Software reviews

Microsoft Project Natal review

Microsoft's Project Natal is a prototype immersive gaming system, and we've tried it out.

28/09/2009

Free

Windows XP SP3 review

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), just out from Microsoft as Release Candidate 2 (RC2), may not necessarily be worth the download now, but when it's finally released,…

27/02/2008

Free

Microsoft Live Mesh beta review

Microsoft has sacrificed usability to provide a pretty interface in Microsoft Live Mesh - a powerful but unnecessarily clumsy file-sync service.

01/08/2008

Free

Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 review

With Microsoft Small Business Server 2008, Microsoft has added big business functionality to an affordable SME tool.

03/10/2008

Free

Internet Explorer 8.0 Beta 2 review

Those who expect Internet Explorer 8.0 to be a warmed-over version of IE7, or a me-too response to Firefox 3.0, will be surprised by the just-released Beta 2 of IE8.

28/08/2008

Free

Microsoft Photosynth review: in pictures

Microsoft Photosynth is a technology that automatically stitches together digital photos. The company recently made Photosynth easier to use and open to all.

22/08/2008

Free

Windows Vista SP1 Release Candidate

The just-released Windows Vista SP1 Release Candidate (RC), like the previous beta, does more to improve the internal plumbing of Windows Vista than it does to make…

07/12/2007

Free

Microsoft Office 2010 Web Apps review

The most striking addition to Office 2010 is the introduction of Office Web Apps - lightweight versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote that are all…

19/11/2009

Free

Windows Vista SP1 review

The final version of Vista SP1 focuses on under-the-hood improvements to reliability, security, and performance, with very few changes made to the interface or…

15/02/2008

Free

Microsoft Office Live Small Business (MOLSB) review

Microsoft's Office Live Web service was designed for small businesses that needed an easy solution for creating websites and business emails. Microsoft Office Live…

19/02/2008

Free

Microsoft Office Live Workspaces

After an excruciatingly drawn-out development process, Microsoft's Office Live Workspaces - the company's attempt to marry Microsoft Office to the emerging web…

11/12/2007

Free

Microsoft Office Live Workspace file-storage service

The free Microsoft Office Live file-storage and -sharing service adds extremely useful online features to Microsoft Office.

19/12/2007

Internet Explorer 8.0 beta: first review

Microsoft has released Internet Explorer 8.0 beta 1, and encourages anyone to try it out.

06/03/2008

Free

Microsoft Soapbox video-sharing site

When we first tried a closed beta version of Microsoft Soapbox in September 2006, we felt that its ease of use and clean interface would help it challenge the…

26/08/2007

Free

Windows Defender 1.1

Microsoft's free Windows Defender anti-spyware and -adware ships as standard with Windows Vista and is available as a free download for Windows XP SP2.

27/08/2007

Free

Windows Live SkyDrive online storage service

Microsoft has taken the wraps off a beta version of the Windows Live SkyDrive online storage service. While it has a lot to like, it is clearly still a beta offering.

27/09/2007

Free

Windows Search 4.0 review

Windows Search 4.0 is finally here, and it's ready to enter the workplace as a well-mannered IT citizen.

10/07/2008

Free

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 review

Although not without problems, Microsoft Visual Studio is the premier IDE for developing applications with the Microsoft .Net Framework and at least a contender for…

09/06/2009

Free

Microsoft Silverlight 3 review

Microsoft Silverlight 3, Microsoft's much-enhanced rich internet application platform runs on Windows or Mac desktops, online or offline

15/06/2009

Free

Microsoft Bing review

At last, Bing has arrived. We tested a preview release of Microsoft's new search/decision engine, previously called Kumo, to see how well it compares. Here's a…

28/05/2009

Free