Dennis Faas

Since asking Infopackets Readers for their opinion on the best solution for Removing Scratches from CD or DVD compact disc, I have received a land-slide of great suggestions and insight. So far, the consensus has been that many users have ... successfully reported using ordinary house-hold cleaners, such as wood polishers (Pledge), Brasso (a metal polisher), and toothpaste (an abrasive tooth polisher) for small surface scratches. For deep scratches, by far the best recommendation I've received is to take the disc to a local DVD video or CD music rental store and have them repair it. These stores ... (view more)

Synopsis: Make your own sweet beat! Acoustica Beatcraft is an extremely powerful, yet an easy-to-use Drum Machine software program for beginners and professionals alike! Its friendly, streamlined interface makes beat generation fast, while allowing ... your unlimited creativity to pour through. Beatcraft features an extensive library of top-quality, professional drum sounds, powerful sequencing and loop generation tools, and killer audio effects, all wrapped in a clean and comfortable interface with a 32 bit state-of-the-art sound engine. Acoustica Beatcraft: Screenshots Click to view: Page 1 | ... (view more)

Synopsis: Confused about burning music CDs? Worry no more! Designed to be super-easy-to-use, Acoustica MP3 CD / DVD Burner is an intuitive music burning program jam packed full of user-friendly features! Not only will Acoustica MP3 Burner burn your ... music in the order you want it, but it will let you edit each song to get rid of silence, extra long applauses or even fade in and out incomplete songs! And because Acoustica MP3 Burner can also boost, equalize, or normalize each song individually, you won't have to constantly adjust the volume dial on your stereo! With Acoustica MP3 CD Burner, you ... (view more)

After sending out three newsletters last week that dealt with watching downloading movies on a DVD player / entertainment system, I received two (somewhat related) questions from Infopackets Readers over the weekend. The first question comes from ... Reader Manny K., who writes: " Dear Dennis, Please forgive me if my question has already been answered in your newsletter; however, I'm a tad curious if you happen to know whether or not those do-it-yourself DVD/CD scratch repair schemes actually work? I'm not talking the those repair kits you buy at the electronic stores -- I'm talking about ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Don S. writes: " Thank you for your ongoing coverage of watching downloaded movies on a home entertainment system [see: article 1 | article 2 ]. After reading your first article, it prompted me to email you with my solution. I ... recently purchased a non-wireless, standalone DVD unit that is capable of playing back .AVI, .MPEG, and almost anything else that I can throw at it. And, it only cost me $89.95. You can search the web for similar players, as they're fairly new in the market. " My response: $89.95 is a very reasonable price to pay for a feature-packed DVD ... (view more)

Synopsis: Are you ready for an out-of-this-word challenge? AstroRaid is a crazy retro style space shooter that features crazy space aliens, weapons, and bonuses that will have you glued to your computer for the next few weeks! You'll need plenty of ... luck (and skill) to play AstroRaid because it's not only addictive, but extremely challenging! AstroRaid: Screenshots Click to view: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3. AstroRaid: The Fate of Humanity is in Your Hands Add one part Space Invaders, one part Galaga, and one part Asteroids ... shake vigorously, and voila -- now you've got a modern version of an ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Chris B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I read with great interest your latest article, ' Watch downloaded movies on DVD player? '. I have one more suggestion for your Readers -- actually, it's more of a twist on a suggestion you already ... provided. For those who already own a video card with the 'TV out' feature: instead of running cables over a long distance (which may end up costing a fortune), I believe it would be equally feasible (or even cheaper) to purchase a wireless video transmitter and receiver combo package, and hook it up to the 'TV out' port of the video card. The ... (view more)

Synopsis: If you enjoyed our review on BVS Solitaire , you'll *love* BVS Video Poker v1.3.1 for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP! BVS Video Poker is an enjoyable and extremely addictive card game that simulates video poker gambling machines. Featuring the ... most commonly found machines in casinos, including: Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Joker Poker -- and many more, BVS Video Poker is the only Video Poker you'll ever need! BVS Video Poker: Screenshots Click to view: Page 1. BVS Video Poker: Go Big or Go Home! BVS Video Poker trains you to use the best long-term strategies when playing poker. Each ... (view more)

Synopsis: If you think all professional video editing software is expensive, think again! Video Edit Magic is a Windows video editing application that gives you high-end power at a very affordable entry-level price. Simple enough for Newbies, yet ... powerful enough for Advanced Users, Video Edit Magic's drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to capture video footage onto the editing timeline and assemble a movie in mere minutes! Video Edit Magic v4: Full Range of Features Add professional scene transitions, some background music, a couple of title effects, and get ready to show the world your ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Barbara B. writes: " Hi Dennis, Again, thanks for all of your hard work on your great newsletter, which is so much help for so many people. Now, my husband has a question regarding playback of downloaded DVD videos, movies, etc. ... He can download and burn these videos and can play them back on the computer. However, the problem is that we cannot play the movies on our DVD equipment (hooked up to your family television set). What is involved in this? Is there some kind of solution? Thanks so much for any assistance you might be able to give us. " My response: The ... (view more)