It may be costly, but if you need accurate OCR for mass document digitisation, this package fits the bill admirably.

Ableton’s flair for innovation shows no sign of diminishing. This is the best version of Live yet.

Accurate speech recognition, a flexible control system and a good price – for those in need, Dragon delivers.

Nothing revolutionary, but this simple and affordable music-production program feels both mature and modern

With Flash media handling and integration with Acrobat.com the Acrobat platform embraces the Internet – at last

A complex but powerful tool that’s made simpler by its new Dashboard interface

Plenty of features and strong security complemented by a clean interface.

Not terribly pretty, but good security and features shine through.

A well thought out site with plenty of features, including SMS alerts.

Use the power of servers scattered all over the world to your advantage.

A latency monitor that can generate handy graphs about your broadband connection.

Refocusing on disc-related features makes Nero the top choice for optical disc authoring.

An interesting take on portable sound reproduction

You still get a lot for your money, but HD optical burning only extends to data discs

Welcome enhancements in all areas mean there’s something for everyone – even database novices

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

Improved interface and drawing capabilities, new photo matching and hand-drawn effects – and it’s still free

Yet another leap forward for After Effects, which cements its status as the leading PC video compositing tool.

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

Surround-sound support and mastering-quality plug-ins mean Sound Forge is better than ever.