Adobe CS4 Production Studio Premium - takes video fight to Final Cut
A massive bundle worth the extra money, containing absolutely every tool a video producer might need.
Adobe Effects CS4
Some powerful improvements – but you won’t get the most out of this unless it’s used alongside other Adobe apps.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
Cleverly extends Photoshop Elements’ appeal to both digital photo novices and the more experienced
Adobe Premiere Pro, Encore & OnLocation CS4
Support for latest video formats and a batch-media encoder, but supporting apps have seen little upgrading.
Adobe Soundbooth CS4
A more mature version, taking it from sound cleaning and score creation to a powerful soundtrack composition tool.
Apple Macbook
A new design and a fantastic new graphics chip, but this latest offering is as flawed and overpriced as ever.
Apple MacBook Pro
Apple has given its MacBook Pro a thorough makeover but, for all its charm, it’s still overpriced.
Archos 5
A broad array of features, but this PMP feels like it’s being left behind
Asus Eee PC S101
Fantastic looks but a high price for what is, essentially, the same old netbook under the hood.
Asus U6V
The Asus U6V simply can’t compete with the new breed of Centrino 2 ultraportables
Bandluxe C100 Mobile Broadband Modem
Simple to use and great performance without being locked to a provider.
Brother MFC-6490CW
Very compact and incredibly cheap for an A3 all-in-one,
but speed and print quality are only average
BullGuard Backup 8
A robust and very usable consumer-level backup service.
Canon Pixma iP4600, our new A-list inkjet
A slight speed boost and a new curvaceous shape keep Canon on top of the inkjet pile.
Canon Pixma MP630
A fast, high-quality all-in-one, but for running costs look for the MP610 first.
Carbonite Online backup
Still the most hassle-free and effective online home backup system.
Corel VideoStudio X2 Pro
The first Corel-branded VideoStudio adds one exciting new tool and lots of little improvements.
Dell Inspirion Mini 9
Dell’s long-awaited netbook has much to recommend it, but it’s far from the perfect product.
Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard
Accurate speech recognition, a flexible control system and a good price – for those in need, Dragon delivers.
Epson Stylus Photo TX800FW
Excellent features and an innovative interface are dealt a killer blow by average print quality.
Gigabyte EX58-UD5, as future proof as a motherboard gets
A high-quality Core i7 motherboard with great expansion potential and premium features.
Grand Theft Auto IV, epic but not perfect
Another epic installment of the GTA series, tragically hampered by a poor PC port
HP Color Laserjet CP2025dn
Top colour speeds are only achievable in draft mode,
but output quality is quite remarkable
HP Mini 1001TU
Stylish, sophisticated and super-portable: this is the netbook you’ll have to hide from your friends.
HP OfficeJet 470b, for printing in a tight spot
A great printer for the road with a microscopic footprint, but average performance holds it back from greatness.
HP Pavilion dv5
An extremely well built and comfortable machine, blessed with striking looks and a great price.
IDrive
A flexible, high-speed backup service at a price that’s more than reasonable.
Intel X25-M, beats HDD on all levels except price
Incredibly fast and silent, too, but solid-state is still far too expensive for the mainstream.
LaCie 4big quaddra
A tad pricey but a well-built desktop DAS appliance with plenty of fault-tolerant storage and top performance
Lenovo IdeaPad S10
Well designed, solid and well-featured, but the battery
life sells it short.
Lenovo ThinkPad X200
Lenovo’s diminutive business portable packs in high performance,
great battery life and top build quality.
Lexmark X5650
Cheap to buy, cheap to run and bundled with features; print quality holds it back from greatness.
Mozy Online backup
Powerful and decent value, but ease of use could be better.
Nehalem and Core i7 - how fast can they go?
Curious to see what powers the Nehalem and Core i7 architecture? We reveal the tech behind the fastest Intel-powered computer on the planet.
Netgear ReadyNAS Pro Business Edition
A huge capacity, classy specification, plenty of business-related storage features and lightning performance
Never lose a file again
Stuart Andrews shows you how to set up and maintain the perfect backup routine.
Nikon D90, why it's our new A-List DSLR
A great combination of new features and the usual Nikon image and build quality make this a superb camera.
Nokia N96
A real do-it-all device, but Nokia needs to do better to compete with the iPhone.
Oki C710n
A compact workgroup laser suited to high-volume colour and mono printing, but delivering average photo quality
Online backup
With online services easier to use and cheaper than ever, there’s now no excuse not to back up your files, says Stuart Andrews.
OpenOffice 3, cracks beginning to show
Not pretty, but a technically competent and comprehensive upgrade to the best free office suite around.
Preview: Asus P6T Delux, the path to Core i7 goodness
This motherboard is a promising appetiser – although the real meal is yet to come.
RIM BlackBerry Storm 9500, can't quite match the Bold
The Blackberry Storm 9500 is luxurious and innovative in equal degree, but the slightly cheaper Bold is better to type on.
Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2, fast but not worth the money
Yes, it’s fast, but is that enough anymore? Poor drivers and a high price tag are enough to put us off.
Save money, stick with Server 2003?
It's time to put your IT manager hat on and try to think about what all this Cloud computing, Azure and so forth is going to actually do for you.
Server 101: Access multiple Exchange servers with Outlook
Lugging the same laptop from one job to another? There is a way to access multiple Exchange mail servers with Microsoft Outlook.
Server 101: Accessing Server 2008 remotely
As an administrator, one of the things I really like to do is access my servers remotely - why travel to work when there's no need to, and how much nicer to just log in and fix the problem from home?
Sony VAIO VGN-TT15GN/B
It’s gorgeous, but it can’t match Sony’s own Z-Series for sheer ultraportable excellence.
SOS Online backup
Excellent business features, let down by poor performance.
The Investigator: software licenses that stop working
Abort, retry, Investigate? One reader's battle with a known issue with Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and Adobe Premier Elements 7
The Ultimate PC Upgrade Guide - Part 1: Motherboards
Want to perform an extreme makeover of your system's motherboard, processor, memory or hard disk? We'll show you how.
Ti Deluxe i7 920
Raw power and gaming prowess plus our a-listed monitor: this is a fantastic system, but the price is a deterrent.
Toshiba NB100
There’s a lot to like, but it doesn’t stand out from the crowd.
Toshiba Portégé M800
Another good laptop from Toshiba, but the 12.1in Portégé
M800 struggles in such fine company.
Toshiba Portégé R600, best ultralight business laptop ever?
A super-light laptop with great battery life, but the screen is both its stand-out feature and, for some, its Achilles heel
TP-link TL-WR941ND
TP-Link’s basic router offers good performance at a good price and even throws in some easy setup features for first-timers.
Western Digital ShareSpace
An easily managed appliance for small offices. Performance is modest, but it offers useful remote access features
WizzDrive Online Backup