Paint Shop Pro is a cheap and capable alternative to Photoshop. It tends to lag somewhat behind Photoshop in terms of features per version, but the current version is extremely powerful. Relatively easy to use. About $150.00 CAN. Review at CNET.

Microsoft Photo Editor
Included free with Windows XP. Limited in features but allows image resizing.

Macromedia Fireworks
Designed to be a companion to Macromedia Dreamweaver, Fireworks is designed specifically to edit, crop, resize, slice and optimize images for the web. It also allows you to create text, buttons, animations and create JavaScripted cascading menus. About $500.00 CAN for the stand-alone version, but sells for about $250.00 CAN bundled with Dreamweaver with educational discount. Free fully-featured 30-day trial.

IrfanView
A fast, simple image viewer and editor. Has a great reputation and can resize images. Freeware. Review at CNET.

Paint
Another option is the free application Paint that comes with Windows. It is adequate for working with graphics at a basic level. With it you can do simple cropping and editing of graphics, as well as save them in different formats. Paint won’t let you do some of the more sophisticated changes to images, such as adding drop shadows and filters. You will need one of these applications to properly prepare any graphics on your site, unless you have really good software that comes with your scanner, digital camera or graphics library.

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Cleaner
If the file size of a video you have created seems too large, Cleaner by Discreet is the industry standard for some time for compressing video. This will be necessary to use if you plan to use Camtasia Recorder, and may help decrease the file size of video created with other applications as well.

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Audio

Windows Sound Recorder
This tool comes free with all Windows operating systems and can be found in Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment. Easy way to record your voice for simple .Wav files that can be imbedded in web pages or attached to emails.

Creative WaveStudio
This tool comes free with the very popular SoundBlaster Live sound card. It allows recording and editing of sound files and is easy to use.

Sound Forge

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Screen Capture Tools

SnagIt
Capture an exact copy of anything that appears on your screen. Easy to use. Free trial available. Review at CNET.

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Animation Software

Macromedia Flash
Created by Macromedia, Flash allows you to create animation, much the same way cartoons are created. It also supports streaming video, music, and scripting languages for programming. An excellent tool for creating artistic and creative sites, Flash must be used with caution from a web design point of view, since the flexibility of Flash has resulted in websites whose navigation is so “artistic” that basic usability design principles have often been ignored. About $700.00 CAN, educational discounts and packages ("studios") available. Free trial available. Review at CNET.

Swish
A cheap and simplified alternative to Flash. Allows simple moving text and pictures in Flash format. Not nearly as powerful, and rumoured to be somewhat buggy and unstable. $75.00 CAN. Review at CNET.

Qarbon Viewlet Builder
Allows creation of JavaScript animated tutorials demonstrating desktop movements. Works by taking multiple screenshots and then allowing you to edit them and add balloon comment windows and voice commentary. Very quick to learn and easy to use. Examples. Free version available (comes with ads).

TechSmith Camtasia
For recording video of an event taking place on your computer screen, such as demonstrating how to use a particular piece of software, Camtasia Recorder is a popular choice. With it you can record movements on a screen to capture any cursor movements. Technically speaking, Camtasia does not actually create a video but rather a series of screen captures, and the file size it creates can be rather large.

E-Learning content creation

These tools offer the most powerful features for creating web-based learning content. They can take months to learn, require advanced programming skills, and offer database integration.

Macromedia Authorware
"Create everything from Web-based tutorials to sophisticated simulations incorporating audio and video". Free Trial

Macromedia Director Shockwave Studio
"Use the powerful authoring environment of Macromedia Director Shockwave Studio to create dazzling 3D entertainment, interactive product demonstrations, online learning applications and more on the Web". Free Trial.

ToolBook Instructor
"ToolBook Instructor is a comprehensive desktop authoring solution designed for use by a broad spectrum of course developers and instructional designers to create standards-based content. With Instructor, you can easily create highly interactive content with a catalog of smart objects, including assessment and simulation support." Download 30-day trial.

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Smaller content creation tools

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Communication software

• Paltalk
• Yahoo IM
• Windows MSN IM. Also, try Msn Plus! for cool sounds you can send and instant chat archiving. Be sure to choose "custom" install and not "automatic", and then select "no sponsor".

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Other downloads you'll need:

• Adobe Acrobat Reader: allows you to view, navigate, browse, and print portable document format (PDF) files that have been created by Adobe Acrobat.
• Windows Media Player: from Microsoft, it allows you to view streaming video. Industry standard media player.
• QuickTime: Apple's video technology that allows you to play high-quality video directly on your computer. QuickTime is a set of extensions that, when used with movie software, lets you view video clips or even full-length video productions. New features include QuickTime VR for increased 360-degree virtual reality scenes and Flash support for greater interactivity.
• Real Player: allows you to enjoy streaming audio and video on networks and the Internet. More recent versions have become somewhat unstable and memory intensive, possibly causing your computer to crash. Download version 8 and not 9.
• Shockwave and Flash Player: Streaming Shockwave delivers rich, dynamic,and fully interactive animation, audio, and multimedia to you with little or no waiting. Thousands of Web sites provide games, simulations, highly dynamic user interfaces, streaming audio, and multimedia productions.
• Internet Explorer: the most popular browser today.
• Netscape Navigator: Version 6 and above not recommended with WebCT. More on recommended browser versions here.

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