Illustration

The Bottom Line: Despite some compatibility setbacks, Corel Home Office suite is useful for creating documents. Its conscientious size, small-screen optimizations, and attractive price make it a good buy for a Netbook office suite, or for saving space by shedding advanced features.

Specs: 1 user, 1 GHz, USB drive, Mouse or tablet, 1 GHz

The Bottom Line: While Adobe Illustrator CS4's most compelling new feature--pseudo-multipage support--can be frustrating to use, overall it makes CS4 a worthwhile upgrade for current users.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 2 GHz or faster (Windows), PowerPC G4 1 GHz, PowerPC G5, Intel multicore (Mac), DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, 2 GHz or faster (Windows), PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel multicore (Mac), 1 GHz, Windows

The Bottom Line: Best for coding and design pros, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 is perhaps the sharpest, swiftest tool for developing and editing dynamic Web sites.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 1 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore 1 GHz, PowerPC G5 (Mac), DVD-ROM, Internet connection, 1280 x 800 monitor resolution, 1 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore, PowerPC G5 (Mac), 1 GHz, Windows

The Bottom Line: Vector graphics buffs will find this Illustrator upgrade worthwhile, especially to work with SVG-t art for mobile devices.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP1, Microsoft Windows 2000 SP3, Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, CD-ROM, SVGA monitor, Internet connection, Windows

The Bottom Line: InDesign CS2 speeds the creation of complex pages, further challenging market leader QuarkXPress. Translating a print page design directly to a Web format is always problematic, but InDesign CS2 can get you close.

Specs: Media, Apple MacOS X 10.2.8 - 10.3.8, 4.0, CD-ROM, XGA monitor, MacOS, QuickTime 6.0

The Bottom Line: If you're a professional or ambitious amateur digital artist, we highly recommend Adobe Photoshop CS2.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP1, Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, CD-ROM, Internet connection, Windows

The Bottom Line: If you're a professional or ambitious amateur digital artist, we highly recommend Adobe Photoshop CS2.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Apple MacOS X 10.2.8 - 10.3.8, CD-ROM, Internet connection, MacOS

The Bottom Line: If you're interested in digital artistry, you need Painter, though you'll pay a lot for this upgrade.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, 500 MHz, CD-ROM, XGA monitor, Mouse or compatible device, 500 MHz, MacOS, Windows

The Bottom Line: Version 8.0 of this versatile paint program gets an enthusiastic thumbs-up for its ease of use and powerful features.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, Apple MacOS 9.2.2 or later, Apple MacOS X 10.2 or later, 128 MB, 8, CD-ROM, XGA monitor, Mouse or compatible device, MacOS, Windows

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Apple MacOS X 10.1, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, 128 MB, 250 MB, 11, CD-ROM, XGA monitor, Mouse or compatible device, MacOS, Windows