TrueSpace has always led the pack in terms of features as far as Windows 3D animation packages under $2,000 are concerned. Recently, however, the market has become rather crowded, with a powerful upgrade to Ray Dream (reviewed issue 9, p100) and the cut-down version of LightWave 3D (Inspire 3D) both challenging it on features and price.

In this line of work, there's really nothing quite like the all-too-occasional experience of opening a box from Apple, and unveiling the shiny wonders squirreled away inside. In fact, it's the only event that never fails to draw all and sundry AJB staff from throughout the office into the Labs to catch a glimpse of what the tech company with only 3 percent market share worldwide has managed to innovate this time.

Disk-imaging software can be put to many varied uses, and products like Drive Image prove particularly useful in our labs when upgrading to a new hard disk or for swiftly refreshing a test system.

It sets out to create photo-realistic 3D models from 2D photos and illustrations, with the barest of tool sets and minimum user input.

When Macromedia released the first Dreamweaver almost three years ago it was welcomed with open arms by professional Web developers.

It turns out that Microsoft [I]is[/I] bringing out Windows XP Media Center Edition in Australia, but until such time as it materialises -- and Microsoft Australia is being very sketchy on the dates -- those of us looking to integrate our PC media files with our televisions and hi-fi systems have to turn to bridging solutions.

New wizards make it easier to use, and the range of operations is impressive for such a reasonable price

When Symantecs Norton Ghost 2002 was released last year, it offered few improvements, with support for Windows XP the only significant addition. Not so with Drive Image 2002.

Adobe Photoshop is so dominant when it comes to print and Web-based bitmap-editing that, in many ways, it has come to define the whole field...

Microsoft prepares to march into Adobe territory with its forthcoming suite of graphics and web development software.

With a fantastic new suite of plug-ins on top of an already hugely powerful production environment, it’s hard to imagine a musician for whom Sonar 5 isn’t perfect.

If I'd seen one of these when I was an 8 year old, I would have gone on a hunger-strike until my parents bought me one.

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.

The Quark-killer has finally landed. For the last year, the hype about Adobe's replacement for the worthy but old-fashioned PageMaker (reviewed issue 22, p108) has been building to fever pitch.

Now a true all-in-one package thanks to file and folder backup, but it can’t match Acronis for value.

Director 8 Shockwave Studio is now the platform of choice for those sites determined to provide the richest possible Web experience

It’s business as usual, but this consummate all-rounder continues to grow in power and value.

Web Easy promises that anyone can use it to create Web sites and even a complete novice can create and publish a page in less than an hour. With only a few qualifiers this is absolutely true.

Comparatively pricey, but IBM delivers a quality rack-server package.

Maya, from Alias (previously known as Alias | Wavefront) has long been a big name in 3D animation, but after receiving an Academy Award, things look set to get even bigger. Now in its fifth incarnation, Maya should be even better than before, so what's new?