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PHOTOSHOP FOR THE REST OF US

QUESTION: I have become an avid photographer with my recently acquired digital camera. The camera came with a poor quality photo editing program that I constantly struggle with. I know that Photoshop is the best photo manipulative software available but I'm not willing to shell out over $600. Is there anything you can suggest that will give me the power of Photoshop without killing my wallet?

ANSWER: Adobe has just introduced their new Photoshop Elements program for $99. Since I've been using Elements, I haven't launched my copy of Photoshop. That's because Elements does just about everything it's hefty counterpart does and with some of the everyday functions such as printing, it actually does a better job.

Elements uses the same "engine" as Photoshop but has a more user-friendly interface. Many of Element's operations are easily performed thanks to hand-holding guides and step by step on-screen instructions. Elements has definitely been designed for non-professional users who wish to perform professional tasks. I was able to do some pretty fancy photo editing without having to crack open a manual. With Photoshop, the manual is a must.

Elements contains many of the high-end Photoshop features such as the History Palette that lets you perform controlled undos, Layers Manager, all of Photoshop's effect filters and more. A perfect example of how Elements has been designed for the general consumer rather than the photographic pro is evident in printing. Unlike Photoshop, Elements lets you actually see an on-screen preview of what will appear before you print something. Any changes you make are instantly reflected in the preview as you make them. So if you're not a pro who needs things like color separations, masking and editable vector shapes, Elements will serve your photo editing needs quite well since Elements gives you around five-sixths the power of Photoshop for about one sixth the price. Versions are available for Windows and Macintosh.

Adobe Systems www.adobe.com (800) 833-6687

Super Drive for the rest of us

If you've been lusting after the "SuperDrive" that comes packaged only with Apple's top-of-the-line G4 desktop computers, now you can rejoice. The SuperDrive is Apple single drive unit that reads and writes all the popular formats including CD, CD-R, CD-R/W, and DVD-R, allowing you to create music and data CDs, read DVDs, and create DVD-video discs for playback on most standard DVD players. Now you can get an external Firewire version that will plug into any Firewire ready Mac from LaCie. The new drive incorporates all of the functionality of DVD-RAM and DVD-R drives, including optimum compatibility for media playback on today¹s DVD-ROM drives, DVD players and DVD recorders. LaCie's new DVD-RAM/R drive provides users with a single solution for home video, personal computer, business storage/archiving, prepress and graphic storage as well as development/testing of master DVDs.

The FireWire bus makes the drive hot-pluggable so it can quickly be moved from computer to computer without having to shut down or reboot the system. The drive automatically detects the system interface and configures the connection so the combination drive mounts as soon as it is plugged in. The convenience of being able to use FireWire, plus the high capacity of the DVD-RAM and DVD-R media, makes this drive especially popular with creative developers and videographers. Macintosh only. $689.

LaCie, Inc. www.lacie.com