cheers
asiavr

my example
http://lowellharvestparade.dvd-tour.com/

The monoslideshow *is* elegant and simple in that it just starts right up and takes off without requiring any interaction beyond the first click.
But that’s exactly the problem — it takes off before I’m ready, and goes at its own pace, without reference to the pace at which I want to view it;
and, indeed, there is no hint as to how to make it stop,
short of using the browser’s own “Back” button.
Beyond that, I found the “transitions” upon displaying each new image made me a little seasick;
all that up-and-down motion really got to me.
Regardless of whether the motion was a X, Y, or combination translation, or a zoom in or out,
it was distracting from the actual images.
I realize that that may not be a built-in feature of the software;
it may be just how you happened to configure this particular presentation.
Also, and I’m guessing that this *is* a feature of the software, and not your personal choice,
monoslideshow required me to maximize my browser window, i.e. cover my entire monitor;
otherwise, part of the image(s) was cut off at the bottom.
The image(s) didn’t resize themselves to fit the browser window that I as user am happy with.
As a viewer, I really dislike a site that does this, and will tend to avoid it.

Simpleviewer is, yes, a little clunky by today’s standards,
which may say more about the inappropriateness of today’s standards
than about the fitness of that software for its purpose.
I found the interface quite intuitive based on my particular experience of the web –
there’s obviously a large image with a bunch of small images off to one side,
so it seems clear that the little images are “thumbnails” of a set of images to be viewed.
Clicking on any of the thumbnails does indeed immediately display a large version of the image.
The image comes up quickly, without a lot of distracting fanfare,
and the experience is entirely viewer-paced and viewer-ordered.
The one thing that did confuse me was the big arrowhead;
my first expectation was that it would start a slide show;
I was surprised when, instead, it merely “paged” to a different set of thumbnails.
But once I realized that, it was fine.

In regard to your comment to Linda –
It’s too bad you (and we) don’t have an interface that allows both.
There *are* such interfaces; they’re just not specifically intended for real estate.
I think that the ideal would be a place for a main image
(that resizes itself according to the current size of the window)
and a set of the most obvious buttons underneath (or somewhere)
for First, Previous, Next, Last, Play, and Stop, and perhaps a Rate control,
probably calibrated in seconds per image.

@Aaron
Before my experience using monoslideshow on a listing I would have argued with you but not today. Simple is the best.