Corel Corp. Software

The Bottom Line: A majority of home users will appreciate Corel Digital Studio's feature set, its interactive projects, and wide support for photo and video formats.

Specs: Complete package, Intel Core Duo, AMD Athlon, Intel Core Duo, AMD Athlon

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: The Corel WordPerfect Office X4 suite best fits those who prefer traditional interfaces for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. We found the features rich, but the execution sometimes clumsy.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, 466 MHz, CD-ROM, SVGA monitor, Mouse or compatible device, 466 MHz, Windows, Internet Explorer 6.0 or later

The Bottom Line: Corel WordPerfect Office X3 is a very good productivity suite with enough enhancements to warrant an upgrade. Microsoft Office users, though, should wait for Microsoft Office 12.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, 466 MHz, CD-ROM, SVGA monitor, Mouse or compatible device, 466 MHz, Windows, Internet Explorer 5.5

The Bottom Line: Corel WordPerfect Office X3 is a very good productivity suite with enough enhancements to warrant an upgrade. Microsoft Office users, though, should wait for Microsoft Office 12.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, 466 MHz, CD-ROM, SVGA monitor, Mouse or compatible device, 466 MHz, Windows, Internet Explorer 5.5

The Bottom Line: Corel Paint Shop Pro X is a good investment for digital photographers at any level.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, Intel Pentium 500 MHz, 500 MHz, XGA monitor, Intel Pentium 500 MHz, 500 MHz, Windows

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

The Bottom Line: Current WordPerfect customers should certainly upgrade to Office 11.0. But SOHO users won't need some of the functionality.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows 2000 SP3, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 SP6a, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP1, Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP1, 370 MB, Intel Pentium 166 MHz, 64 MB, 11, CD-ROM, SVGA monitor, Mouse or compatible device, Intel Pentium, 166 MHz, 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