Software & Services

  • Serif: Affinity Designer, OS X and taking on Adobe We spoke to Serif's managing director to find out how development was going on its first professional graphics design tools for OS X
  • Serif Affinity Designer beta free on OS X Serif's free beta gives illustrators and graphic designers a significantly cheaper alternative to Adobe's Creative Cloud
  • Core AfterShot Pro lead image
    Corel AfterShot Pro 2 High quality RAW processing, but the unambitious updates mean Adobe Lightroom is still the better buy
    £58
  • best buy
    Xara Web Designer 10 Premium A slick and easy to use WYSIWYG web editor, Xara Web Designer 10 Premium is capable of producing sophisticated sites for multiple platforms
    £90
  • Apple iOS 7
    iOS 7.1 A sleek-looking update that makes iOS easier to use and puts settings in more convenient places
  • MozyHome Limited storage space, but the free sync service and excellent backup software are a bonus
    £5
  • SquirrelSave This cheap Cloud backup service is starting to show its age, but it still performs reliably and with the added boon of unlimited storage
    £5
  • best buy
    SugarSync desktop
    SugarSync The premium price is worth paying for the most flexible Cloud sync service available
    £4
  • Tracktion 5 Sophisticated recording software at a breakthrough price, but its quirky interface won't be to everyone's taste
    £35
  • ADrive file upload
    ADrive A bargain Cloud backup and sync package, but software issues and tricky file recovery count against it
    £1.50
  • Box This powerful all-round sync package may be overkill for some, but its web interface and mobile apps are highly polished
    £3
  • Copy A well-designed Cloud sync package with generous free and good-value paid options
    £6
  • best buy
    Livedrive A robust platform with unlimited space puts Livedrive ahead of the Cloud backup competition
    £5