With the free products on our new cover DVD, you need never buy software again. So why do we still keep paying?

Climb the steps all the way to Windows guru status with our invaluable selection of tips and shortcuts for XP and Vista.

Get your licensing shop in order before you build you new server.

Not Apache, MySQL or Firefox, but lesser-known apps that serve a particular function very well – a Top Ten of open-source applications you’ve never heard of.

Mike MacCana ponders the wine industry, rants online, and discovers a neat tip for intra-server messaging...

Still not sure whether it's worth upgrading to Vista? We put XP and Vista through the ultimate face-off.

Leigh Dyer looks at Sun’s attempts to keep Solaris relevant in a Linux world.

David Kidd investigates why open source software still falls into the same old traps

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

Every expert has a toolkit. Tim Dean takes you through the 10 tools any Windows expert cannot live without. So, to give you a head start, here are PC Authority's top 10 tools for the ultimate Windows user.

Is your PC the stable, error-free platform you need? We didn't think so. Leigh Dyer, David Kidd and Ty Pendlebury present the essential guide to fixing your PC.

This year's CeBIT was a mecca for demonstration and discussion of technology. Here are some of the highlights.

One of the longest running battles in the computer industry has been between open systems and closed proprietary ones. The term closed refers to systems where the standards are set by the manufacturer

Want to break free from a Microsoft world? Leigh Dyer looks at the alternatives.

Where's the #@$%? Device Manager in Windows Vista? Steve Polak exlains how to find all the system settings you know from Windows XP, in the sometimes confusing Vista interface.

1960 Hypertext Conventional wisdom has it that the Internet started off as an American defence and educational network, then Tim Berners-Lee came along and invented the World

It's an accepted fact that most Microsoft Office users only ever use about 20 percent of the suite's capabilities, often because they don't have the time to learn about all of the goodies it contains. Excel, with its complicated interface and feature overload is notorious for baffling even experienced users. However, many of its features are very useful in their own right.

Linux doesn't have to be a silent workhorse. Leigh Dyer examines the state of sound support in Linux

Content management systems promise to take the drudgery out of site maintenance. Angus Kidman looks under the hood.

Ever wondered what a particular acronym stands for? Find the answer in our comprehensive reference guide to computer industry acronyms. RTFM!