What makes PDF (Portable Document Format) unique is that it can provide an exact electronic replica of any document from any application on all major platforms, including all text, graphics and fonts. It’s an amazingly flexible format with a myriad of uses ranging from electronic manuals and e-books, through secure document exchange and archiving, to multimedia presentation and high-end commercial print.

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...

Throughout its long and chequered career – first under MetaCreations, then Procreate and now Corel – Painter has always stood out as the artistic and creative computer application bar none. The reason is simple: Painter's unique range of natural media brushes.

A new interface, drawing engine and programming language, but surprisingly little new power.

Improved interface, object and layer handling, plus integrated 3D painting add greatly to power, usability and value

COREL DESIGNER 10

With its enhanced interface, support for transparency and new collaboration features, it’s the best release in years.

Best-of-breed photo management, editing and sharing with great usability and value.

New realism for bristled brushes and automatic painting that approaches manual quality give Painter X an edge.

Macromedia Contribute (March 2003, page 57) caused considerable excitement with its ability to keep site content up-to-date, under control and within budget.

A period of transition as Adobe deals with its Macromedia inheritance and the changing nature of the web.

Photoshop moves beyond photo editing to conquer completely new territory.

Microsoft finally recognises that web authoring needs a standards-compliant tool, albeit on its own terms.

A shift of focus to advanced CSS and JavaScript handling, but Dreamweaver is beginning to look old-fashioned

A simplified interface, strong photo-to-art Focus and the low price make painter essentials a great buy.

An excellent release that reworks Photoshop’s core colour-correction capabilities, making them even more powerful

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

Best-of-breed photo management, editing and sharing with great usability and value.

When you think of photo editing, the chances are you think of Adobe Photoshop. However, the majority of non-professional users don't need Photoshop's high-end power and can't justify its cost. That's where Paint Shop Pro (PSP) comes in. Its low price is definitely its initial attraction, but that has never stopped it aiming high. At times, as with version 6's introduction of vector layers, it has even left Photoshop trailing behind. However, version 7's minor fiddling was a serious letdown and as time passed, it began to look as if PSP had run out of steam. Version 8, though, shows this isn't the case.You begin to realise how fundamental the overhaul has been as soon as you load the application.

For a new release, Snapfire already looks old-fashioned and unexciting, but at least the basic version is free.