Stack your system full of software without paying a penny, with our guide to essential downloads

Great in day-to-day use, but poor software and high price dent its appeal.

A nice idea, particularly for PSP owners, but it’s ultimately too restrictive to be considered a must-have item.

Stacks of potential, but current hardware is underwhelming and the client software a mess.

The format wars continue as Blu Ray comes to a monster laptop at a monster price.

Microsoft has always included a number of bundled applications with Windows, but Vista takes it further than ever. Here’s a look at the main attractions.

Flexible, beautifully designed and reasonably priced. An excellent attempt to attract the masses.

A promising start for Apple’s living-room takeover, but we’re still waiting for the best bits.

A flexible and powerful livingroom PC that ticks almost all the right boxes, as well as being great value.

A bargain route to getting HD DVD playback for your PC or Xbox, but there are limitations.

It's expensive, but the YES Box successfully marries high-end and consumer features in a flexible and scalable device.

A promising debut for UMPCs, but the controls are tricky to master

Some intriguing new technology and genuinely useful features make Home Server one to watch.

Find out how Microsoft’s impressive new OS will share and back up all the data on your home PCs, among other tricks.