Software Review of:
Picture It! 
99 

I had Picture It II in the OEM version and initially had hoped to install this newest release and be able to really compare the two products. Unfortunately, Microsoft had other ideas and gave me a flat "either uninstall Picture It II or do not install this version," so being an obedient servant of the computer I did as instructed. The major difference that I see in the two versions is that Picture It 99, like Windows 98 and Office 2000, is more integrated with the Internet. You can send pictures via e-mail directly from the Picture It program, save them to put on a Web page and save them via the Internet at Kodak Photo Net. 

 Picture It 99 has the Workbench tab which is where you can correct, alter, enhance and overlay pictures as well as distort, add artistic effects, swap bodies, emphasize objects, clone, create stamps and turn your color pictures into black and white. You can add text to personalize photos or projects. The things that you can do with text are limited only by your imagination. It is possible to create slide shows and to send photos, slide shows or multimedia postcards by e-mail or post them to the Internet. Picture It comes with 2 CD-ROMs that contain over 1,000 photo-quality backgrounds, clip photos, edges and templates. The Project tab enables you to create photo greeting cards, photo album pages, magazine covers, stickers, sports trading cards, certificates, scrapbook pages, business cards, flyers, collages and more. 

 System requirements to run this software are Pentium 90 or higher processor, Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT version 4 operating system, 16 MB RAM, 90 MB of available hard-disk space, 4x or higher CD-ROM drive, Super VGA monitor with 1 MB of VRAM and a Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device. Optional system components include an audio board with headphones or speakers. Picture It 99 requires at least 75 MB of space on the hard drive for storing temporary files. 

I am running Win 95 on a 266 Pentium II with 160 MB Ram (that is a story by itself). Installation first gave me the ultimatum to uninstall Picture It II or cancel the installation of Picture It 99. I opted to uninstall, then was prompted to restart, and continued with the installation. The installation program ran an audio-visual slide show while the installation was being accomplished which was a nice touch that I had not seen before in software installations. One feature of this program that I really like is that (with my approval) it put an icon on the desktop. 

 Everyone knows how new software installations fiddle with everything on your computer. Well MS Picture It followed the rule and did something very surprising to me. It created a folder named 'My Documents' in my "Favorites" folder and then it created a sub-folder titled 'my pictures'. I am making the assumption that this is for the pictures that I might want to store on the Internet with Kodak or Fujifilm. It did some strange things, too, but those have been resolved and I am really happy with this software. 

 The accompanying manual is the perfect example of what graphics can create. I read the manual before I even installed the program and was particularly struck by the fact that it did not really explain much about how to use the various tools or how to perform the tasks. After installation, I started using the program and after several projects went back to re-read the manual. I found the manual to be more meaningful with the second reading and particularly like the "Tip(s) and Note(s)". Each Tip or Note has one-sentence hints that provide a wealth of information. I feel that the Tip(s) and Note(s) are the most valuable part of the manual. 

 I had done some work with MS Picture It II and of course this helped me to feel comfortable with this new version 3. To run PI II I always had to use the CD that came with the program; with Picture It 99 I am able to run the program independently. Picture It 99 comes with 2 CDs that contain templates and graphics as well as the demo slide shows. Some if the templates are especially attractive but the graphics are terrific. It is possible to use this program for cards, business cards, letterheads and other projects without using a digital camera. 

Pictures can be scanned or taken from a CD that the photo shop has made for you or a project can be done using the graphics from the CDs. 

My first project was to make business cards. I had a picture of a rose that I wanted to use and so put it into my scanner. I told Picture It to get the picture from the scanner using the 'Smart Task Scan'. The picture was scanned into the program and then my computer locked and only the trusted control-alt-delete finally closed down Picture It and enabled me to start over. This time I used the option 'your scanner software' and checked the box for 'help me fix my picture after scanning'. The picture that I got was even better than the original. I then went to the projects tab, to business, and to business cards. I put my picture in the designated location, added my name in a color to match the red rose with the rest of the business card in black lettering and printed out cards that look professional. 

My second project was a card for Father's Day. I did not have a picture that pleased me for a card for my Dad, so this time I went to the graphics available on the Picture It CDs. I selected a frosty mug of beer with pretzels, topped it with an ice pack and added greetings (also from the CDs), text and used Word 97 to print a verse inside. 

My brother's birthday necessitated the third project. He lives in Corpus and recently I had been there with the third love of my life (my Sony Mavica digital camera). I had taken a picture of the USS Lexington and another of the Corpus skyline. I then cut out the Lexington and placed it immediately in front of the skyline. I went to the projects tab and selected a card; placed the newly created picture and birthday greetings and added a verse inside. I can't tell you how great I felt when my brother recognized the picture and said "but the Lex isn't there, you did this - with the computer? 

By now I was hooked. This was/is the most fun I have had on the computer in a month of Sundays and I now am ready to try more 'tricks'. My next project involved using a graphic from the Internet. I could not import directly to Picture It, so did a copy and paste to Paint, then saved the graphic to a diskette and imported the graphic from the diskette to Picture It. This was a major undertaking because I hope to print some postcards to be sold at a non-profit fund-raiser. I received permission to use the graphics from the owner of the Web site and then worked with the graphic until I had it nearly the way that I want the final product to appear. 

 Now it was time to see what this software can do with a photo. I had a picture of Ann with her dog and had a really good case of red eye or better described as green eye. I used the touchup to remove the dog's strange colored eyes and then decided to make Ann look younger by removing some wrinkles. These touchup features work really well. I then wanted to change the color of the drab beige chair, so chose to paint it light blue with the color feature. Thank goodness for 'reset' because I can never pass for Monet. The paint tool will take some practice on my part. 

 I wanted to try sending E-mail using Picture It but a dialog box told me that I do not have an E-mail client installed in such a way that Picture It can send files to it. The dialog box also asked if I wanted to save the file so that I could later attach the picture manually in an E-mail program. This version suggests that you save pictures destined for E-mail in web size which is a reduced format. I then went to Outlook Express and sent the pictures. Because of the "web size" they went out over the Internet quickly and easily. 

 The Picture It Installation disk does have IE 4 to be installed and I am sure that it installs to be compatible Picture It. Since I already had IE 4 I did not re-install, but will go back to do this and also to install the media manager which helps with 'create albums' feature. 

 The last feature I am going to discuss is saving thumbnails. As mentioned earlier, my camera saves directly on 3.5 diskettes. Until I discovered this feature, trying to remember what picture was on what diskette had become a nightmare. With the "print Thumbnails", I simply print out a page of thumbnails for each diskette and then store the printout and the diskettes (in diskette binder sheets) in a 3-ring binder. This feature is very high in my list of favorite features. 

 The Picture It Web Site, www.microsoft.com/pictureit, is well worth reading to have a better understanding of all that is available in the program. At the web site I found a listing of the features in Picture It 99 which also identifies what is new from previous versions. New features include cutting out cookie cutter shapes, clone painting, touchup painting for contrast, sharpness and bluriness, cutout by color (this is great too), wrinkle remover, skew, create your own stamp, additional enhancing tools, and the Online features. 

 I am really glad that I have had the opportunity to review this software. I love it. It is so user-friendly with directions, questions, explanations, and help every step of the way. It has so many features that everyone should be able to enjoy their pictures more than they ever have. 

 Originally, Microsoft Picture It 99 had a list price of $54.99. I checked the last week of June and found Picture It 99 at CompUSA (830 Rector; 348-0880) and at Office Depot (5 stores in San Antonio and 1 in New Braunfels) for $49.99 at each store. The package comes with a $20.00 manufacturer's rebate that is good until September 30, 1999. At CompUSA Picture It is on display with other Microsoft software products and they appeared to have a good stock. Office Depot also appeared to have sufficient stock. Picture It 99 is also available on the Web at http://shop.microsoft.com/store/products. The Microsoft site lists Picture It at $54.99 but advises you that they may be able to refer you to a reseller that has it at a lower price.