Creativity - graphics & image editing Music and video

The Bottom Line: Apple iLife '09 is a great application suite for simple media organizing and editing, and the addition of features like face recognition, geotagging, and music lessons makes it worth the update.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Apple MacOS X 10.5.6 or later, Intel PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5 (867MHz or faster) 867 MHz, Intel Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster), DVD-ROM, Intel PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5 (867MHz or faster), Intel Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster), 867 MHz, MacOS, QuickTime 7.5.5 or later

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, 1.5 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore (Mac) 1.5 GHz, DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, 1.5 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore (Mac), 1.5 GHz, Windows, QuickTime 7.4.5

The Bottom Line: Expression Studio includes Microsoft's FrontPage replacement and three other new applications for creating and managing images, Web sites and rich media applications.

Specs: 1 PC, License, MacOS, Windows

Specs: Complete package, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, 2 GHz, DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, DirectX 9.0 compatible sound card, DirectX 9.0 compatible graphics card, 2 GHz, Windows, QuickTime 7.x, Internet Explorer 6.0

Specs: 1 workstation, Complete package, 3.0, DVD-ROM, Windows

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Microsoft Windows Vista SP1, 800 MHz, 500 MHz, DVD-ROM, Printer, Keyboard, Speaker(s), Sound card, SVGA monitor, 32 MB video memory, Internet connection 56k, Mouse or compatible device, 800 MHz, 500 MHz, Windows, DirectX 9.0 or later, Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1, Internet Explorer 6.0 or later, Adobe Flash Player 9.0 or later, Adobe Shockwave Player 11.0 or later

Specs: License, MacOS, Windows

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, 1.4 GHz, DVD-ROM, SXGA monitor, Internet connection, DirectX compatible sound card, 1.4 GHz, Windows, QuickTime 7.1.2

Specs: 1 user, License, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 1.4 GHz, DVD-ROM, SXGA monitor, Internet connection, DirectX compatible sound card, 1.4 GHz, Windows, QuickTime 7.1.5

Specs: 1 workstation, Complete package, 2.0, MacOS, Windows