4. Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 - Microsoft's second-generation operating system for multimedia-optimized computers. It's a "classy, attractive way to manage your digital photos, music files, TV and radio favorites, and more."

3. Activewords - The $50 ActiveWords Plus is an interface that reacts when you type words on the keyboard. ActiveWords is "an exemplary power tool for quickly performing repetitive tasks, launching favorite programs or Web pages, and applying the idea behind Word's AutoComplete to customize and optimize your whole computing environment."

2. OpenOffice.org 1.1 - OpenOffice is a free, open-source, Microsoft-file-compatible word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing suite. Interchanges for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as PDF export and a macro recorder, are also included.

1. Microsoft Office 2003 - "It's somewhat anticlimactic or obvious, but it'd be foolish to deny that the new editions of Gates & Co.'s ultra-dominant software suite are the most significant of the year. *** ...Outlook 2003's reorganized reading layout and built-in spam blocker, as well as the Small Business Edition's impressive (but unshareable or single-user) contact manager, are a real help to end users...."

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A few points are clear from this article. Google is the king of search, and cementing its position. And Microsoft still rules the world of operating systems and basic office applications — although the open-source hordes are nipping at its heels.