Hot Disks 03/02

• Smart Design: It's difficult to master, but if you need vector-based graphics, you need Adobe Illustrator (www.adobe.com). Now available in version 10.0, Illustrator's latest offering provides easier access to its design tools, which include twist, bend and warp effects. The $399 application adds support for symbols, which keeps file sizes smaller and makes repeated graphics easier. Though it's not for beginners, llustrator's integration with Adobe products makes it an ideal choice for graphics pros.

• Set Up Shop: Point and click your way to a new Web site, even if you don't know any HTML. Peachtree's WebsiteCreatorPro (www.peachtree.com) makes it easy and inexpensive, at $19.99 per month per site. While the results won't be the most sophisticated, this Web-based service has all the basics. An extra $19.99 per month lets you add WebsiteTrader for setting up your own online shop.

• Get It Together: Clear up your crowded desktop with DragStrip 3.8 from Aladdin Systems (www.aladdinsys.com). DragStrip lets you store shortcuts to commonly used files, folders, applications and sites and can be put anywhere on your screen. Though it's not a necessity, DragStrip could be a handy bargain at just $20.

• Form Finder: Have a lean legal budget? Try Cosmi Swift Ware Personal and Business Legal Forms to Go (www.cosmi.com). This $19.99 application for Palms and Pocket PCs syncs with your PC and can create more than 200 legal documents, including bankruptcies, wills and leases. Basic legal help is also included.

Liane Gouthro, a former technology reporter at PCWorld.com, freelances from her home in Brookline, Massachusetts.