Software

Available for both Windows and the Mac platform, FileMaker Pro is a database product with a loyal following of users that includes myself.

Adding to its range of backup products, Acronis has developed solutions that now include aspects of Internet security into the mix. One of these solutions is Acronis Backup and Security 2010 which brings together its True Image Home backup software with Internet security protection on a one-year subscription basis for up to three computers.

Fancy a change of style? Then maybe this next product will help you experiment with your appearance.

Keeping your computer running at its optimum capacity can be time consuming. Fix-It Utilities offers to take over this task.

Speech recognition has come of age with the launch of Dragon Naturally Speaking version 11. After just a few minutes training I was able to achieve a very high level of transcription accuracy and was starting to get acquainted with the voice commands for editing and other purposes. This program could well change the way that many users interact with their PCs.

At the start of the year it appeared as ‘betas’ on some magazine discs. Then absolute silence until June when I saw a couple of distributor adverts, it transpired the launch had happened, a quick skim of my journalists friends and no one knew, so now it seems Microsoft – or do I mean their numerous PR agencies - tells no one about the arrival of products.

Queen Victoria is said not to have been amused but you could put your sense of humour to work with a product available from Smith Micro.

FileMaker Pro 11: the missing manual – “the book that should have been in the box” is about 900 pages long and, had it been supplied with the program, would have needed a quite large box. It will meet the needs of both the novice and the experienced user. Consequently, it will prove valuable when both initially using FileMaker and when developing more sophisticated applications.

Transferring your video content to portable devices should be easy but often isn’t. As a result software developers have come up with solutions to help you achieve this task.

Sibelius is probably the best music scoring program around, professionals and music students alike both use it, however for the amateur it is rather expensive and to be honest it does a lot more than they might want so this is a good alternative.

Although Adobe Photoshop remains the popular and dominant choice in the field of graphic editing software, for many its price point puts it out of their budgetary range. For those who still want the kudos of working with Adobe software without the financial upheaval there is Photoshop Elements which is aimed more at the home enthusiast rather than the professional user.

This is a program that I have known for many years. I think it was version two that I first used. Due to a change of agencies the previous version I reviewed (and in fact still use) was version 6. Now I am looking at version 11.

This is said to be the world’s smallest A4 laser printer, certainly I have not looked at a smaller one. However it is a 16PPM mono offering that works with later versions of Windows without even having to install any software.

When this first came out Corel started a trend - which they still continue today – of offering extra value. It came with lots of extra clip art and fonts. Remember initially there were very few of either around. They were also I believe the first to go from discs to CD.

Nero and Roxio have been competing for domination of the disk-burning marketplace for several years. Both companies have added feature on feature with the result that the original disk burning facility could be regarded as a minor function.

When you use high end products for high end projects its nice sometimes to use a simple easy to use program that works as you expect it to. However should you need it, then it has all the help you require and much more.

No matter how careful you are, or think you are, your Windows-based system will tend to slow down as it struggles to cope with the demands you place upon it.

By putting together features that include photo, video and music plus burning and sharing software, you end up with a product entitled Digital Studio 2010. This is Corel’s attempt to tackle the photo and video market for those with limited experience in this particular area.

Yes this is what used to be called PaintShop Pro, but that was in the days before it became a Corel product and also – as with most software – a product to do one job at a time, now it does most things and is more complex.

With a tag line of "Create it. Play it. Organise it. Share it", a new product from CyberLink sets out to provide support for the upsurge in digital lifestyles.

Nero has been around for many years, first as one of two excellent CD copying programs (I remember using it with Windows 98) and more recently as a Back Up package of repute now with version 10 it’s a Multimedia Suite.

Adding to its various image editing products, MAGIX has released Xtreme Photo & Graphics Designer 5 which brings together a number of applications.

Until a few years ago certain consumer products from Microsoft used to have versions released every year, now some like Works are updated occasionally, others like Money are no more, here the 2010 version of AutoRoute.

When problems occur with your computer, the excuse of out-of-date drivers is often put forward as the reason for any conflicts. Perhaps you should consider some form of driver management.

While the paperless office continues to be a myth, software does exist to keep electronic documents under some sort of control.

Capturing video clips can be great fun as you record memories of family occasions and other events. However what you actually do with this content when you have transferred it to your computer’s hard disk is another matter entirely.

With almost every newspaper having Sudoku games for you to do why have a PC program devoted to them? Well you could say the same for Crosswords or perhaps even Bridge. If you enjoy Sudoku then the 25,000 games here should allow you to be in ecstasy.

Holding your valuable data, your hard disk does deserve consideration and help when it comes to performing its various functions.

According to Sod’s Law, the odds against a hard disk failure, whether due to outside influences or not, decrease substantially the moment you neglect to carry out a backup of your data. While disaster might not strike immediately, when it does you will be sorry and to paraphrase an old saying “It is no use crying over lost data.”

While this in no way is the same as Adobe Photoshop, a very specialist tool for editing and enhancing files, this product does the basics and can improve an image from terrible to Okay or from Okay to quite reasonable.