3D Album creates interesting displays of digital photos. It works by combining a set of digital photos you choose with a variety of frames, styles, designs, sounds and music and animation that provide endless possibilities for the creative and artistic creature out there. You know who you are. However, despite my dearth of artistic ability, the complexity of this software with it’s powerful but very easy to use interface allowed me to create a fantastic looking 3D album in literally minutes. In fact, it is so easy to use I would challenge anyone who claimed they could not make a fun album with this program.

Before we discuss the software further, let me tell you what your system will need to make use of this program. System requirements include having a PC with a 400 MHz or higher CPU. Windows XP, 2000, 98 2nd Edition, or NT 4.0 with at least 64 MB RAM with Windows 98, NT 4.0 and 128 MB is recommended for use with those operating systems. 128 MB RAM is required for use with Windows 2000 or XP and 256 MB is recommended. Graphics should consist of a 3D video card with 16MB RAM or greater, which also supports OpenGL. Screen resolution should be 800 x 600 or higher with 24 or 32-bit color depth (True Color). You will need a Sound card, CD ROM or DVD Drive with a CD/DVD-RW and Burning software if you want to do CD, VCD or DVD burning. Installation went off without a hitch when I installed it on my computer, which runs a Windows XP environment.

Let’s get right to the abilities of this program, shall we? A quick summary of how one can use this program would include the fact that you can make a limitless variety of albums, which combine as many or as few of the features of the program, as you see fit. For example, you can use this program to make your own screensavers from some of your most favorite digital photo files. You can make slideshow presentations that are truly stunning just using the built-in features of the software. There are three simple steps to creating your album. You begin by clicking on the “Organize” button (See Figure 1). Once opened, you can navigate to the file folder where your digital photos are stored on your computer. Then you place the photos in the order in which you want them to appear. Now you are ready for the second step, where you will need to select a “Presentation Style” from one of the categories of 3D animations. What is really neat about this is that you can preview the look you’ve created in the window or click on the “Play” button to see it displayed full-screen. When you are ready to return to the software window and complete the process simply hit the Escape key on your keyboard and you are back to the program interface (See Figure 2). This is a neat feature that saves you significant time. Within the same environment, I discovered a musical note icon on the lower right hand of the screen, which allowed me to select from MP3, WAV, MIDI or WMA music files to include with the presentation. With one of my larger compositions, I selected 3 songs to play with my 3D album of animated pictures. The process worked like a charm and the application runs flawlessly when I double click on it from my desktop.

Once you are satisfied with your creation, you are ready for the third and final step. Clicking the “Build” button allows you to complete your project in one of five formats, I have previously mentioned that you can make your own screensaver, and that is one way to build your 3D album. A second way is to create an HTML page that includes the presentation on the page. If you have your own website, you can upload the HTML file to your web address. Third and fourth, you can create either a zipped or a self-extracting file for use with your e-mail program. Finally, and believe me, I have saved the best for last; you can create the presentation as an application which will run as a stand-alone program on your computer.

It’s an application that seems at first glance to be like an old-fashioned screensaver and then on second look, it’s been taking steroids and is really pumped up, allowing the creation of animation, voiceover, background music and a plethora of different ways you can package and present the photos you are working with. All of this makes it more like an easy to use onscreen video producer. It is easy to use and even if you don’t watch the tutorials that are included, most of you would be able to figure out the process in a short time. There is good built-in help, if you hover over a button, a creative message pops up telling you more about what the button or icon does in the program.

The real strength of this program is the amazing variety and sensational quality of the presentation styles you have at your fingertips. There are 23 on the CD and once registered, you can go to the website and download 60 more! As an example, and for comparison, I have included a couple of the various styles here (See Figure 3 and Figure 4). You may be amazed, as I was that the price suggested for all of this power and ease of use was only $39.95 on the Micro Research II web site. I found it for $24.21 on a pricegrabber.com price comparison search. I suggest that you check the local retail stores and compare the prices you find there with the online prices. Whatever you do, if you have a lot of digital photos and you want to have fun with them and show them off in a really spiffy way, then do yourself a favor and get this program. I cannot recommend it more highly.