Software

StarOffice 9 is an office suite that is file compatible with Microsoft Office and will meet the needs of the majority of people – especially as it has the same look and feel with which we are familiar with in MS Office 2003. This could be an important benefit as many people find it difficult, in view of the major changes that have been introduced, to migrate to MS Office 2007.

To produce decent drawings a suitable drawing program is needed. Version X3, the latest incarnation of Serif’s DrawPlus program appears to be easy to use as well as being very versatile and so can be used for a wide variety of different types of drawing.

Usually sequels follow on pretty quickly from the original offering. However there are exceptions but they do not normally take five years to make an appearance.

Diamonds, according to the song, are a “girl’s best friend”. They are also a popular topic of interest when developers are looking for a hook on which to hang the storyline of their latest game.

One way to keep your computer virus-free is to invest in the protection offered by a product such as BitDefender Antivirus.

Described as “archaeology meets adventure” style offering, Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle is an adventure-style game that is set in Cornwall.

Time travel, friendly animal characters, hidden objects and numerous mini games all features in this Alawar title.

Photos and video clips are meant to be viewed not hidden away on your hard disk. So put them to some productive use.

Lex, the cute and friendly bookworm, returns for his third outing in a Popcap developed word creating game. This time Lex stars in the sequel to Bookworm Adventures which, appropriately enough in the style of Hollywood blockbusters, is entitled Bookworm Adventures 2. Yet again your ability to form words from alphabetical tiles, while managing health and power resources, is put to the test as Lex takes on another batch of characters in a series of one-on-one (well some of the time) contests.

When a game plan proves popular, it makes sense to return to fertile ground (especially when the subject matter involves farming) by creating further titles for the enjoyment of users. The result of this type of approach can be seen with Farm Frenzy 3 from the Alawar Entertainment and Melestra stable.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American writer, poet and editor who is best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre such as The Raven. Now he has become the focal point for a new game from MumboJumbo.

Those creative people at GameHouse have been at it again. This time you are abandoned with amnesia.

I have been lucky enough to be using the shipping version of Windows 7 since the end of August so if there were any real problems there is a good chance I will have found them. Not only on a 4GB powerful notebook but also on a 1GB Netbook.

It seems like only yesterday that I took a look at Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 (actually it was around six months ago but who is counting) yet here I am sat watching version 15 install itself on my system.

The hidden object genre of game play continues to be popular as yet another example finds from Popcap its way on to my hard disk and keeps me entertained and occupied for many hours.

As its title indicates, Silent Hunter 4 follows on from three earlier offerings. I have to admit that all of the previous titles managed to escape my attention. As a result I came to this submarine simulation, subtitled Wolves of the Pacific, without any preconceptions regarding the game play, graphics, storyline or audio aspects.

Following his experiences at word creation in Bookworm Deluxe, Lex, the world’s friendliest bookworm, returns as the central character in Bookworm Adventures from those creative people at Popcap.

While Amsterdam means different things and brings back various memories to different people, when Youdagames is involved this location means diamonds and curses as portrayed in the game of The Curse of the Amsterdam Diamond.

Keeping your computer safe from outside influences is always recommended but occasionally it can bring a sting in the tail.

According to my Concise Oxford Dictionary, a bookworm is a “person devoted to reading”. Bookworm is also the subject matter of a series of games, published by Popcap, that involve creating words from a selection of letters.

First BounceBack Ultimate from CMS Products and second BackItUp & Burn from Nero. Neither review was without its problems, partly due I am sure to a notebook of mine that seems to dislike being backed up. However when used on another system both did their work as expected.

As not every Office suite contain a DTP application, many computer users struggle to produce business cards, posters, invitations and a whole range of other publications using a word processor. Serif’s PagePlus X4 brings professional quality DTP within the reach of many small companies, clubs and even individuals.

Sometimes meeting up with an old friend after a long period of absence can result in a feeling of disappointment. Sad to say this was one of those occasions.

Why wait for a crime to be committed before solving it? This Minority Report-like approach is the basis of a game in the Mystery Case Files series.

There are a lot of web cams around and somewhat surprisingly few applications to let you make the most of them. Of course to take an image or a video you need little, however should you want to pep up the content then you need something extra such as CyberLink YouCam 3.

Combining its undoubted expertise in the area of graphics applications and experience as a company entrenched in the on-line community, Xara has developed a Web authoring tool appropriately entitled Xara Web Designer

Developed by the German-based Blue Byte Company and now available from Focus Multimedia is The Settlers: Rise of an Empire. This is the sixth title in the Settlers series and consists of city-building features with resource management and strategic combat encased within a well-drawn, animated interface set in the medieval era.

It is often not easy to remember which data has changed since your last backup, so why not let the software take the strain

Most multi function or All In One packages come with ‘crippled’ versions of OCR software, either full versions of a few years ago or lite versions. However should you want to do more than just convert a few letters to editable text then a full product is what you need.

System Suite Professional brings together a number of utilities developed to protect, maintain, tweak and optimise your Windows system.