[ulr037]

I asked this question in my post below but it might get lost with all the other questions I am asking.

How do you know the software people are recommending to download off the computer is safe? How do I know what I am downloading to get rid of other harmful items does not have harmful items in it? You are experts but how do I, the layperson, know?

Any more answers to my specific questions in previous post would be most helput?

I think I have quickly learnt to post questions separately because they can get quickly overlooked when answering many questions. Thanks again for your effort in helping me get on with my project.

I am going to go out on a limb here and tell you what was personal in the other post.

My father has cancer. And he recently said he has given up. I do not have a lot of time to get this ready. Now I have these problems with my computer. I know that I will not be able to hold myself together at the church so I wanted to say my speech and poem using a powerpoint presentation with music. I need to download all the pictures onto my computer and then arrange, I guess in powerpoint. What I do not know how to do, is get my music on the same CD. But of course, I do not want to download any music because I do not know if it is safe for me to do so under the present state of my computer. Or the best method to do this. Does anyone know of any software problems on the net where I can put the music and the pictures together on the CD at the same time. Again, any help most appreciated. Now, you can see why my thought processes are not to clear. Having a hard time processing this all everything else that is going on. So at the moment do not have a lot of patience with my computer. Help!!

[Chery]

Sorry about your dad. Truly. And understand your time is short, but being in a hurry probably put you where you are right now.
With the Windows Operating System, you should have had autoupdate on to get the latest updates to include internet malicious malware remover, spam blocker, etc. Microsoft is a safe site to download from, so use it. It even advises that you try an antivirus program from Computer Associates that you can use for free for one year. Windows also has a firewall, and one more does not hurt. You just need to set it up. You will have to eventually read up on viruses and adware threats, the sooner the better.

Anything coming from me is very safe, as I am safety conscious and so are the sites I prescribe to or they would not be in business. My hobby is checking out software for others to the best of my ability, and have not steared them wrong yet.

As far as presentations, if you have Nero, use that for your pictures as a slideshow and then add the music - which will adjust the pictures and music with just a mouseclick and hassle free. Then you can burn it to CD. Powerpoint took too long to adjust the music with the pictures and frustrated me. Even Adobe Professional is better than that.

No matter what you choose, good luck to you and be patient, our experts will be online soon and can help you with the backdoor of the registry, as I use Registry Mechanic, which did cost but it was worth it. Good Luck! And keep me posted.

[ulr037]

Thanks for your quick reply. I am now going home to try and implement all these things tonight. One more thing, when you say Adobe Professional. What software are you talking about? Not Adobe Photoshop are you? Please clairfy. I will most certainly keep you posted. Means a lot.
Thanks again :confused: !

[Chery]

No I did not mean photoshop. I have Adobe Professional 6.0 at about 300 dollars. It not only creates PDF files, but presentations, with shows and sound,etc. It also creates online forms for others to fill out. Go to the adobe.com site some day and check what features it and Adobe Professional 7.0 have. They are not what you can download for free - that's the Adobe Acrobat Reader.. But like I said, if you have a CD/DVD burner and it came with Nero, check the manuals and/or tutorials online and see what it's capable of. Good Luck.

[Chery]

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/topten.mspx click this link and it will tell you how important security is today, then download it if you don't have it yet. It's directly from Microsoft...

[fredg]

Hi,
Personally, I don't suggest any software unless I have either tried it or are currently using it.
Any software programs, like SpyWare, etc, I post are programs that I use, and/or have friends that use, and I am thoroughly familiar with it.
I am sorry to hear about your Dad. My wife had throat cancer, and by the Grace of God and "hanging in there" through Chemo and Radiation treatments, she is now cancer free, after a yr and a half.
My suggestion for making your CD presentation is to take it to a local computer sales/repair store. A good Tech can suggest what to do. Let them do it for you. Reason? You don't have a lot of time, and learning from a program that you have never used before is going to be frustrating.
You do not need any more aggrevation from a computer, not knowing how to use the program.
Let a professional put together your CD for you. The cost should not be too much, especially if you explain what it is for.
You can always buy a program later, when you have a few months to learn how to use it!
I do wish you the best,
fredg

[Chery]

That was a very good idea about having the CD done, fred. Super!

[LTheobald]

As Fred said - most of us here don't recommend software unless we use it ourselves and know that it contains no problems. Reviews, download statistics on extremely popular sites like www.download.com can also give a good indication if a program is clean. A program that causes a lot of damage wouldn't get many downloads.

Onto the presentation. You could get a professional to do it like Fred said but I feel that this will remove a lot of the personality from the presentation.

Creating a slideshow with music etc. should be easy with Powerpoint (I'm assuming you have this as you mentioned it). Best thing to do is to create a folder on your PC somewhere (e.g. C:\ForDad\). Then put all the music files you want in the presentation in this folder. Then you need to create you presentation and save it in the same folder. This way when you create the presentation and add the music, the presentation will be set to look for the music in the same directory as the presentation file. Then it'll just be a case of burning everything in the folder to the CD.

Before you start all this though - make sure the church where you are holding the service has things that you need - a PC, a projector that can be connected to this PC and Microsoft Powerpoint. You really need to check this as I'm really not sure if a chruch will have all these.

[ulr037]

I am really touched by your responses. This is such a hard thing to deal with.I have learned a lot more about life though in having to go through this with my family. Learning a lot more about love as well as I watch my dear mother take care of my father. I did not know it would be this difficult. Just reading your messages and the warmth it has provided is so comforting. Fredg thanks for your words. I am truly sorry to hear about your wife's cancer. Wish her the best!

Bringing it to a computer guy is a good idea. However, with all due respect, I would not feel right about doing that. That is just not my makeup. I feel that would be cheating my heart. I want to give of myself in this project. I was actually glad to read L Theobald's words in print because that is what I was feeling inside. I was disappointed to read that everyone made the suggestion and I might have to follow your advice because it was the safe and smart thing to do. I was disappointed not in what you said, but I wanted to hold each picture in my hand as I was working on it and enjoy the memories as I was doing the project. That is the healing part of all this. Even if the tears fall, I need that. I hope you can understand a little how I feel. It was almost like L Theobald was giving me permission to be stupid and push my limits on this one. His words made my heart smile a little bit inside. I would like to do this on my own. If I can get through the instructions. I can bring the pictures to a computer guy but there is no feeling in doing that for me. I guess I have always done things the hard way. And will probably keep doing it that way in the future. I know I will be spending late nights at the computer but I know in my heart that is the best thing. Especially the pain Dad is in, I would like to do this for him. It is something I have to do. Just a tibit. One of the songs I am using alongside the pictures is "You raised me up so I can stand on Mountains" I will have to go back and reread the instructions that L theobald provided. Just a quick question. Does Adobe photoshop 7 have any capabilities to do presentations like this? And is the only way to get Adobe Professional is by buying it? Can't get this off the internet,can you? This is for the future though. I cannot spend 300 right now on this program.

Again all due respect for you suggestion Fred G. It was a good one. But if you knew me you would understand. I do not want to offend you in anyway. I liked your idea don't get me wrong. Talk to you again soon to let you know how all my problems worked out. I actually am excited to get home again and work on all these things. The weather is so beautiful right now that I go home and ride my bike till it is dark and then I settled down at the task of the computer. Can face the stress much better that way. But not last night, hockey was on.

Cheers!

[LTheobald]

Well I'm just glad we can help you get this problem sorted as it obviously means everything to you.

Photoshop doesn't have the ability to make a presentation like you would like. Also, there's no need to purchase Adobe Professional - they are other ways of doing what you want (with no need to spend cash).

Here's what's probably the best thing to do. If we can find a program we have ourselves that you also have - then we can give you a step by step guide on creating a simple slideshow with music. From that you can then create what you need and we can help you with any problems you are having etc.

So first question - Do you have a version of PowerPoint on your PC? This would be the easiest thing to do it on if you have it. If not, there's a good open source (free) Office package called OpenOffice. You can create presentations in that and evne say them in PowerPoint format.

[NeedKarma]

Just to pipe in here about creating PDFs. A great free product to do this that I use is: http://www.primopdf.com/

It's to create PDFs from existing electronic formats such as Word docs or Excel spreadsheets.

[ScottGem]

Ulr,

First let me offer my condolences and prayers on your situation. Having lost both my parents I can empathize. I can also say that putting together a slide show like you are thinking of is a good exercise for you to concentrate on as well as a coalescing of your feelings.

As for the safety of downloads. When you are dealing with programs, you should be careful. But there is a matter of trust that has to exist here. You don't know me (or Fred or Cheryl or LT or any of us) from Adam. The only thing you have to go on is our reputations here. So it might be a good idea to browse some of the threads to get an idea of how people feel about us.

As I said in another thread, there are several sites that are well known and safe when it comes to downloads. If you are concenred about any site, feel free to ask about it. But if you have a good anti-virus scanner that is up do date, you should be OK.

Most picture and sound files are not a problem, the bigger problem is with program files.

I also agree that Powerpoint would be the easiest tool to create your slide show. Microsoft has an extensive collection of artwork and sound bites that you may find useful.

If you need any help with the presentation please do not hesitate to ask.

[ulr037]

Karma:

I am just not sure where this came from - the PDF reference.



I am confused.


Was this meant for this thread?

With all due respect, what I am supposed to do with this?
I think I am missing something here. Can you help me out as to what reference this was for? Something to do with the powerpoint? Help!!

Cheers!

[Chery]

Hello again. 1. You asked about Adobe Professional there is a version 7.0 out now and you can get a trial version and learn how to use it for 30 days, then choose to buy it if it works for you.
Go to Adobe.com and check on the latest version and what it can do.
2. Powerpoint has a feature that lets you create standalone shows to where the computer at church does not need powerpoint to run it. - in *.pps format.
3. Tell us what program you are used to using and as fred and scott said, you will be 'talked thru' step by step. I just found it easier to combine the music and the slides to start from beginning to the end of the songs I chose with Nero, that was the easiest way for me.
All the other's got too complicated for me and I did not even know that Nero had this feature in their slideshow creator until I accidentally found a button to click. So we all try out the stuff we suggest you use. It started from the first picture, and ended with the last picture, no matter how long the song was and I did not have to time the picture changes myself.
4. I too have openoffice.org and it is a good substitute for Microsoft Office and free. All you need to do is register with them.
5. As far as Photoshop, PhotoElements, etcm I have tested them for other's but I am a Paint Shop Pro fan from the very first version, so I stick to that for all my graphic work.
At any rate you are welcome to contact us anytime with any future issue and you'll get enough advice to be able to choose what is more comfortable for you.
There are also some good people here that will help you with the emotional side, once that kicks in - and it will. Again all the best to you and your family and hope we were of help to you.
I understand wanting to do it alone, from the heart - you sound like there is a lot of love in your family and I am sorry that your are going through so much pain right now. Keep us posted.

[ulr037]

Chery:

Josh, you guys are comforting. I was awaiting till I got home tonight to answer the questions from Scott,L Theobald and yourself.

For right now, one quick quesiton for you.

Nero? You said it is like powerpoint. Do I have to go out and purchase this software or will it be a download I can find on the internet? Or does it come with certain computers already on the system.

I will write more tonight. Have a great day!

Cheers!

[Chery]

Nero burning program usually comes with a packet when you buy a CD/DVD burner, or a PC with a burner, depending on what brand. In my opinion it's one of the best packages out there. You can also purchace it, the newest version, which I bought is called Nero Reloaded, and can be found in computer stores. This also has update downloads every few months, tutorials, and manuals in many languages. Once you have that, you won't need any other for slideshows, wave editor, media player, movie player, movie maker in DVD, Vcd, SVCD format, even creates Music CDs, MP3 CDs, etc. it's packed full of several features. It is also more user friendly than the two other competitors out there. When you get back to as normal a life as you can, with the trial you are going through right now, just check out their site and read up on the features. Like I said, let us know what you have now, and you'll get help in using that you have to accomplish what your priority is at the moment. Don't worry, we will be here for you...

[ulr037]

Thanks Chery

Can't wait to get started. With all you backing me up this should be very comforting experience. Have a great day.

Cheers!

[LTheobald]

Just to clarify as a lot of programs have been mentioned in this post and it has started to get confusing.

You will need two kinds of programs for creating this slide show:

1. A presentation creator. E.g. Microsoft Powerpoint or OpenOffice Presentation
2. CD burning software. E.g. Nero, Roxio or even just Windows XP.


Don't worry about references to other products for now (Adobe Professional, PDF creators) as these aren't suited to what we need.

Anyway, when you are ready - give us a shout. We'll be here :)

[ScottGem]

Hello again. 1. You asked about Adobe Professional there is a version 7.0 out now

Hi Cheryl,
You have referred to this product, but I think you are missing something. There is no Adobe product named "Professional". The closest I see is Adobe ACROBAT Professional, which is at Version 7.0. Software vendors use Professional as an adjective to describe higher end versions of their software, but they usually don't name their software just "Professional".

So can you define exactly what Adobe product you are referring to?

[Chery]

Right again scott, I stand corrected that I missed one word in there, but hope I can be forgiven. I was just in a hurry to help answer as fast due to the circumstances of the young man's need 'right now' He has set a goal he hopes to meet before it's too late.