The bane of every computer user isn't just losing data, it also includes having to reinstall everything again after a format.

Painter 7 is a digital painting application that simulates the realistic subtleties of an artist's style using natural media, such as water colours, inks, oil paints, coloured pencils, felt pens, chalks, pastels, and more.

The menu setup panel is where DVD menu layouts are customised with thumbnails, backgrounds and music.

Selecting the right photo editing software can be a difficult task, given the number of capabilities offered in today's graphics packages.

Video editing can make or break those home movies of your latest adventure or that important business presentation. Until recently you only had the choice of some expensive professional, or some fairly crude software packages, but over recent years Ulead has put video editing within the reach of most video camera users, and at a reasonable price.

This camera is so small you can put it in your pocket just like a mobile phone, yet it packs quite a punch. Compared with earlier cameras, the DCR-IP7 has been improved and added to, and is no longer just a video camera for home movies and still shots.

Hitachi DZ-MV100A

Home videos are great fun but we seldom manage to record each scene on our cameras in exactly the right order to create a flow of video and sound that is pleasing and easy to watch. In many cases it could bore the socks off most viewers.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the size and performance of this digital format. The cameras are a fraction of the size of the old camcorders we used to lug around the countryside, the batteries last longer, the tapes get smaller and, the quality gets better.