Annually updating all your software to the latest version has become prohibitively expensive, especially when all you get are a few bug fixes and a handful of extra features you didn't know you needed anyway.

But does it have to be this way? Is software forever doomed to be the supporting act overshadowed by headline-grabbing hardware? We spoke to some leading lights of the software industry to find out.

Speaking volumes
After many years of false starts, speech recognition software is at a point where it is ready to be taken seriously and dictation will soon become a viable means of entering data into word processors and spreadsheets. Don't get too excited, though, because computers you can control by talking to them are still a long way off.

Tim Sweeney of Epic Games can't see voice recognition having much of an impact on the games we'll be playing in the foreseeable future either. For him, the next advance to look forward to is the 64-bit version of Windows XP, a test release of which is already in the hands of games companies.

He believes (and he should know) that without 64-bit technology there is little more that can be done to enhance first-person interactive games. With a suitable 64-bit processor such as the Athlon 64 FX and the right operating system, however, it will be possible to deliver a genuinely cinematic game-playing experience.

Windows leads the way
The next version of Windows, codenamed 'Longhorn', is scheduled to appear within two years in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

We asked Neil Laver of the Information Worker Group at Microsoft what difference Longhorn would make to everyday programs such as Microsoft Office. He told us about the new database-driven disk-filing system.

This will make every piece of information on a hard disk instantly retrievable, be it a picture, email or Office document, and he promised that Office would make full use of Longhorn's revolutionary 3D interface.

How this will work is not evident in the early prototypes of the new operating system, but we do know that you'll be able to operate it using a standard keyboard and mouse.

No more bugs?
Although software is already far more reliable than at any time in the past, can we look forward to programs guaranteed never to crash? Not according to Simon Isted of Pinnacle Systems, who says: "Inevitably, there is an element of trial and error in making software for a diverse range of systems."

Gerard Metraillier, graphics product manager at Corel, agrees - although he admits that it would be possible to create a completely stable program if every computer had its own dedicated programmer. He adds that this is as unlikely as each patient in the NHS being assigned a full-time personal physician!

Despite their caution, Isted and Metraillier are upbeat about reliability. Thanks to evolving techniques of software design and the increasing use of the internet to report bugs, problems can be identified and patches distributed to fix them within weeks instead of months.

Better software, simply
Isted points out that Pinnacle is in the business of selling memories, not technology, so the key to future success is ease of use. Users will be less concerned with the mechanics of what they do than with the results.

Metraillier agrees and cites the new Smart Drawing tool in Corel Graphics Suite 12 as an example of how things can be made easier by imaginative software design.

Instead of constructing precise shapes from scratch, users draw rough sketches with a mouse or graphics tablet and the software licks them into shape. "Users must be given the functionality they need, not something software engineers think is cool," he says.

The Smart Drawing tool is the result of research into how users actually work, while at Microsoft they've been looking at even bigger questions, such as the role of software in society.

Laver told us how future versions of Microsoft software will help users escape the tyranny of their computers, which at present forces them to deal with an unregulated inflow of information, much of it irrelevant. Users will be able to decide who can communicate with them, when, and in what formats.

Technological developments
None of the experts can see any other storage medium replacing DVD in the immediate future. DVD has a long life ahead of it as the principal distribution medium for music, video and software. The medium's formidable capacity will increasingly be used to carry better help systems involving multimedia presentations and tutorials.

Another point of agreement is that software will get easier to use as hardware becomes more powerful. Designers already know how to make their programs simpler, but are currently constrained by the speed penalties this entails. Faster PCs will free designers to create friendlier software.

Nobody is predicting the death of the PC, far from it, but we will soon see the functions of many domestic and communications devices converging.

According to Jim Corbett of Ahead Software (the makers of Nero Burning ROM): "Wireless, streaming media servers and intelligent set-top boxes will change the way we watch home entertainment. Software will become more embedded and can therefore move away from the traditional desktop."

On the other hand, neither he nor anyone else thinks we'll see the end of traditional computer software or the PC itself. Tasks such as CD- and DVD-burning, word processing and video editing are not ones you can tackle from an armchair.

Crystal ball gazing
It's easy to see where software and hardware will take us in the future. The clues are all around us and most of the technology is already available.

Voice control, speech synthesis and visual recognition systems will enable your computer to recognise and interact with you. Wireless input devices and virtual reality techniques, such as the use of sensor gloves and motion-detecting headsets, will free you from the chains of your desk, and adaptive software that can remember what you did last, and anticipate what you might want to do next, will do much of your work for you.

It's not inconceivable that computers will one day be able to read our minds (or at least be operated by electrical impulses from them) and that no other form of input device will be needed, but what is absolutely clear is that none of this will happen overnight.

Development in the future, as in the past, will be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Software companies will continue to respond to their customers' needs with gradual improvement and not risk alienating them by pushing the boundaries too fast and too far.

THINGS THEY STILL NEED TO FIX
By 'they' we mean the software developers at Microsoft. Not that Microsoft is worse than any of the other software companies, but given the fortune Microsoft spends on usability testing, we can't understand why certain glaring errors and omissions have never been addressed.

1. Drag-and-drop is one of the key features of Windows, so why isn't there a dual-pane view in Windows Explorer so you can see both source and target folders with ease?

2. There's no Windows facility to rename a group of files according to a pattern. Instead we get a half-baked system of numbers in brackets.

3. Why isn't there a Calculate button in Word so you can type '2+2=' and then hit the button to insert the answer?

4. In Windows, why can't you print the names of all the files in a folder? Lists would make it much easier to keep track of the files on compilation CDs and backups.

5. Why is Excel limited to 256 columns when DOS spreadsheets used to offer us thousands?

APPLICATIONS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT ALONE
You're bound to have a mental shortlist of programs you wouldn't want to be without. These are the ones you'd take to your desert island along with your eight favourite records and a picture of Sue Lawley.

Unfortunately, the only way for software companies to stay in business is for you to keep buying their products, so they keep changing them to make them more tempting.

This doesn't always have the desired effect, though, because not all changes are for the better. Here are five programs we loved just the way they were.

1. Paint Shop Pro
Early versions were compact enough to fit on a floppy disk and would run on virtually anything that contained a graphics card. Now it's just another Adobe Photoshop clone, with too many awkward features and a heftier price tag than most rival applications. It's currently on version 8.1, but Paint Shop Pro 6 was its finest hour.

2. Office 97
There was an Office 95 but it was quickly cobbled together from whatever code Microsoft had lying around, whereas Office 97 was a near perfect rewrite. Lean, mean and magnificent, it had only one fault: that infuriating paperclip!

3. Microsoft Works
Microsoft Works used to be a nifty integrated package that was a cheap alternative to big office suites - and it would run on low-powered PCs with limited storage. Now that the opposition has been killed off, it has turned into a bloated 'home productivity' application. Bring back the 1996 version!

4. ACDSee Classic
Full marks to ACDSee for keeping the classic 2.43 version of this graphics viewer alive, even though there's an all-singing and dancing version 6 at twice the price.