What our customer's say!"SureThing the Swindler", I'm writing this review as a cautionary tale to other unsuspecting customers of Surething. I purchased a Lacie drive 3 months ago which came bundled with the Surething Labeler software. I bought the drive in order to be able to use the cool new Lightscribe technology.
After buying the product I tried to install it on my Windows Vista 64Bit OS but found that it would not install. I thought it was likely due to me having Vista installed in 64bit mode because many apps were reported to have issues on 64bit so I reinstalled Vista to 32 bit. I then found the software still didn't work.
I attempted to contact lacie for support but they simply ignore my request for about a week. SureThing at least replied but said; sorry you'll have to buy another version of SureThing. One would think that SureThing would do right by their existing customer base and offer a patched version of SureThing 4 for Vista . No Vista update or fix for whatever shortcomings their Version 4 had. Just more money. After several emails the best I got was a weak analogy from their tech rep about bad parts in Toyotas but no useful help. Thanks SureThing.
Be warned about the poor customer experience you're likely to receive from SureThing & Lacie.
"Fixes the annoyances of Version 3", There were several problems with Version 3 that made me give it a 3 star review. And those things have been fixed. Thank goodness!
1) I can type a playlist, save it as a text file, and import it easily. I don't mind typing a bit...that way I get the format I like. But importing a txt file is a big improvement.
2) Aspect ratio is retained when scaling an image. It used to require a sure eye and care to keep the aspect image.
3) And now images can be imported directly from the interface--I used to open an image program, copy from there, and paste into the label. No more.
4) More flavors and more flexibility in editing layouts.
5) Creating a text frame is much easier...I make a lot of compilation CDs, and want to place text where I want. Much easier to do now.
6) Some simple image editing is included...very nice. If I imported an image and couldn't make it fit, I had to go back to my image program and fix it, then re-import. Not major stuff, but enough to fix small problems nicely.
There are others, but these are the issues I found most annoying with the old version. And they are gone.
One more thing. I have put these labels on several hundred CDs since about 2001 or so. I have never had one not play as a result of the label, or never had a problem withthe label peeling off or obstructing the player in any way.
Works great--worth the money for a simple, superior product.
"It's so easy", I got this software 2 days ago. Without reading any of the help or doing the tutorials, I was able to create and print CD inserts. I've made 4 so far and each time I get better. It's simple to import file info from Windows Media Player. For me I have to bring it in as a file which is no problem because it is one of the options, it just looks like you should be able to bring it in from the player itself. Of course, maybe you can and I just haven't read the instructions. I was able to create an insert from a picture I have saved in a jpeg file. This is the first software of this type I have used so I have no comparison but I doubt that I'll going looking for anything new. But, in comparison to PrintMaster or even worse Paint Shop this is a snap. Everything is intuitive. This is the best $25 software I have ever bought.
"Excellent labeling software--powerful and fun to use", I've been using SureThing Labeler since Version 2, and it just keeps getting better and better. I regularly use this software for data CD's and backups so I can easily tell what I've put on the disk.
If you follow the Design Wizard, the software will lead you to create labels for CDs, jewel cases and spine labels, zip disks, tape cassettes, hub labels and mini disks, to mention a few. If you have a printer and an appropriate label stock, you can label your home media with custom-created art.
I tried out SureThing for several applications: the method for labeling any CD is similar. In this case, I was creating a design for a set of recovery disks for my HP computer. This required 6 CD-R's and I wanted a good label for this valuable set of disks. I used the Design Wizard. I could have used the backgrounds provided by SureThing. There are quite a few of them, based on anything from landscapes to random textures or designs from microscopy or nature. But I used my own background. By browsing my "My Pictures" folder, SureThing showed me how various graphic files would look stretched into a circular background. I had created a an appropriate background for the HP in Photoshop, so I used this picture as my background. Then I added a photo of the actual computer the recovery disks were made for, using a digital image I created previously. I chose a design template I happen to like called "Bubbly" which has a semi-circular clear area cutting into the background. The title of the CD is arced text around the edge of this intersecting segment. I then scrolled through various font styles and chose something readable. If you don't like the fonts in the Wizard, you can highlight the text and format another font you may have installed.
I then added a text section for "Disk 1 of 6, 2 of 6" etc and the date and time. I printed the labels and attached them to my recovery CD's using the SureThing stomper, a sort of plastic plate that holds the label sticky-side-up so you can pop the cd face down onto it and get a smooth application. In a few minutes of work, I had a set of 6 nicely-labeled CD's, clearly marked as to what they were. If I ever have to do a recovery on my PC, I will be able to find these easily in my CD file.
I tried making a jewel case label and a spine label. Again, using the Wizard, it was easy. If you are burning a CD for your car, you can download a playlist and have it inserted into the design without retyping the song titles. You can also make your own designs, chosing layout, text, font and design without using the Wizard or by modifying an existing design.
Version 4 of SureThing has many more CD label formats; Version 3 did not have the particular Fellowes-Neato label I buy at my local office supply but Version 4 has it in the label stock and that's what I used. It was perfect. There is a print-align feature so you can test the accuracy of your alignment, and you can choose to print 2 up (on a 2 up label) or just one of them, saving the second label for later. The software shows you which label you will print, top or bottom in this case, and if you click on the space, it shifts the label up or down. So if the top label is used, you can shift down and print the bottom label later on.
Though not always the easiest software to use, if you follow the Wizards, SureThing V. 4 is pretty simple. As you get familiar with the software, you can get more daring and create your own designs and even forms to fit brands of labels for which no template is included. This is done by measuring various placement dimensions (very accurately down to 16th's of an inch) and choosing the layout (2 up, 3 up, vertical, with spines, with hub labels, etc) that best fits your custom label. The average person, following the Wizard, should have no trouble to make great labels.
Summary: this is very powerful software that will help you make very nice labels for CD's and other media. It's full of clip art, graphics, backgrounds, and text effects, and it is a lot of fun to use.
"If there is a better label program I'd like to see it", I've used many labeling programs over the years and SureThing wins hands down. The best thing about SureThing is how many pre-printed stock labels it supports. No matter what brand of CD labels, insert cards, etc that you buy, chances are SureThing has a template for it right there in the menu. One of the things I find most frustrating with other programs is the lack of out of the box support. Sometimes a certain label stock gets discontinued or becomes hard to find and you're forced to switch. Other times genertic labels that are just as good are much cheaper than some of the known brands, so to have a program that supports almost everything will cut down on the frustration time. SyreThing is also updated regularly. Very good especially the support for new labels that come out. If you're connected to the net you can check for updates from within the program and download them from the SureThing's web site.
The interface looks very attractive and more importantly it's very functional and easy to use. Another labeling program I used has a great looking interface but it was very slow, even on my Pentium4 2.0 GHZ system with 1000MB of RAM. The built-in selection of background images that comes with SureThing are very nice. You can have quick professional looking labels with just a few clicks. Also all the images can be used on every single template, which is great if you want to create a set of labels that actually match. I've noticed other programs will give you template images for a CD, but you can't use that same image for the case without losing quality. All in all, this is the best labeling software I've used, and well worth the price. SureThing has a fully functional 15-day free trial version of the program available for downloading at their web site. Try before you buy.
