Recognising that the Linux desktop market is only going to grow, and that there's money to made in the corporate arena, Sun's Java Desktop 2003 is squarely aimed at companies looking for a cheap, easy, and compatible alternative to Microsoft's (often expensive) dominance.

An excellent phone for businesses and consumers, although some will find the lack of 3G a concern

Fast, well built and superbly featured - our business laptop of choice.

Make no mistake, this is one heavyweight of a notebook. The 3.3kg of the Satellite 2800 accounts for some of this, but otherwise it applies to some of the exceptional features found on this model.

It looks like a standard webcam, but the Axis 205 is cleverer than that. Its internal web server and 10/100 Ethernet port mean it can be directly connected to and accessed by anyone on the network.

The annual battle of the small business accounting programs has flared again as both MYOB and Quicken roll-out their 2004 editions. While both have made several tweaks and additions to last year’s models, the main difference this time around is in MYOB’s new product activation model. While many users will consider it overkill, there is little doubt that MYOB and others have suffered as a result of software piracy over the years and this time MYOB is determined to stop it.

The most intensely anticipated phone over the last six months in our labs has to be the HTC Dream. Read our first look here.

The Athlon64 has only been out a short while, and although it's an excellent processor, from all accounts it's not selling as well as it should be.

Sometimes people have good ideas but desperately need some advice on how to put them into action. This survivor's guide is a case in point.

Great if you have foreign accounts to manage, but only average otherwise.

Once you get past the Taurus extremely small form factor and use it, its best feature becomes apparent: its ease of use.

Voice E-mail is an add on to Maxiworks E-Mail Express (sold with the program). Priced at $32.95 without a microphone, or $49.95 with, there is no doubt that the program delivers what youd want in an email package, but there is a lack of sophistication thats generally expected in todays programs.

Plenty of features for such a small box. If you don’t already have a wireless router, this is a fantastic choice.

One of the cheapest 500GB drives here, but this is reflected in the lack of features and slow transfer speeds.

An almost perfect security suite, combining simplicity and solid protection with excellent value for money.

One day Microsoft might realise that forcing its customers to have a Bill Gates issued 'passport' to use services on the internet sticks in people's gullets like a jagged fishbone. In the case of Microsoft Money you need a passport if you want to take advantage of its online banking services, but once you do sign up you find that it is the one area of an otherwise excellent program that does not work properly.

Great performance, near-silent running and the FTP server make the Buffalo a great alternative to the Maxtor.

Superb performance, quiet running and excellent value for home use, especially if you want to stream media.

The iDshot from Sanyo is the latest digital still-cum-digital video camera in a package that can capture still images between 640 x 480 and 1,360 x 1,024 pixels.

Not the fastest or quietest here, but it does offer some unique business benefits.