Home videos are great fun but we seldom manage to record each scene on our cameras in exactly the right order to create a flow of video and sound that is pleasing and easy to watch. In many cases it could bore the socks off most viewers.

Daikin may be more familiar to some as the producer of Scenarist, a high-end professional package which has been used in the authoring of many major blockbusters.

A worthy update to the most underrated of the Office applications — OneNote is now a must-have.

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

Computer mice are arguably the best thing since sliced bread - for computer users anyway - until you try to draw with one.

An ipod-type device for the home that looks the goods and scores well in our tests.

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...

MACROMEDIA E-LEARNING STUDIO

A rewritten front end makes Excel’s significant power far more accessible than before.

Useful for the very basics, but it’s early days for Google’s latest venture.

Vector graphics

Video editing can make or break those home movies of your latest adventure or that important business presentation. Until recently you only had the choice of some expensive professional, or some fairly crude software packages, but over recent years Ulead has put video editing within the reach of most video camera users, and at a reasonable price.

The HomePlug networking standard has been around in the States and other countries for a few years, and has proven a popular alternative to running CAT 5 cabling in your walls or for the (then) expensive cost of setting up a wireless network. HomePlug is wired networking for sure, but it uses an existing infrastructure in your office or domicile: your copper electricity power 'network' that feeds your TV, hair-dryer, fridge and any other electrical appliance the juice it needs to run. In short, HomePlug uses your house's electrical wiring.

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

Despite various attempts at Windows Desktop alternatives, Linux is still best suited to servers, for which Red Hat is by far the most popular choice. With this in mind, it came as no surprise when in May 2002 Red Hat split its product line in two: Linux and Enterprise Linux.

How many acronyms can a monitor have before it chokes on its own resolution? We have all come to expect CRTs, LCDs, TFTs and God knows what else but now Samsung has come up with a monitor with so many acronyms it will leave you gasping.

The man behind Ultima tries to reinvent the online RPG and partially succeeds with this robust MMO.

It has been over two years since we previewed Office XP, but Microsoft has finally given us a glimpse of Office 2003. The finished version should be on the shelves by the end of July, but will it be worth the upgrade? The answer could be an emphatic 'yes' if you're a Tablet PC user, as Microsoft has just launched OneNote (see page 59), making full use of electronic ink. The company is also introducing InfoPath (see page 59) for designing electronic forms, with the flexibility of XML. The classic apps have also had their seen refurbishment, with Outlook (page 56) getting the most attention, and FrontPage and Publisher (page 58) a bit of a revamp.

Behind-the-scenes changes make a huge difference, even if the interface is inconsistent.

Flexible, beautifully designed and reasonably priced. An excellent attempt to attract the masses.