Corel Corp. Graphics and publishing

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: 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

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

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2, Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, 1 GHz, DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, 1 GHz, Windows, DirectX 9.0c or later

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista, 1 GHz, DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, 1 GHz, Windows, DirectX 9.0c or later

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Apple MacOS X, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, Apple MacOS 8.6 or later, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, 30 MB, 128 MB, 2, 2x CD-ROM, SVGA monitor, Mouse or compatible device, MacOS, Windows

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, 1.8 GHz, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, 1.8 GHz, Windows

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista (64-bit versions), 800 MHz, DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, Mouse or compatible device, 800 MHz, Windows