Whether you're a professional wanting great kit, a small business owner gearing up on your own, or a home user looking for great family software, Halfvalue.co.uk's software and hardware features and buying guides can help you find products to suit your needs.

Which Version of Windows XP?

Which version of Windows XP is right for you? Find out with the help of our expert recommendations , and discover more about this new operating system from Microsoft.

Office XP

Office XP was developed with three consumer groups in mind: individuals, teams and organisations. Our XP Buying Guide investigates XP solutions for your home computer, your department at work or your entire company.

Game Programming

If you have your own ideas of what would be a blockbusting game, want to create customised ones to share with friends and family, or if you want to learn about the languages that support games, you'll be shooting 'em up in no time in 2-D and 3-D with advice from our Game Programming Buying Guide.

Language Learning Software

Voice recognition software has revolutionised language learning. Our language software buying guide introduces the best language learning software available on the market today.

Personal Finance & Accountancy Software

Take the stress out of controlling your money. Our Personal Finance Software Buying Guide can help you choose the right software to manage your current and future financial life. If you need accountancy software for your business, read our Accountancy buying guide for the latest software.

Image Editing

With sales of digital cameras having overtaken conventional models, deciding what to do with your pictures once you've taken them is more important than ever. Digital-image editing software provides the opportunity to be a lot more creative with your photos. We recommend software for a digital darkroom.

Programming

Whether you are learning to program for the Windows environment, cross-platform or the Internet, or embarking on a major development project, choosing the right tools is critical. It is not only a matter of which product to go for. Most of the leading packages are presented in a bewildering variety of versions, with huge differences in price. Our Programming Buying Guide aims to help you through the maze.

Handheld PCs (PDAs)

Need information on the go? Keep yourself informed, organised and entertained with a handheld computer, also called a personal digital assistant (PDA). These portable computers manage your calendar, contact information and to-do lists. Some provide a voice recorder and note taker; others let you read e-mail and information downloaded from the Internet, but which one do you need?

Print Software

Looking for software to help make greeting cards and stationery, clip-art libraries or professional-looking business materials? We recommend the best software for home and business print projects of all flavours.

Accountancy

Whether you're a self-employed sole trader or the boss of a multi-million pound start-up, you need good, strong accounting practices on your side. Halfvalue.co.uk's Accountancy Buying Guide will help you to choose the right package for your type and size of company.

Web-site Creation

Get the lowdown on the tools you will need to create a stunning, cutting-edge Web site, with our article that surveys the software currently available.

PC Protection

You may not realise it but the most valuable item on your PC isn't the hardware or the software--it's the data you've painstakingly entered. We recommend software that will protect your computer from viruses, hackers and the like.

CD-ROM Encyclopedias

Multimedia encyclopedias are increasingly more popular--and it's easy to see why. Their searchability, incorporation of sound and video, and interactive demonstrations are just a few of the advantages they have over paper encyclopedias. Our encyclopedia buying guide researches the range available on CD-ROM and DVD, and recommends the best encyclopedias.

Which Linux?

There are half a dozen major Linux distributions and dozens of minor ones. They're all reliable, flexible and massively featured--but depending on your needs there may be one distribution that's best for you.

Web Graphics

Graphic artists who create images for the Web or CD-ROM have different demands from those creating artwork solely for print. Web artists must understand all the elements of commercial design--such as composition, texture, form--with an eye for the computer medium. Halfvalue.co.uk's guide helps you master the art of creation with electrons.

Macintosh

When Apple introduced the candy-coloured iMacs in 1998, it attracted a new generation of Mac users. Perhaps you too have just bought your first iMac and you're keen to load up on cool software? Or perhaps you use a Mac to run your home business or design Web graphics. Find Mac software to suit your requirements.

WebCams

Want to put together some video clips to send to distant relatives? Are you looking to take some digital photographs, without spending a fortune on a digital camera? A WebCam could be just what you are looking for, but which one?

Trip Planning and Travel

Prior planning makes all the difference when you're travelling. Today's trip-planning software gives you a wide range of options as you near your next overseas jaunt or out-of-office meeting. Our travel software buying guide will make sure you make all the right turns.

Graphics Cards

One of the best ways to improve your PC's performance is to upgrade its graphics card, particularly if one of your main interests is games. Find out which one you need to transform your PC today.

PC Hardware for Gamers

Surround-sound systems, high-performance video cards, lightning-fast processors--all these new toys are fun, but it's easy to become intimidated by the mountains of high-performance gaming hardware. Fortunately, Halfvalue.co.uk's recommendations can help you turn your off-the-shelf PC into a tricked-out gaming rig.

Music Software

Let loose, get groovy, make music with your computer. We explore the best music software available, including programs for MP3 and CD burning, sampling, instrument instruction and more.

MP3 and Digital Audio Players

MP3 represents a near-perfect medium for portable music. The compressed format makes it easy to store music collections on your computer's hard drive and download songs from the Internet. There are many things to consider when choosing an MP3 player, from its storage capacity to its expansion options and the software it uses.

Home Reference

Today's CD-ROM encyclopedias and dictionaries are a far cry from the dusty printed volumes of old. Some are plain, offering basic information with little or no graphics. But others include everything from DVD presentations to Web-based support, and information organisers that practically write essays for you.

Tax Time

Let's be honest: tax return software isn't the type of application most us of dream of when we invest in a personal computer. But self-assessment is on the rise, and the good news is there are a number of tax applications that help you to do it yourself cheaply.

Is Linux Right for You?

Everybody's talking about Linux. The Open Source operating system has attracted the attention of business leaders, politicians, and writers, from Neal Stephenson to Illiad. Promoters say it's a Windows-killer. Is it time for you to switch?