Encarta seems, more than ever, to have adopted an 'if you can't beat them, join them' approach. Upon loading the program for the first time, we were prompted that updates were available for download. Smashing, we ...

The Britannica approach to fighting off the prevalence of Web resources is quickly apparent. It involves finding as much content as possible and throwing it in the direction of the DVD-ROM. Thus, as the packaging proudly ...

Sooner or later, most people think about tracing their family tree back through the generations to see if they're related to William the Conqueror or Vincent van Gogh. The problem is, who has the time, energy ...

You can't blame GSP for trying. Adorned with an 18 certificate, the promise of video clips and a full encyclopedia of sex, they've put together a product that's no doubt eyed-up by anyone trying to legitimately ...

The English language is such a quirky and eccentric thing. Someone who's good at gardening is said to have green fingers, yet we don't call an adept swimmer blue fingered. Or a bad mountaineer black fingered. ...

If you've ever been to the outback of Australia, you'll know that the night sky is a breathtaking display of clarity, with pin-sharp stars glistening against a pristine black backdrop. Go out on a wet Wednesday ...

History. It's all in the past, you may scoff. It's all dates. And currants, and brandy... Wait a minute, that's the recipe for a Christmas pudding, and you may scoff that as well. Oh no, it's ...

So you've got your driving test coming up? The best advice we can give, apart from obvious nuggets of wisdom like "Don't mow the lollipop lady down at 50mph" and "No handbrake turns", is to stay ...

Encarta, for a long time the multimedia encyclopaedia of choice, continues its reign at the top with the 2005 edition. It's traditional at this point to note how Britannica is continually closing the gap on Microsoft's ...

Once Britannica has stopped trying to sell you things, it's a grand piece of software. Yet the box comes with leaflets for extra products, the lengthy installation routine sells you them too, and you're not even ...

At first glance, there's no discernible difference between Autoroute 2004 and this latest version. Second glance? Er, the same conclusion actually, with the look and feel of the program seemingly photocopied from last time around. In ...

It's always been quite difficult to demonstrate the value of an electronic map. The printed versions are so easy to use and comparatively cheap that you need to be able to achieve more with an electronic ...

With all this renewed activity around Mars, and George W. Lightyear's decision to send humans there, you might, like us, be taking a more active interest in the night sky. Red Shift 5, which was launched ...

Ever since AutoRoute Express was launched for Psion's 3a palmtop in the mid-1990s, route planning and city mapping software has been very popular for palmtop computers. It makes sense, really. Rather than carrying a bulky guidebook ...

The sheer comprehensiveness of Microsoft's top notch multimedia encyclopedia program makes it simply impossible to cover the full breadth of its work in one single review. Frankly, the numbers can get bewildering. This time around, over ...

This edition of the Britannica encyclopaedia is stamped with a 2002 date, although it has just been re-released this year at the budget price of £9.99. So what do you get, exactly, for your tenner? A ...

It's easy to review route planning software without ever leaving the comfort of your posterior. However, anyone who has battled with some of the, ahem, 'less accurate' online route planning resources will appreciate that this doesn't ...

Space cadets out there, rejoice. And no, we're not talking about bong-toting hippies or avid Star Trek anoraks, but those disciples of the night sky who like to spend the wee hours gazing up into space ...

Okay, let's throw out a tangential line here. What if you were an alien, visiting Earth - imagine that. If otherworldly inspiration lets you down, just pretend you're Bill Bailey or Grace Jones. What's the first ...

Route planners are part of the staple diet of software your average PC might expect to encounter. They can work out some pretty fancy stuff these days; not just telling you how to get from A ...