It might seem unfair comparing MYOB’s best selling single user product with Quicken’s multi-user small business accounting package, but the key difference between the two is number of licences and not the functionality.

It's that time of year again when your Symantec security products start flashing at you for their annual update. This time Symantec has not only tweaked the performance of the various products that make up its security suite, but has also endeavoured to give them a new look.

Imagine having a 'Too Hard Basket' in your accounting software where you can file problems for your accountant to sort out. It is a good idea and one that has been incorporated into this new player in the accounting software market -- with a subtle change.

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.

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.

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.

There is a growing demand for a decent all-in-one digital imaging pack that covers everything from organising your photographs to editing your videos and eventually burning them onto DVD. Ulead has attempted to provide it by bundling four of its core programs into a single package and there are few more comprehensive digital imaging suites than StudioQuartet. While the price tag is out of the range of many home users, the enthusiast will save up for it and provide themselves with everything they need to create multimedia projects.

There is little doubt that digital photography will take over from film, and it will happen sooner rather than later. As more people buy and start to use digital cameras there is an ever increasing demand for simple-to-use photo editing software that will allow them to get the best out of their photographs.

Once you have bought your digital camera it is easy to spend several hundred more dollars on photo editing software, but unless you are going to use a lot of time creating digital master pieces there are better ways of spending your money.

The big test for any interactive encyclopaedia is how well it deals with local information. Microsoft quickly learned that Australian students are not interested in an American view of the world and for the past few editions of its Encarta it has been putting a lot of effort into the Australian content.

Spam! spam! spam! spam! . . . if it had not been for Monty Python nobody would ever have thought there was anything funny about it. With almost 50 percent of the world’s email now junk mail, offering everything from unwanted penis extensions to stockmarket tips, spam has become as big a problem as viruses.

Ongoing concerns about the security of wireless networks and an increasing demand to be able to connect remotely to office and home networks has forced many people to look for a reasonably priced VPN solution. Virtual Private Networks use the Internet to establish a secure link between an external PC and a local network.

The slump in the accounting software market since the heady days leading up to the introduction of GST has seen the major players completely revamp their products. For example, QuickBooks Pro once sold for less than half its current price and was designed for small business.

Accounting software is a tough market to get into and is littered with the carcasses of many who had tried and failed to take on the established giants in Quicken and MYOB. Business Breeze is a locally designed product specifically aimed at the small business market.

When Quicken decided to revamp its range and take on MYOB’s Premier products with its new look QuickBooks Pro, MYOB countered by stepping into Quickens traditional turf at the lower end of the price range.

The lead up to the introduction of the GST was a boon for anybody with a localised accounting package...

The booming interest in genealogy created by the Internet has provided a lucrative market for programs that help the home user research and create their family tree...

Microsoft has been producing its Encarta Encyclopedia and World Atlas since the early 1990s, but despite several attempts it has never produced anything that could rightfully claim to be an Australian edition...

Simplicity is the single most important factor for any newcomer attempting to create their first Web site.