All in all, Comodo Registry Cleaner is a useful, neatly designed program — it's tough to find a better free Registry cleaner.

The virtual appliance seems a pretty good way to implement ZXTM in the average network, particularly if you're not going to be hammering the processor to death by using SSL encryption/decryption (which is always a CPU-killer)

Things gets everything right when it comes to the essential task management app for the iPhone. But at $12.99, users are paying a premium for something that should have been on the iPhone in the first place.

The improved Agnitum Outpost Pro Security Suite 2009 offers good but not the best of breed security — and as with Avira, the bar for ease-of-use has been raised by the likes of Norton Internet Security 2009. OPSS’ lack of smartness and relatively high price makes it an also-ran in the AV stakes.

Avira Premium Security Suite 8.0 is undoubtedly first-class at detecting malware but the AV game has moved on when it comes to factors such as usability, intelligence and hardware footprint. It's now looking relatively dated and awkward to use.

Apple’s latest update to the iPhone brings a raft of features that are, in the scheme of things, quite insignificant. Nevertheless, the new features are well-implemented. Though they are not all immediately available to Australians, there is still enough to be excited about.

Cyberlink DVD Suite 7 Ultra performs just about every disc-related task that the competition can handle — and does so extremely well. Include it in your comparisons with Roxio and Nero when you shop; it's that good.

The latest update to Google Mobile App brings with it a party trick that is sure to get everyone excited at first. But after using it for a while, Voice Search is not particularly useful except for wowing friends.

Although it has an unorthodox look and feel, Caligari trueSpace offers hundreds of tools, animation facilities and physics simulations, and a collaborative working environment.

Synching can complement or even replace backup for regular but relatively small jobs, especially between multiple PCs and devices. For larger jobs, backup might be a better idea. Ignore Windows Sync Center, another piece of Vista ‘uselessware' as it excludes server folder synchronisation from all but the Business and Ultimate editions, and in any case lacks enough configuration.

There is a wealth of Windows technical illustration software around the sub-$500 mark, but if you want the bitmap and 3-D functionality offered here too, as well as library of 4000 ready-to-use symbols, this suite probably provides better value in the long run. If you work with 3-D CAD models, you should be aware of the import limitations of Deep Exploration CSE, though.