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Best Software

Two software highlights this year: An office app that integrates voice recognition, and a game that gives you control over an artificial creature that learns and grows. HAL, are you out there?

Best Operating System

Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional: The $319 Windows 2K ($219 upgrade) from Microsoft is so stable that some PC users might forget which shade of blue goes with the screen of death. While it may never be the right OS for some home users, it's supported by most new software and peripherals.

800/426-9400

Best Office Suite

Microsoft Office XP Standard: The latest $479 ($239 upgrade) version of Microsoft's Office suite isn't a massive improvement, but it makes it easier to find commands formerly buried in obscure menus. And its disaster-recovery feature can often save a file even as the application that created it is crashing.

800/426-9400

Best Utility

Dynamic Karma Power Drawers: Enhance your PC's filing system with Dynamic Karma's Power Drawers, a $35 utility that makes navigating Windows much easier. Right-click a folder, and its contents are displayed in a menu. Click a document, and it opens in the appropriate application.

250/721-2206

Best Security Software

Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Pro: Zone Labs' $40 ZoneAlarm Pro firewall adds to your network's protection with an expanded e-mail scanner utility, and you can customize its settings if you don't like the default firewall rules. ZoneAlarm Pro also includes features for corporate networks and remote administration.

877/546-3823

Best Antivirus Utility

Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2001: With one of the most extensive libraries of virus definitions available, Symantec's $40 Norton AntiVirus 2001 adds a new layer of protection by scanning e-mail as you download it, before recognized viruses can cause trouble. You can update virus definitions with a few clicks, so it's easy to keep your virus protection current.

800/441-7234

Best Contact Manager

Interact Commerce ACT 2000: ACT has years of experience as a full-featured contact manager. This $190 package from Interact Commerce includes tools to keep track of contacts and sales, and it exchanges data with Outlook's calendar app.

877/386-8083

Best PIM

Micro Logic Info Select 6: If you haven't used the $150 Info Select from Micro Logic, you don't know all that a PIM can be. Gather all your extraneous bits of data--contact lists, calendars, simple databases, notes, to-do lists, and e-mail messages--and place them in one hierarchical tree. Then let the Search function blow your mind.

201/447-6991

Best Business Accounting Software

Peachtree Complete Accounting Release 8: Peachtree Software's $270 Peachtree Complete Accounting features a new Financial Report Wizard, which walks you through creating complex reports, and the Peachtree Today navigation tool, which makes the program much easier to use.

800/228-0068

Best Personal Finance Software

Intuit Quicken Deluxe 2001: What's more personal than your finances? Intuit's $60 Quicken Deluxe 2001 will help you keep a little more of your brass in your pocket. New and noteworthy are the program's capital gains tax estimator and real-time updates on your stock portfolio through Quicken.com.

800/811-8766

Best Web Browser

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5: The latest version of Microsoft's Web browser added a content advisor for parents and a print preview mode. But Internet Explorer 5.5's real strength is compatibility--no other browser out there lets you take advantage of more Web sites.

800/426-9600

Best E-Mail Software

Qualcomm Eudora 5: The granddad of graphical e-mail programs still shines. Don't want to spend $50 for the full, ad-free program? Free ad-supported and reduced-functionality versions are available. Eudora's e-mail and spam filters have always set the standard, and you can forget about viruses that use the Outlook address book to propagate.

800/238-3672

Best Group Application

WebEx: The WebEx Meeting Center allows you to run real-time online meetings, with voice, video, and application sharing. WebEx has expanded into a full online office, offering file storage, directory apps, and calendaring to its customers.

Best Image Editing Software

Adobe Photoshop Elements: Daunted by Adobe Photoshop's $609 price and its infamous complexity? You can get most of Photoshop's image editing features at one-sixth of its cost with Adobe's Photoshop Elements. The $99 Elements uses wizard-like Recipes to walk you through complex tasks while remaining more flexible than other low-priced applications.

800/833-6687

Best Desktop Publishing Software

Adobe InDesign 1.5: For professional publishing, Adobe's $699 InDesign 1.5 is still the best performer on a PC. Powerful layout tools, easy output to Adobe's PDF format, and the ability to open and edit QuarkXPress files gives InDesign the lead over Quark in a very close PC publishing race.

800/562-3623

Best Drawing Software

CorelDraw 10: Value is the name of the game with CorelDraw 10. For $499, its professional illustration tools rival those of competitors Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia FreeHand. The bundle includes Photo-Paint 10 (a powerful image editor) and a new animation program called RAVE.

800/772-6735

Best Web Design Software

Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 Fireworks 4 Studio: A boon to budding site builders and seasoned Web professionals, Macromedia's $399 Dreamweaver 4 Fireworks 4 Studio has all the tools you need to design and code complex Web sites, images, and animations. With a new common interface and more robust design tools, this latest version of the suite is better than ever.

800/457-1774

Best Business Graphics

Microsoft Visio Standard 2002: Microsoft Visio's still the be-all and end-all of business diagramming tools, with a clean interface and the most extensive library of graphics that we've seen in a diagramming package. The latest $199 release integrates tightly with Microsoft Office and the Web; the combination gives you more options for publishing charts and makes the process easier than ever before.

800/248-4746

Best Game

Electronic Arts Black & White: The unique and compelling Black & White from Electronic Arts follows the lead of Populous and The Sims. Step into the land of Eden to take control of villagers who worship you as a god, and teach an amazing creature to act in your own image.

900/288-4468

Best Freeware

Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Free: How can you beat peace of mind packed into a 1.7MB download? The free version of our favorite security software, from Zone Labs, is an easy way to hacker-proof your Net connection.

877/546-3823

Best PDA Software

AvantGo: Keep the Web in your Palm with AvantGo. Simply install the free software, then sync your PDA to download the latest news and info from your favorite sites.

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