Customer Reviews

Cook'n with Taste of Home [Old Version]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I thoroughly researched all of the cooking software products before I made my purchase. Sierra was the industry leader but I discovered that they have discontinued their MasterCook line. Their products do not work on Windows XP or Windows 2000. Several other products are from fly by night companies. Since I want to enter all of my own recipes, I wanted a product from a company that was going to be around for a while. That's why I was intrigued with DVO's Cook'n.

DVO has been around for nine years and it looks like they will be here for a while longer too because cooking is all they do. Their product is everything I hoped it would be. There are a couple areas that can use improvement but over-all it's very solid. I found out that they offer free upgrades over the Internet every month. They take customer suggestions and make the software better and better each time. I can't complain about that! The price is right too. I am very happy with my purchase.

There are two reasons to buy recipe software. The first is for the recipes. I did not buy the software for the recipes and I have not tried any recipes. I bought it for the second reason: to manage my recipes using their software. Generally the software works and it is better than the old DOS based software that I have used for years. There are some problems:

1) When printing, you can not specify how many copies you want. Each time you print, you must go through the whole routine.

2) Once you assign a recipe to a category, it stays. As far as I can tell you can not unassign a category.

3) The documentation is poor. The user has to be willing to experiment to figure out how it works. For example, the "Close" button is really a "Save and Close". If you use the little x in the upper right hand corner, nothing is saved.

4) On my computer, the mouse is deactivated whenever a pop-up box appears. To get my mouse working again, I have to press the tab key. This is true for the print box, the intro box, the exit box, etc...

I e-mailed DVO about problems 2 and 4. For problem 2, I received no response (I sent 3 e-mails on this problem). On Problem 4, I received a prompt response requesting more information. I responded. I waited. After a couple of weeks, I was told that I my problem is unique. It might be my mouse driver. I downloaded a new mouse driver from Microsoft. No change. I have over fifty programs on my system. The only place this problem appears is on DVO software. I may have a system problem, but, something DVO is doing is contributing.

This software is better than my old software. The software does have some nice features such scaling the menu for the number of servings requested and allowing photographs to be attached to recipes. I will continue using it but I have not ceased looking for better program. Maybe DVO will read this and fix the weaknesses.

I never tried the software with my PDA since it does not work with Pocket PC's. It likes the Palm OS.

The menu planner seems to work.

NOTE:

After I posted this review, DVO sent me an e-mail on how to delete categories from recipes. It works, but the documention still is missing this piece of information.

I purchased this software, just so I could download grocery lists into the palm for grocery store shopping. I soon discovered it could do much more for me. I am always asked by friends to write down my recipes...now, it's just a click away. No more looking for pen and paper and writing it a hundred times.
I can even print the recipes out using decorative cards. I finally have a recipe box that everything is a uniform size,legible, and decorative at the same time. I just can't say enough about this awesome software!

I love the Taste of Home magazine. I have been a subscriber for years but have a hard time finding recipes from past issues. I was THRILLED to see that they finally computerized their recipes. I was so excited to receive the CD...but imagine my surprise when it finally came and I discovered all of the features! I had no idea Cook'n could do so much!! I was like a kid in a candy store!

The software is very easy to use. It does everything I want and more. I highly recommend it to everyone. Kudos DVO. Great job!!

I got this for my mom as a Christmas present. She was looking for a way for storing her recipes on the computer. She loves how simple the program is to setup and get started. She set up her own cookbook with chapters she wanted and started adding recipes with 30 minutes.

I have been using this program daily for the last 6 months. I have 7 books and hundreds of chapters. I have added over 3,000 recipes.

Don is not the best for tech support. On my own, I figured that if you have a 'Windows' keyboard, there is a key in the bottom right of the type writter keyboard; it has an arrow and three lines, the first of which is highlighted. Wneh you are on the Internet, yuo can use this key to copy recipes and paste them in the software!...

I absolutely LOVE this product! I searched the internet, searched Amazon, searched everywhere I could think of to find the best interactive recipe program and this out-weighed all the others BY FAR! So, I spent my hard earned money and bought it...I am IN LOVE! I don't cook a meal without referring to this program first! I have added GOBS of recipes to it already and have a stack of things I still want to put. I also have plans to order everything they put out!
If pressed, I would have to say that my favorite featur is the WONDERFUL help you get from the folks over at DVO. When I wanted to buy this I e-mailed their support system FIRST to see what it could do and couldn't...they replied within 12 hours the first time...then my normal curious self kept replying with new questions and they would answer immediately!! I haven't had a question since buying the program, but I KNOW they would jump up to answer if I did!
GREAT GREAT GREAT! Is 5 stars enough?

After subscribing to Taste of Home Magazine since it was first published, I was very happy to see the Taste of Home program offered by DVO Cook'n. I purchased the software and think it is the BEST recipe software available. The recipes are great and the program VERY EASY to use.

Since then I have given it as gifts to several friends and they also are VERY happy with it.

I have now ordered the DVO Cook'n Deluxe and Grillin software and can't wait for it to arrive.

And finally I have been able to add my own recipes to this program, which is nice to have all the recipes I use together and organized.

I can't say enough about DVO & Cook'n, HIGHLY recommended to any cook !

NOTE: When transfering the program to my new computer I had problems, e-mailed DVO and received an immediate response with the answer to my problem !! Excellent troubleshooting!

Thanks!

I recently got a new computer and discovered to my dismay my cookbook program was not compatable with Windows XP. I subscribe to "A Taste Of Home" and when searching for a new program, this one popped up. Installing was a breeze, but I do have a problem with having to keep the CD in the computer. I tried to do the update that I think will solve this problem, but living in the booddocks as I do, my connection speed is not the best (and that is being charitable!) and it is not stable enough to survive a long download. Other than that, the program appears to be quite good. It has taken a while to learn the ins and outs of all the various and sundry applications, but that is me, not the program. I think it might be a bit complicated for a first timer, but that really isn't a negative. Support seems to be first rate, and customer service is very responsive. If you need/want another cookbook program, I highly recommend this one.

This is a wonderful piece of software with great recipes. You can easily add your favorite recipes to it, and you can download extra recipes from DVO's online site.