I’ve sent the last few weeks using Corel Home Office on my HP Pavilion dv4t laptop. Since 2008 I’ve been using Microsoft Office 2007, so it took a few days for me to get used to the slightly different interface of Corel Home Office. Before I go into detail about the software, I wanted to mention something about how the software ships. Corel doesn’t include a CD/DVD with the software and instead gives you a USB flash drive with the software on it.

The last time I used Streets and Trips, I was making deliveries in my car with a laptop. I used Streets and Trips 2000 to find the delivery locations (if I recall the version correctly). It did not have the GPS adapter and neither does this version. To me, the purpose of this software is rather puzzling if you do not buy the GPS version. Unless you find yourself in a similar situation like the one I mentioned above, it is hard to find value with this non-GPS version.

As a standalone product, this is a good office suite of tools. It may take some getting used to if you are switching from Microsoft Office, but one of the nice features is the option to turn on Microsoft-style menus. Again, this is a nice product at a good price. The problem is that it has difficulty importing Microsoft Office documents. The imported documents just do not make it through the conversion in-tact.

Office 2016 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and One Note. I came from Office 2011 which included Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. I never really used Outlook on my Mac, so I don’t see losing it with the 2016 version a big loss. 2011 had a variation of the Ribbon interface. I have never really been a fan of the Ribbon, but on the 2011 version it was tolerable (compared to the Windows version at work).

I found this software to be a great additional to my Mac. Although it uses a non-standard user interface (in terms of Mac apps), I did not find it difficult to use. The amount of things this software can do seems a bit overwhelming at first. It is loaded with features that I haven’t used yet. I like the right-click menu option it adds. For my purposes, it is great for making DVDs of home videos for the relatives.

I have been a long-time user of Paint Shop Pro. I have been using it since the Jasc days (version 4, if I recall correctly). With each release, it got more complex, taking on new features and focusing on the photo-editing aspects to stay competitive. This pretty much describes the history of this product. As it stands today, I still find Paint Shop Pro to be my favorite photo-editing software on Microsoft Windows.

This is a pretty solid video editing program for Windows users. Compared to Windows Movie Maker, this is a great piece of software. As with most video editing computer programs, you’ll find that you should have the beefiest system you can afford. I have x3 installed on my Core 2 Duo Lenovo laptop and it is serviceable, but I am sure it would run better on a quad core system.

Intuit is killing the TurboTax product. On one hand, they appear to be trying to make it entirely idiot proof, which means that non-idiots have to wade through endless screens of non-relevant questions, with an array of often misleading options. On the other hand, Intuit seems to be trying to chip away at the included feature set while attempting to monetize the very features they are removing. This is akin to manufacturers who reduce the size of their candy bar to disguise what is actually a price hike: you pay more for less.

Because this device is versatile and dependent on my driving, Im going to do this review in stages. Stage One is installation and setup which took me just about as long as typing the first part of this sentence. I recommend getting setup online first. You can use a web browser or download apps for iOS and Android. I accessed it on the web using Chrome and with the Android app.

In theory, Kaspersky Lab Security for Android sounds like a good idea, particularly the ability lock and wipe your device remotely. However, this app is somewhat disconcerting in the long, long list of permissions it demands. User guidance on the whole is limited both within the program and the Kaspersky website. I wound up having to go their knowledgebase for information on uninstalling from one device and installing on another. The subject is not explicitly addressed, though there are thorough instructions for uninstalling and installing.