Three of Microsoft's consumer titles were updated in fall 2005: Digital Image Suite comes in a new bundle with video-editing software from Pinnacle, while Streets and Trips, as well as the Works Suite, received incremental updates. All three products are sold primarily online and through retail stores, although OEMs sometimes bundle these products—particularly Works Suite—with consumer-oriented PCs.

Digital Image Suite Plus, released in Nov. 2005, combines Digital Image Suite 2006, Microsoft's high-end tool for organizing digital photos and videos, with Pinnacle Studio 10, a consumer video-editing application. Adding Pinnacle's software will help Microsoft appeal to consumers who have outgrown the video-editing capabilities of the free Movie Maker application that ships with Windows.

Digital Image Suite Plus has an estimated retail price of US$130 before rebate, a savings of US$20 compared with Digital Image Suite 2006 (US$100) and Pinnacle Studio 10 (US$50) if purchased separately.

Streets and Trips 2006 comes in two versions: with and without a GPS device called the GPS Locator. The software without the Locator is meant for planning trips, while the version with the Locator can also be used on a portable PC in a car, where it functions like an on-board navigation system, such as OnStar, providing both text and verbal driving directions as the user travels along the route. The latest version of the software, released in Oct. 2005, can also locate the user based on proximity to known Wi-Fi hot spots, which could be helpful in urban areas for users who don't have the GPS Locator. It also features numerous interface enhancements, such as black-background maps for easier viewing at night.

Streets and Trips has a suggested retail price of US$130 with the GPS Locator, or US$40 without.

Works Suite 2006, released in Oct. 2005, is the latest version of Microsoft's most comprehensive bundle of consumer software. The latest version of the suite includes a mixture of both new and old titles. New titles include Digital Image Standard 2006 (Microsoft's low-end digital photography organization software) Encarta Standard 2006 (an encyclopedia with online content), Money Standard 2006 (personal finance software), and Streets and Trips 2006, all of which were updated in 2005. It also includes Word 2002, the word processor released as part of Office XP, and Works 8, a productivity suite consisting of a basic spreadsheet, database, and calendar, which was released in 2004.

Works Suite 2006 retails for approximately US$100.

Resources

The 2006 versions of Digital Image, Encarta, and Money are covered in "Consumer Software, Keyboards Updated" on page 23 of the Aug. 2005 Update.

Pinnacle Studio 10 information is at www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/Home+Video/Studio+Family.

Streets and Trips is at www.microsoft.com/streets.