I am amazed at what this software can do. It can make some really cool looking pictures from your own photos. I have tried a few different ways to use it, but I really like the watercolor. It is really nice and easy to use. The only drawback is that it really is slow. I guess this is because it takes up so much memory. I really love it though.

Good learning center. Valuable information. Lots of detail corrections tools. Good display. Quick response of corrections. I really like this software as there are no hangups and it works smoothly.

Corel Painter 11 is a wonderful painting program to release your inner-artist. There isn’t a lot of documentation here, so by all means take a class or buy some tutorial books. This isn’t just a program you can pick up and become proficient with just by casual noodling around. Also, I would recommend getting a Bamboo pend and tablet to take advantage of the brushes and drawing features. Finally, please go to the Corel website and download the patches if you experience any problem with crashes - they will eliminate any instablity issues.

Corel VideoStudio Ultimate X8 was easy to install and stable on my Windows 7 laptop. I have never found Corel programs to be particularly intuitive or user-friendly, and Video Studio Ultimate X8 is no exception to that rule. However, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort and work with it, you will probably find yourself pleased and impressed with what you’re able to create with it. There are plenty of free tutorials to get you started.

Whether you’re a hobbyist or a professional, Corel Draw Graphics Suite X6 provides impressive bang for the buck. The primary programs in the suite are CorelDraw for page layout and vector based drawing, and Photo Paint for digital image editing and retouching. In addition to these two main programs, the Graphics Suite also includes CorelCapture, Duplexing Wizard, Bitstream Font Navigator, and an Extras folder with clip art, digital images and fonts.

Yes, TurboTax has changed their formats so that you need to buy the Home & Business edition to get the schedules that used to be included in the Deluxe version. Although it is aggravating to feel Intuit is nickle-and-diming their long time customers with this change, using TurboTax still costs a fraction of what a professional tax preparer would charge. (The well known big-box tax preparation firm I used last year charged over $500 - and my taxes were not particularly complex.

Although I’ve always known Norton’s security products have a sterling reputation, at some point years ago I switched to another leading brand because my company had installed that brand on our work computers. At the time I thought they knew something I didn’t know, but now I think they must have just gotten a good deal with the licenses. Switching back to Norton has been like a breath of fresh air!

Let me preface this review by noting that I’m running Windows XP, so results with Vista may differ. Norton 360 seems, in general, to get mediocre reviews in the press as well as from a major consumer publication that I read routinely. As a consumer, I don’t have access to–for instance–the kind of virus-catching software that professionals use to test the effectiveness of anti-virus packages. As a result, my review can only really address general performance, the user interface, and convenience.

I’ve been using software for tax preparation for years. For the last few years (through 2012) I used an H&R Block product (Tax Cut) and although I was generally happy with it, last year I tried the on-line version of TurboTax. That experience was positive enough that I was happy to give the packaged version of TurboTax a try this year. Although I need to wait for some additional documentation from my bank and employer before I can finalize my 2013 taxes, my experience with TurboTax this year has been even better than last year.

Let me preface this review by noting that I’m running Windows XP, so results with Vista may differ. Norton 360 seems, in general, to get mediocre reviews in the press as well as from a major consumer publication that I read routinely. As a consumer, I don’t have access to–for instance–the kind of virus-catching software that professionals use to test the effectiveness of anti-virus packages. As a result, my review can only really address general performance, the user interface, and convenience.