We found Snow Leopard Server to be a powerful but simple to use server solution, with the stability and power of Unix, topped with an intuitive interface familiar from Apple’s accessible Mac OS X client operating system. The adoption of open standards, along with a focus on technologies that well support the company’s expanding iPhone platform and media lab technologies, provides useful advantages over competing products. Snow Leopard Server’s extensibility and attractive pricing system alone may seal the deal, especially in education, publishing and media creation settings.

The latest update to the iPhone's operating system provides many of the changes users have asked for since the smartphone's launch. There are still some missing, but those features that have been added are implemented well.

Safari 4 has come out of its short beta period to blossom as a remarkably attractive and well featured modern web browser. For Windows users, Safari has previously been something of an also-ran behind Firefox and IE, but with Safari 4, the browser could catch up on XP to Windows 7 systems too. Safari 4 is extremely fast in its page rendering thanks to the refined WebKit engine, and offers some genuinely useful user interface elements which make finding sites quicker and browsing a more comfortable experience.

Apple’s latest update to the iPhone brings a raft of features that are, in the scheme of things, quite insignificant. Nevertheless, the new features are well-implemented. Though they are not all immediately available to Australians, there is still enough to be excited about.

In its eighth iteration, ITunes remains solid, although it still has both its benefits and its quirks as a media organiser, player, and jukebox. None of the new features are what I would characterise as a must-have update, however. Genius is a useful — and generally well-done — addition, and Grid view may make finding music easier. Aside from that, though, nothing about iTunes 8 is particularly groundbreaking.

If you've got a large enough download limit and enough disposable income, Apple's iTunes Movies service provides the option to rent and purchase movies in standard or high definition. It's easy to use and has only minor drawbacks.

Aurora Feint is a fun and addictive puzzle game that combines simple gameplay with RPG elements to attract both casual and hardcore gamers. While there are still some bugs to be ironed it, they don’t detract from the gameplay experience at all.

With limited support for Windows calendar apps — and a barrel of configuration problems — MobileMe is no bargain for Windows users.

Apple’s Remote application is a brilliant piece of software that manages to tie the company’s bevy of wireless and music server technologies into the iPhone. It’s easy to use and has a great interface, though Apple’s application restrictions mean that you can’t use the iPhone in any other way while Remote is running.

It works with Apple's customary ease of use, the quality is good and the selection of programmes extensive, but we're not convinced of the economics of paying nearly $2.99 an episode, when there are free alternatives.

There are a myriad other small improvements – too numerous to list – which make this application much more pleasurable to use. Also, as the price has reduced so sharply there's no financial reason not to upgrade.

On the whole, we have very few criticisms of iLife. As ever, it represents superb value for money and the new versions of iPhoto, GarageBand and even iWeb are impressive (barring a few iWeb glitches of which you need to be aware). Even the minor upgrade to iDVD is worth having. iMovie '08, however, sticks out like a sore thumb. It may indeed offer a new approach to video-editing, but that doesn't alter the fact that -- in its current form, at least -- it simply isn't ready to act as a replacement for iMovie '06. Hopefully future iterations of this program will bring it up to scratch -- and at least it doesn't erase the old version when you install it.

Users comfortable with Microsoft Office may find it takes time to get used to Apple iWork '08. Advanced Word and Excel users, especially those who rely on specialised features and functions, will probably find Apple Pages '08 and Apple Numbers '08 to be limited. If you do rely on specific functions in Microsoft Excel or features in any of the Microsoft Office applications that are even slightly outside the more general types of usage, you will probably want to download the Apple iWork '08 30-day trial to ensure that the tools you need are there before buying. And, to be sure, the process of having to export files when interacting with Microsoft Office users could get old quickly if you have to do that regularly. But overall, Apple iWork '08 is beautifully designed -- a compelling product and great value for consumers and small business alike. It brings tons of innovation over previous versions of Apple iWork as well as many office suites on the market. And it turns typical office tasks and documents into creative outlets. That it offers all that it does for $99 is, frankly, hard to believe.

With iMovie becoming a dumbed-down shadow of its former self, Final Cut Express is now the Mac's best video editing option for amateur enthusiasts. Enthusiastically recommended.

So are 300-plus new features worth $158? That answer will vary, because no single user will ever take advantage of all -- or maybe even half -- of those 300 features. But given the impressive value of Time Machine and improvements to existing programs such as iCal, iChat, Mail, and the Finder, most active Mac users will find more than enough reasons to consider that upgrade cost money well spent. Despite a few interface missteps, particularly when it comes to the menu bar and the Dock, Leopard is an upgrade that roars.