Software

Last autumn I was sent two new items from Serif. First their DTP item PagePlus that has been around for as long – if not longer – than most other that sell for considerably more. Second a package of British Clip Art.

Rather than increase the version number by one, Nero has added the word “Reloaded” to its recently enhanced flagship product.

This is by no means a new program but it is still available from the link at the end and also possibly from their dealers. Bridge is a game I enjoy however I would be the first to admit I am lousy at counting cards, so if this is you as well then this could help.

A lot of people think that Adobe are the only name in PDF. Here I am looking at Nuances offering. This is a company who are best known for speech to text products such as Dragon and various OCR products.

If the Windows solitaire offerings just do not cut it for you then there are lots of places willing to sell you a game or three on the Internet. Here however you can play (with no limits) 1000 different Solitaire games for less than a tenner.

Completing my round-up of the latest security offerings from BitDefender is the company’s Total Security 2010 title.

Generally sequels appear fairly quickly following the original offering. But there are exceptions (Zuma immediately springs to mind) with a new title from Alawar being a prime example of a longer period of gestation.

While most will buy this latest version of PowerDVD for its ability to play Blu-ray movies (providing of course you have a Blu-ray drive) it can and does support other formats. I am not sure why Windows 7 does not nativity support Blu-ray.

It was a case of déjà vu as a new game arrived from Playrix with yet more aquarium building and Match-3 game play.

While we often make visits to a virtual environment, there are some who spend their whole lives in this king of environment. I’m referring to those characters that belong to that tribe known as Virtual Villagers.

An Egyptian artefact, robbers, a train journey and plenty of puzzles and hidden object searching make up an offering from Focus Multimedia.

Rather than add a caption or speech bubble to get your message across, why not consider putting words into the mouths of your creations.

While Adobe controls the PDF standard, other companies have not been slow in developing solutions to take advantage of this technology.

A Search for Lost Treasure

After my recent visit to Buck House (excuse the familiarity especially as there was a distinct lack of tea and biscuits on offer for visitors) in the Hidden Mysteries escape, my next trip took me across the pond. This time the designated target for exploration was America’s most famous residence and home to the country’s Head of State, namely The White House – maybe coffee and donuts would be served.

It is time to enter a world of mystery and fantasy as you take on the role of a young woman in search of her father.

This is rather good music software. However in the form I got it the cost to anyone is FREE, providing of course you were to buy one of their keyboard, microphone or external sound card all of which connect to PC via USB.

The gestation period for the latest version of Nuance’s OmniPage OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software has been slightly longer than I would have expected Checking my records reveals that it was just over 15 months ago that I looked at the previous version of this market-leading software application.

While the main character’s name in this game may have a familiar ring to it, the use of a whip has little to do with this archaeological adventure.

Mix together an old house, abandoned ship and escaped monster might be enough for most developers but not Alawar who go that little bit further by adding a dash of Vampire threats in this next game.

Following a natural disaster you are trapped in a museum. Have you the ability to survive the experience and escape?

Venturing out on to the World Wide Web can be fraught with danger unless you are protected by appropriate software and security measures.

Trips to the cinema can sometimes be spoilt by unnecessary noise from other members of the audience – so why not watch from home?

When using your computer on a daily basis you may not immediately notice any slowing down but the difference will become more apparent as you sit waiting for tasks that were completed in seconds now taking minutes.

With the number of portable devices capable of showing video clips, it can be confusing when trying to decide on the appropriate video format.

The most recent incarnation of Roxio's highly functional multi-media authoring package

While I do not considered myself to be a tourist, this next game puts me in this role as I visit a famous London landmark

In the six weeks between this being first shown and my boxed copy arriving I have made good use of the DVD given to me at the time. I installed it on my Windows 7 system and it was great all my photos and videos are now properly tagged.

You do have a backup schedule, don’t you? If not then read on…….

Putting fish together with chips (the processor not the food type) makes an enjoyable and visual experience as Playrix demonstrates with this new offering.