Opinions of rosetta stone for learning spanish or any other language programs?

It is not COMPLETELY worthless, but it is certainly not worth what they charge. Don't forget the price has to cover their huge advertising budget. There are many free programs online that are much better. Inselstricken is right as usual. The BBC program is much more complete, and of higher quality.

I've heard that Rosetta Stone is very good from a few friends.

The problem comes when people seem to think that a language tape or book will learn the language for them. You still need to work hard. In the same way that some people say nicotine gum doesn't work (they still smoke, after all) but it's not the gum that makes them smoke!

I've never used books or tapes to learn a language, I've picked up the languages I speak from living and working in the countries that I've lived and worked in. (I used the Internet to double check the grammar after I had a solid enough foundation to form broken sentences.) I'm not a big fan of learning languages in a foreign (i.e home) setting because you have no immersion. You think in a certain language for an hour or two, then you drop straight back into your mother tongue as soon as the phone rings or you pop out to the shops. That's not to say it's impossible but it takes a huge amount of dedication.

Rosetta stone might have a free trial online or you could borrow a copy from a friend (there are other ways to obtain it but they're less than legal and you might have a BIT of a TORRENT of legal problems should you be caught (see what I did there?)) If money's not too much of an issue go for it! There are no guarantees with courses like this and it's all down to the individual how much they get out of them.

It costs a lot of money.

Here, try something free first: www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish