capture

Because it lacked any kind of real help feature, our first impression of this free utility was not a good one. But after we played around with it for a few minutes, it proved to be a decent screen capture tool.

Once activated, ScreenParts introduced a transparent window to our desktop. We found that we could easily resize the window by dragging and dropping the corners, but it wasn't quite clear where to go from there. A right-click revealed a menu that contained options for resizing the window, resetting the capture counter, and configuring the capture timer. In Settings, … Read more

SnagIt 9 makes screen shots as glamorous as they'll get, letting you capture any part of your screen, from a partial image to the entire contents of a scrolling window. You can grab images of Web sites and software applications or pictures from scanners and digital cameras. You even can capture video and record screen action in AVI format.

Version 9 completely overhauls the interface to bring the wide range of editing tools and effects to the surface with a simplified, icon-oriented menu structure that makes SnagIt even more flexible and easy to use. Tools to draw, resize, recolor, … Read more

Vista's built-in screen capture feature performs OK, but if you want more control over your screenshots, this little utility may fit the bill.

Screen Shot Pro loads in your system tray and can be configured to run at start-up. A context menu provides options for setting up the program, taking captures, or opening the directory in which it stores captures.

This utility performed well in our tests, and was very easy to use, making it a good tool for novices. We liked that we could configure the output in JPEG, PNG, and BMP formats and could adjust the quality … Read more

Perform microsurgery on your friends and family in this fun game that brings back memories of old-school arcade games. You play as Dr. Awesome, a young doctor just getting his feet wet in the OR. The game uses your iPhone contact list for the patients you will need to operate on to remove several virus strains. The gameplay is much like the arcade classic Qix in which you move your icon to capture sections of the gameplay screen in an effort to capture a set percentage of the entire screen. In Dr. Awesome you need to cut away (or capture) … Read more

The straightforward, sunny Jing Project is one of the easiest ways to grab and share screenshots and videos straight from your PC. The interface, half a lemon yellow sphere, sits at the top of your screen, waiting for you to hover over it to begin capturing the image or screencast in a crosshair.

You'll be able to annotating images and review videos, but copying, saving, and sharing them is what Jing is really about. Version 2.0 adds a useful Help Center and lets you configure new buttons that will upload your creations to Flickr, an FTP account, or … Read more

This all-in-one freebie isn't my most beloved freeware, but it's something that may appeal to users who want desktop-enhancement and system-management tools packed into one program. Capture .NET's translucent interface houses a clock, calendar, a screen-capture tool, file converter, and a privacy eraser. Amazingly, this chock-a-block application only eats up a small amount of memory and is portable, running from an EXE file.

Capture .NET's system-tray icon displays the current date and zodiac sign. You can view a lunar calendar and see the time zone and current time for locations around the world. There's a … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--On Tuesday, the DVD version of the mega-hit film Iron Man will be released, and to celebrate, the visual effects superstars at Industrial Light & Magic decided to show off just a little bit more magic behind the movie.

Back in April, ILM invited me and a couple of my colleagues to their fantastic facilities here for a look at the technology behind the famous suit used in Iron Man. Recently, they invited us back to see how the seamless animation in some of the film's scenes--such as one famous shot involving the throwing of an Audi--was produced.

In particular, they wanted to give us the inside scoop on the motion-capture technology used to create a number of the film's scenes, a technology that is increasingly being used today that allows directors to see, in real time, while the actors are acting, what animated sequences will look like.

That's why we--myself, CNET reporter Kara Tsuboi, and a cameraman--spent several hours on an ILM image capture stage last week: So that Tsuboi could don a motion-capture suit and we could all see how footage of her would translate instantly into an animated Iron Man scene.

The idea is that George Lucas--who owns the effects studio--wants to give filmmakers advanced technological tools that provide them with flexibility and efficiency. And so he staffs ILM with the kinds of people who can make that happen.

"We understand the entire process," said ILM digital supervisor Michael Sanders, "from writing code to animating creatures to even shooting live elements. So we know each layer in the process. We understand the vision of the key creatives and understand" what the actors are going to do.

The technology used at ILM--and elsewhere, as well--allows directors to mix real filmmaking and virtual spaces, but with full camera control, depth of field, tracking, and panning. The upshot? A filmmaker can have an entire digital set created, then have an actor perform on the image capture stage wearing the motion-capture suit, and see, as the filming is happening, how the actor's character looks superimposed on the digital background. … Read more

For many Windows users, the only screen-capture tools they'll ever need are the Print Screen key (in conjunction with the Alt key when they want to capture only the active window) and Windows' own Paint utility.

Others need the industrial-strength features of a commercial screen-grab utility such as TechSmith's $50 SnagIt (30-day free trial available).

The rest of us can make do just fine with the Snipping Tool that comes with Vista and is available in XP via the Microsoft Experience Pack for Tablet PC. (Note that the program runs on all versions of XP, not just tablets.)… Read more

The team behind the screen-recording utility Camtasia have released a simplified, experimental version of the technology, packaged into a nice downloadable application for Windows and Mac called the Jing Project.

Jing makes it very easy to grab screenshots and videos straight from your PC, and then save them or share them on the Web. The coolest part of this experiment--in theory--is Jing's integration with Screencast.com, a hosting service for videos recorded off your computer. Once you've recorded a video, you can save it to your Screencast account, and from there you can get an embed code to … Read more