Software

A package that by its number you know has been around for a while. However what was first important for one job – file size reduction – is now less so now it has three other uses that make it a product still useful today.

Rather than retype text from a printed document, you might prefer using current technology to scan the original document before converting the results into editable text.

One reason I like Corel products is that they are intuitive another is they give you printed documentation. To be fair it’s a Getting Started Guide but as that is a 124 page hard back book you start to see this is not a trivial package.

Once upon a time we used a projector and slides to show off our favourite memories of family events and holidays. Now we can use our digital images to produce a slideshow that can be burned to optical media or posted in an appropriate website.

Apps stores are becoming a popular means of supplying software. Nero has entered this particular market sector with some free-to-download software.

Now part of the MAGIX family, Xara continues to produce a range of graphics offerings including a tool for producing eye-catching titles.

I think the last FREE software package I reviewed was Skype in October 2004, while this may not be as all consuming as Skype was in those days, for a manufacturer who produces paid software to release a free version…

Over the years I have been one of Norton’s fiercest critics. In fact I could not even manage to complete a review of an earlier version. Windows still warns of incompatibility but with this version I have yet to find them.

Acronis has a well-earned and long-established reputation for developing disk imaging and back-up software. Recently the company has brought out a new version of its Backup & Security title which, not surprisingly, is identified by its 2011 suffix.

One of the first names that spring to mind when considering the subject of computing security is that of Norton with its range of anti-virus and Internet security titles.

This was one of the few interesting items to emerge from this years BETT show. While it of course has its use in education in schools and colleges it could well have a use in the workplace as well as providing a fun use in the home.

While your computer is capable of providing a multitude of features, they are not always required for every task. Sometimes they can slow down the computer in certain circumstances. This next product offers to help alleviate this type of situation.

Not everybody can afford the premium price being asked by the market-leading video editing titles. Serif has a solution that might appeal.

While some software is now purely a licence to use for a period of time, most is still sold as yours for life. However more and more families have more than one computer so multi installation packs now have a bigger place.

While I rarely play my collection of LPs, I would be loathed to loose their content. Fortunately MAGIX has a solution.

While hard disk sizes have increased and Broadband allows for faster download speeds, the need to compress files is reduced. However I still feel there is a place for produces such as WinZip.

As one of the survivors of the software developers, Serif continues to produce applications that provide functionality at a price point that should not break the bank.

During a visit to the BETT educational show held each year in London, I was introduced to the latest animation software from Reallusion.

The numbers of people producing speech software are reducing and Dragon is the main player in the PC part of the market, they are now part of Nuance. So what advantages does version 11 have to make you rush out to purchase?

As more and more people take their tentative first steps into using video editing, developers, such as MAGIX, are producing software to help them in this task.

This is described as the ‘Ultimate HD Video Editing Solution’ some will purchase it just for the codec that allows you to play Blu-ray movies on your Blu-ray drive in your PC or Notebook as without something like this you cannot.

Give your fingers a rest and instead use your voice to communicate with your computer by using the latest software from Nuance.

Keeping your computer running at its optimum capacity can be time consuming and often frustrating unless, of course, you hand the task over to experts.

Many years ago there were two names in the CD copying field, although Nero was one of them – and in fact on my Windows ME machine I still use an early version – this product does so much more in so many various ways.

The arrival of a product with the number 6 attached had me thinking that I had missed out on the first five titles in the series but that was not so.

Where once Disk Jockeys mixed chat with music, now they are more inclined to be creative with the way music is played. A new MAGIX title shows the way/

Following its normal policy, BitDefender 2011 product line-up consists of the three titles of Antivirus Pro, Internet Security and Total Security.

It was hardly the most auspicious of meeting. I had to battle through a heavy downpour and then sit through a presentation that was in constant competition with those watching a televised European football match featuring the local team in the next room. This was my introduction to CyberLink’s latest media playing software.

Over the years I have has the opportunity to try out various versions of Acronis software developed to provide backup and restore facilities. Now it is the turn of the latest version which goes by the title of Acronis True Image Home 2011.

Not everybody can afford the prices being asked for the market-leading graphics products available from Adobe and Corel. Serif offers an alternative with its DrawPlus product.