Microsoft pulls off an extraordinary feat reinventing desktop application design, but it's only the taste of things to come regarding the web.

For years now there has been talk of Microsoft’s determination to move into the design software territory normally associated with Adobe. Now, with the launch of the Expression Studio suite, the talk is over – so how does it shape up?

VERDICT: Bizarrely antiquated and underpowered creative asset management.

To give a general boost to its professional design credentials and in particular to its Expression Studio suite, Microsoft decided that it needed an application for managing media assets and so bought up iView MediaPro 3...

In May Microsoft released new previews of Expression Graphic Designer, Expression Web Designer and Expression Interactive Designer.

It’s clear that Microsoft is preparing a new suite of applications aimed at a new target market - designers and creative professionals. So how are the new pretenders shaping up?