect the module to the video-out connection on your camcorder, VCR, or TV. Now you are ready to install the software provided. All of this takes less than 5 minutes and you are ready to snap a picture. 

 Snapping a picture also proved to be quite simple, so for my first try I pulled out a photograph of my son and aimed my camcorder. Although it takes some dexterity to hold the camcorder, watch the screen and click on the snap button all at the same time, I was able to do it and capture my first image. Bear in mind I am snapping a video of a still image. Stopping a moving video exactly where you want it is a little more tricky. If you have a snapshot feature on your camcorder it helps. Remember, I still have not pulled out the manual and am feeling quite proud of myself. After this SNAPPY is no longer such a "snap". 

 Using the adjust mode you can alter various parameters in the snapped image. These parameters include Color, Brightness, Contrast, Picture, Sharpness, Tint, Red, Green, and Blue. Although these parameters are described briefly in the manual, with no prior experience or knowledge, I found that any change I made seemed to reduce the quality of the image. In all fairness I did not take the time to study all the parameters I simply turned knobs and slid bars in a random manner eventually returning to the values SNAPPY had chosen. I wanted to get on to more exciting things. 

After saving my file as a BMP, I quickly found I was able to import the image into Sierra's Print Artist 3.0. SNAPPY allows you to save files in Windows Bitmap, JPEG, ZSoft PCX, TrueVision Targa, and Aldus TIFF. I added a border, made a few minor adjustments. At this point I was feeling very creative and decided to attack Fauve Matisse SE. Fauve Matisse is a painting and image-editing program and SE denotes the "SNAPPY Edition." As you probably already guessed, this edition has limited features because they want you to buy an upgraded version for only $39 (normally priced at $99). The upgrade boasts additional filters, brushes, special effects and much more. The only problem is it would take forever to understand and use all the feature provided in the SE version of Matisse. 

Fauve Matisse SE was easy to install and took approximately 7MB of hard disk space. You must also have a 386 or better, 4 MB of RAM, SVGA monitor with a 16 or 24 bit display. With Matisse you can paint, draw, stamp, change opacity, cut-out, retouch, and many many other things. 

To use Matisse I was forced to dig out the manual because my "I can figure it out myself" approach was failing. I found the manual well organized and easy to read. Each tool is detailed and includes a brief tutorial with step-by-step instructions. Going through this manual in a participatory manner would be very helpful, however like most of us, I did not take the time. Instead I went straight to the tool I wanted to use, the ellipse marquee tool. This marquee tool is used to "rope off" a portion of the picture from the rest of the image so it can be treated differently. In other words, if you want to put your child's head on a chimpanzee body, this is the way to do it. This sounds tempting but I decided to do something a little more civil. 

 Once again I took a snap shot of a photograph with SNAPPY. I saved this file and imported it into Print Artist 3.0. Using the manual I quickly mastered the marquee tool and was able to define the image I wanted to copy. Although this is fairly simple, using a mouse to trace around an object is not an easy task. A pen and tablet would work much better. I finally did succeed in "roping off" the portion of the photo I wanted and "floating it" or removing a copy from the rest of the photo. I was then able to use cut and paste commands to copy the cut-out into Print Artist. 

As I mentioned earlier the SNAPPY package also contained Gryphon Morph. This software allows you to create image transformations. Morphing is nothing new and we have all been exposed to some form of image morphing. It certainly looks fun, but after briefly scanning the manual I decided it took much more thought and concentration than I had at that time or any time since. In other words, morphing images does not appear to be a "snap." 

I decided I had done enough fooling around. I produced two comical images of my son, but had not done any concrete work for my business. Since I bought SNAPPY for business purposes, I decided to do something serious. My first project was to produce an image for our Christmas ad. I printed the photo and ad at 720 dpi (dots per inch) producing a very sharp and clear image. 

You may remember this picture in our ad in the December issue of PC Alamode, the final copy was very dark, not at all like the image I printed. My first attempt to use SNAPPY for my business was not exactly a success. We are currently investigating to determine why the image came out so dark. In the mean time I continue to use SNAPPY both for my business and personally. Most recently I snapped some picture for our web page. 

 SNAPPY can be used for a variety of things. It can add personal style to family letters and invitations. Kids can use it for school reports, newsletters, and just plain fun. For a business the uses are many depending on your perseverance and creativity. You can personalize flyers with pictures of your products or staff, create images for your web page and liven up presentations, just to name a few. 

 Just last week I received an offer for SNAPPY 2.0. An updated version of the SNAPPY software that has new crop tools, drag and drop compatibility, delayed snap settings and of course much more. The upgrade is $39.95 and includes Adobe PhotoDeluxe, and Kai's Power Goo SE. For only $39.95 it sounds like a good deal for even more features to decipher. 

 I purchased SNAPPY in November last year for $189.00 at Walmart. It can also be found at several other computer superstores for around $200. 

In my opinion using SNAPPY to capture video images is in fact a "snap." The images are not photolike, but I do not know how they compare to other video digitized images. They should be satisfactory for most personal and business endeavors. Using Fauve Matisse and Gryphon Morph on the other hand is not "snappy" at all. Learning to effectively retouch, morph, warp, and alter images will take patience and time, but I am sure will prove to be very entertaining and useful. 

 Stephanie Sawyer is a co-owner of KIDS CLICK SOFTWARE. She had 15 years experience in the computer industry before starting her own business, specializing in Children's Educational Software. Send questions or comments to kclick@connecti.com.