Software

Serif WebPlus is a software package that offers to ease you gently into creating your own web-based presence.

Two software packages, first one to do backups and even duplicate your hard drive. Second one that works with your Web Cam lots of notebooks and laptops come with version 3.5 which was fun, this however is version 6 that does far more.

According to popular conception, every picture tells a story. So why not use your collection of pictures or photos to create a story of your own. Offering to help in this respect is MAGIX’s Photostory software in its latest 2014 Deluxe edition.

This is probably the best hard disc full duplication software on the market. Currently on offer with an amazing 250GB of free Cloud storage available, available for the same price (as a special offer) as the more normal 5GB offering.

CyberLink are one of the main video and audio companies in the PC field. Director Suite is a very comprehensive package. You can buy online and download, or be a Dinosaur like me and install from DVDs and get printed manuals.

A long time resident on my various hard disks over the years has been different versions of WinZip. The latest version of this software now supports add-ons.

While “familiarity breeds contempt” might not totally be the appropriate comment, in some respect it could apply in this situation. After all the more we use our Windows computers, the less responsive they become when reacting to our needs and commands. Often we are kept waiting for a boot-up sequence to be completed and programs, which previously loaded speedily, now appear to crawl as if they are spending time admiring the innards of the computer and its operating system. Of course we could

A flip book was the method use to create moving images when I was a child. Now modern technology can be used to create a similar effect.

As part of its family of protection software, Norton has released the latest version of its popular Norton Internet Security product.

In its various versions, Paint Shop Pro has been a regular resident on my computer systems dating back to its Shareware days. This product is now a popular member of the Corel family.

Like Adobe Photoshop Elements 12, Adobe Premiere Elements 12 is a less powerful and more economic version of one of Adobe’s marketing leading products used by many professional users. So if you feel that Adobe Premiere video editing software is too expensive for your current financial situation then you might like to consider Adobe Premiere Elements 12 which could well be within your budget range.

While the tool of choice for many professionals working with digital images is Adobe Photoshop, the pricing of this product puts it out of the reach of mere mortals. Fortunately Adobe, being aware of the financial restraints many of us have to work under and still wishing to draw more customers into its family, has developed a more economic but less powerful offering. This is Photoshop Elements which is now up to version 12 and is available in either Windows

It is your responsibility to make sure your data is kept safe. A scheduled back-up process can help in this respect.

received an email recently which reminded me that there was a task that required my immediate attention. This email informed me that my Norton 360 subscription had expired and I was no longer protected. This wake up call was just the impetus I needed to make sure the next product under review would be the latest version of Norton 360 which provides antivirus and Internet protection for up to three devices.

Bringing together the latest versions of four of its software products, CyberLink has created a new version of its Director Suite offering.

When Serif adds a new product to its portfolio of graphic based offerings (WebPlus, PagePlus, DrawPlus and MoviePlus to mention just some), you could be forgiven for expecting this new title to feature the Word “Plus” as part of its name. However this is not the case with this particular new title. As this software is concerned with photo editing and management, the obvious title would have been PhotoPlus but Serif already has a product with this name. Therefore the company has

As Nero fiddled, it is claimed, while Rome burned, so the software of the same name will burn your multimedia content and other data to optical media. This feature, however, has been just one element of the Nero software for a while now as other features have been added to create a multimedia suite offering. Rather than stick with the numbering system that was used with earlier versions of this software, Nero has opted to switch to a date designation with the latest versio

Now part of the MAGIX family, Xara has released the latest version of its flagship graphics product.

Offering users a one-stop shop for their media needs, CyberLink has released the latest version of its Media Suite product.

“Step by Step” and “Plain & Simple” are two Word 2013 books from the Microsoft Press. As well as teaching the new user how to use the program, they each also cover new features which increase Word’s versatility especially in the areas of cooperation. They each adopt a different approach and so one can choose the one that best suits one’s needs.

The number ‘13’ and some peoples idea that it is unlucky means they go from 12 to 14 or as more than one company has done go from 12 to XIII. Whatever you feel a software package that has had that number of incarnations must be mature.

Now part of the MAGIX family, Xara’s flagship graphics photo and designer product has reached version 9.

Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 9 does what it says on the tin and is aimed at having broad appeal. On the basis that not all users are experts, it incorporates extensive help and guidance which is so important to enable new users to edit their photos and get to work with their drawings. It also incorporates the wide range of features that will satisfy the needs of the advanced user.

While I have reviewed similar products on a PC there are probably an awful lot of younger people that live with their ‘i’ device. While the cost of Apps for these devices is minimal if you sell a lot of them then you make a lot of money.

Having destroyed the alien invaders or rescued hostages being held captive by terrorists, you might want to share your achievements with others. This next title offers to help you record your success for posterity.

As technology advances, so older formats tend to go unsupported. However sometimes help is available to convert the older formats into one that can be used on modern equipment.

Now that Windows 8 is well and truly here -- even though an updated version will probably be out within the year -- there is a need for a detailed manual. This is particularly important because it is a significant redesign focussed on a touch-screen interface. "Windows 8 The Missing Manual" should meets the needs of power users as well as the rest of us who need to get to grips with this new environment.

By the time anything gets to version 4 it should be mature; however this has something that few such products have and that is the ability to work just as well with touch screens such as those for some recent Windows 8 PCs it supports fully.

PowerDesk is the file manager that Windows Explorer should have been. It is easy to use and has a wide range of features that make it a valuable tool for the serious PC user. The recently released version 9 adds even more features and is also compatible with Windows 8.

Rather than a book this is a software package that will work on Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8. It has text to read – this can also be read out – and things to do after it has explained them using a dummy Windows 8 interface.