I have to admit, that as a child, the job of being a bus driver, or any type of driver for that matter, did not feature to high in the list of possible future careers that I considered in any moments of wishful thinking.  Buses were merely a mode of transport for my own convenience rather than an object of affection such as my collection of cigarette and bubble gum cards.

Digital photographs do have a tendency to be rather large in size.  You only have to look at the ever increasing megapixel ratings of the latest cameras, and even the new crop of mobile phones, to see the reason for the demands that digital photos put on certain activities.  Digital images can quickly devour storage space and are hardly the sleekest when it comes to being sent via the Web even for those of us with access to a fast Broadband connection.

Developed by Sonic Team, Phantasy Star Universe is set in the Gurhal Star System that originally formed the game playing arena for Phantasy Star Online.  Bringing together the ability to choose between single player game and online network action, Phantasy Star Universe belongs to the Japanese RPG genre.  Now available on the White label, Phantasy Star Universe has been rated at 12+ and forms part of the Avanquest Software Publishing product portfolio.

Many more years ago than I care to admit, I would often record music direct from a radio using a reel-to-reel tape recorder for my own listening pleasure.  Today you can be more selective as you automate the process using software and your hard disk storage capacity. Up until very recently I thought that a 43-character serial number was one of the longest I had encountered and rather excessive.

The concept of a circus has changed radically since my early youth.  Animal acts are considered both inappropriate and cruel while other forms of entertainment have proved more irresistible by modern day audiences.  If it is not digital or personal then you start off with a disadvantage especially when the viewing environment lacks the desired level of comfort demanded by today's paying customers.

This business simulation title, developed by JoWood, now forms part of the Reload series and is available from Avanquest Software Publishing as Industry Giant II Gold Edition which add the Official Expansion Pack to the standard version of the game.  Whereas previously Industry Giant II was set in the period stretching from 1900 to 1980, the expansion pack now takes the player into the future and the year 2020.

For many the mere mention of the name Rupert Bear will bring back memories of early childhood.  This cartoon strip and annual book character was a stable diet for the young with stories and adventures based in Nutwood.  Now, as often happens, this popular paper-based character has re-emerged in digital format on CD-ROM with Rupert Bear Nutwood Games available from Avanquest Software Publishing Ltd.

By bundling together three software utilities, Avanquest has created Perfect Image 11 Backup & Protect Suite.  The titles involved in this suite are Perfect Image 11; DiskCopy & Clean; and AutoSave 2.  This collection of titles is aimed at providing the means to deal with different aspects of hard disk management.

As part of the Reload White Label, : Two Treasures is available at the (plus £2.99 shipping) Software Publishing Ltd.  As the title suggests this Ascaron developed game involves pirates and all the different types of activity normally associated with this seafaring, criminal element. Tortuga bargain basement price of £4.99 from Avanquest The game, which requires both ActiveX 9.

Now up to version 8, System Suite Professional brings together a collection of utilities developed to maintain, protect and enhance your computer's performance.  Following the entry of a 29-character serial number, the product's installation process gives you a range of choices as you decide whether to include the Firewall and antivirus/spyware options or not.

Developed by Enlight Software, Hotel Giant belongs to the business management game genre.  As its title indicates, this game deals with creating and running your own hotel.  Now available as part of the budget White Label from GSP, Hotel Giant is one of those games that insists on the product CD being in the drive before it will actually load and start.

While we may be regarded as a nation of pet lovers, not everybody's circumstances allow them to include one of the numerous household pets, especially the ever-popular dog, into their current lifestyle.  One possible solution to this "lack of a pet" dilemma could be to take advantage of a virtual pet such as provided by Puppy Luv.  This puppy on a PC offering is the number one selling virtual pet range for computer users.

Digital content, whether still images, video or audio based, continues to grow and take over our hard disks.  While you could opt to delete less popular items to ease the storage pressure and release space for newer content, there is another alternative that could be considered.  This would involve transferring data to optical media using software such as that available with MediaNow CD & DVD Burning Suite.

System Suite 7 has now been replaced by version 8, for about the same price. . Update : Click here to read our review of System Suite 8 Keeping your personal computer running smoothly, let alone at optimum capacity, can be a time consuming task.  In some cases you could spend so much time carrying out maintenance that you leave little time for more productive and entertaining past-times.

Once upon a time major applications, and even some minor ones, came with full printed documentation that included training exercises to help get you up to speed.  Nowadays the more popular option, as least with the software developers and marketing departments, is to provide documentation in the form of PDF (Portable Document File) and limit any training to opening tips and pointers towards the Help feature.

As always before installing any software it is wise to set a system restore point. This done I installed and when offered choices I went for a complete install. However should you want only a partial install (say two or three modules) it is possible. Eight minutes later and 264MB of hard disc used everything is installed.

"If it ain't broke then don't fix it" is a popular expression.  Yet for some their guiding principle takes the alternative premise that "a little prevention is better than the cure".  A third group might swing between these two stances depending upon circumstances.