Mac-using mental health practitioners now have more choice than ever before when it comes to office software. Our review covers the high points of Microsoft’s latest suite, the changing competitive landscape, and a few gotchas with the 2008 update.

We review Adobe’s latest update to the Creative Suite and ask: could this be Adobe’s best upgrade yet? The review covers Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Contribute, and more — while also addressing the question of whether such expensive software has a place in the small business environment.

Over in our practice development section, I’ve reviewed DEVONthink, a remarkable software package that brings artificial intelligence to the job of managing and using large collections of information. At first I thought it could make a great tool for mental health practitioners doing research and running a small business, but now I realise it can a secret weapon for just about anybody who needs to manage a flood of information.

Last year, I described my experiences trying to renew the digital certificate which enables this site to process data securely. Having battled with a company called RegisterFly, I wound up having a very pleasant experience with GoDaddy. Now a colleague who works in clinical trials has passed on news that the company I battled with was so bad it has actually been stripped of its ICANN accreditation. Caveat emptor!

Good news for practitioners looking for an easy way to log clinical contact hours: our simple clinical logbooks have been updated for the 2007-08 calendar, academic, and financial years. For the first time, we also have a special version for online practitioners eager to escape the ethical quicksand of reporting online clinical experience in misleading calendar time.

The version 8.5 upgrade is out: BBEdit, one of the most powerful text-editing packages available on any platform, acquires some new features and refines existing ones. It also sees a big price drop. Check the new review to learn what’s changed in the upgrade.

If you’re a mental health practitioner spending long hours in front of a computer communicating with clients, you’ll appreciate our review series on devices that can help reduce the symptoms of repetitive strain injuries. In our latest review, we take a look at the Logitech Cordless Trackman Optical.