PhotoPlus is a very capable editor that's never quite escaped the shadow of Paint Shop Pro. Will version 11 be any different from its predecessors? Certainly not with regard to the interface: it's more cluttered, and not as straightforward for beginners.

Excellent photo management, Decent selection of filters

Cluttered interface

It's impressive in its own right, but on direct comparison PhotoPlus is just pipped to the post by Paint Shop Pro in too many areas

Virtual Music Studio failed to impress initially thanks to an awkward, unintuitive interface that made it tricky to get started. The 10,000-odd bundled music samples looks like a compensation, but then you realise the quality isn't that great

Awkward interface, Sample quality is not ideal, Difficult to use, Limited exporting capabilities

This is an unforgivably basic and limited software solution from eJay that demands a total redesign and feature upgrade

Cakewalk's Music Creator 3 got off to a poor start in not configuring its MIDI settings correctly, so we didn't get full audio. We fixed it, eventually, but this isn't a good way to make musical novices feel comfortable

Quality audio loops

Experts only, Poor MIDI settings

While offering a good package with many strong features, Music Creator 3 is not for the novice

One of the few mainstream software markets with several applications of roughly equal weight is home-video editing. There's Adobe Premiere Elements and Corel's Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus, as well as Pinnacle Studio Plus 11

Great value for money, Improved HD support, Good instruction manual

Requires a powerful system

A powerful mainstream video-editing package that's bang up to date and terrific value too

First things first; Painter does exactly what it says on the tin. Literally: our review copy of Corel Painter X came in a big paint tin. We got our mitts on the limited-edition version complete with special packaging and a glossy poster

Most realistic painting software yet

Works best with a graphics tablet

The package is great, but unfortunately you do still need some talent...

For many professional users there's only one photo-editing tool worth having, and that's Adobe Photoshop. But if you're a casual photographer or an amateur dabbler, a budget image processor such as Ulead PhotoImpact 12 might be all you really need

10x optical zoom lens (28-300mm equivalent), ISO 1600 maximum, 1/1.6inch low noise sensor, Improved feature set, Simple to use, Good value for money

RAW processing, Lens speed, Auto-focus noise, Still not a match for the real heavy-hitters

Though it's stuffed with features, PhotoImpact still manages to score highly on ease-of-use

PowerProducer isn't the first video editing software to spring to mind, but there's good reason to consider the new v4 Next-Gen if you're an HD early adopter. Cyberlink has achieved a coup by being the first to offer both Blu-ray and HD DVD authoring

Full 1080p resolution, Amazing dark colours, Great sound stage, A perfect picture, Good for HD beginners

It's a touch on the large side, Won't be a lasting benefit

It's great at the moment, but will quickly become redundant

Microsoft SharePoint Designer may look like FrontPage - which it replaces in Office - but the resemblance is only a little more than skin deep. SharePoint is based on IIS, ASP.NET 2 master pages, web parts, CSS and data source controls

SharePoint developers get great tools for desiging sites and applications

Amateur developers may find this a little too complex for their tastes

SharePoint Designer is a competent web design tool but one that may leave amateurs behind

The real thing is hard to get hold of now, so software emulations have appeared to fill the gap. This combined model from Arturia includes models of both instruments, and also a special hybrid mode that links them together

Good sound

Complex new modulation matrix

This is an interesting spin on an old idea, but not quite a must-buy

You wouldn't expect Adobe to miss out on a piece of the action and, sure enough, Photoshop Elements 5 is the latest software seeking to cash in on the Christmas digital photography rush.

Nice design, Good range on wireless speakers, Excellent range of features

Lacks punch, Has no obvious chinks in its armour

Simply the best image-editing package for the price