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 - Love this softwareDon't listen to the bitter Vista guy. If you have Vista then you probably figured out a lot of things are incompatible. That's Microsoft's fault though. This software is fun and really helps you learn fast. The new version rocks, I like that is kind of forces you to speak right away. It's well worth getting, I've already been through Spanish and I plan on going through several more. It does work with Intel Macs too in case you're wondering, that's what I use. Word. Rating:  - Not compatible with VistaDon't waste your money or time with this program. It is not compatible with Windows Vista, and even if it were, it's more trouble than it's worth. It is incredibly boring. The headset provided with the software records only static from the microphone, despite following the instructions for setting it up, thus no matter how good your accent, the software will give you failing marks. I struggled with it for three days before the software stopped working altogether. Better to check out Instant Immersion French Platinum Edition from Topics Entertainment. Rating: - Amazing software -- I'm hooked!I've been interested in languages for years. I've spent many, many thousands of dollars on language learning aids. I have to say that, although I was very skeptical about buying it, this one is truly amazing. I was afraid to buy it because of the cheesy computer language programs I'd seen years ago. But this software is excellent -- they've come a long way with these programs. The photography is beautiful and the speech analysis software is astounding. You can set the strictness of the speech analyzer from 1 to 10. I set it on the hardest since I want to have a really good accent. Installation was trivial. Very, very easy to install on a Windows XP. They are also good about customer service. Another nice feature is that you can have multiple users and it will keep track of each person's progress independently. I had one gripe about the volume control not being located in the software itself. Rather irritating. Apparently it used to be, but is now just controlled outside the application in the volume control settings on your computer. And the specific setting on a Windows computer that it uses is the "Wave" volume setting. The Pimsleur audio cds I have are great in that you acquire an excellent accent and learn to speak well, but it takes some real dedication to get through all the recordings and you don't learn to read. The Capretz "French in Action" series is fantastic, but quite expensive for the entire video program, books, audio, etc. This one, while also somewhat expensive, is a lot of fun. It is highly effective for teaching speech, writing, and reading. It is entertaining in the same way that playing games on the computer can be entertaining. I would say that the only thing it does not teach is conversational skills, but that is why I would suggest using it in conjunction with Pimsleur and other tools. I use all three of these tools but this one is perhaps the most fun. The "French in Action" video program is also a lot of fun to watch, but the workbook and audio lessons require a fair amount of effort (but are effective). I learn to speak with Pimsleur, to understand spoken French with "French in Action", and learn to write, read, pronounce French and increase my vocabulary with Rosetta Stone. I'm learning French really fast with Rosetta Stone. I'm glad I finally decided to give it a try. Note that if you purchase the product through them, (as of the date of this writing) they offer free shipping a six month return policy -- no questions asked. It may cost a bit more than getting it through other means, but if you are concerned about whether it is right for you, it may be worth it to check out their guarantee policy. But if you are already sure you want to keep it, it is worthwhile getting it on sale elsewhere. They offer this guarantee because they are pretty confident about their product, and I can see why they would be.
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