Printer manufacturers have steadily been increasing the number of ink cartridges in their top of the range photo printers on the basis that the more basic colours they have to work with the more precise the overall result.

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.

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.

Portability has been talked about a lot recently, and people are starting to get used to the fact that their printer can be just as portable as the rest of their equipment. Canon has been offering portable laptop printers for several years and selling just enough of them to persevere, however, with the digital camera boom they are starting to come into their own.

If you had asked me a few weeks ago what the advantages of eight megapixels (MP) were over five, I would have said very few. However, that was before I discovered the fun factor in being able to play with an image that is up to 115cm by just over 86cm (72dpi).

Once upon a time not too long ago, your average inkjet printer had a single tricolour ink cartridge. Of course, the print quality was fairly ordinary, but it did the job. Today, with digital cameras the norm and home users wanting to print their own photographs, your photo printer may have as many as eight different ink cartridges.

If you are serious about converting paper documents to editable text then this is the way to go. A decade ago it would have cost close to $50,000 for a system that allowed you to rapidly scan multiple paper documents into editable, searchable and archivable electronic documents. Today it can be done for less than $1300 and the cost of a scanner with an automatic document feeder.