Open Source CD/DVD Burning
Burning CD's and DVD's in Windows just isn't a cakewalk if you're relatively new at it - and even when you have experience, there's always the problem of what software to use. Sure, some folks love Nero, and there's the old tried and true Roxio software as well - some folks even trust Windows to do the work and expect things to work every time. Well, it's time I have a rant to set some things out on the table.
1) It should not be necessary for a system to be rebooted when adding CD-ROM burning software.
2) The software should be easy on the "dumbed down" menu's. Folks do get the files/folders anology of disk storage management, but there seems to be a conspiracy against showing this stuff in the fear that folks will be confused - and some folks are, but most arent.
To this end, I have a few programs to present:
First, InfraRecorder. Infrarecorder is similar to Nero and Roxio - it can burn ISO images, make ISO images, and it can work with most CD and DVD records - and no reboot is required, and it's open source. I've been using InfraRecorder for years without problems on multiple systems - and you can try it without even uninstalling those other softwares first.
Second, The only place that InfraRecorder comes up short is mastering DVD's for playing on your living room DVD player. To make up for this, look at DVD Flick - it's also open source, but it's not a simple disk maker - it's designed to perform the transcoding needed to master DVD's and burn them. It has some simple DVD menus and chapters features as well. I've been able to assemble different home videos, build menu's, and put everything together quite nicely with this one. It's an excellent free option compared to paying $60 or more for Nero.
Third, if you're the type of doesn't want to burn ever ISO you download, and can utilize them locally on your computer, there's a program called Daemon Tools that deserves a look-see. Daemon Tools permits you to mount ISO images as additional virtual disk drives, and it's quite the useful tool.
Another item worth mentioning, for a while now I've been enjoying the Cool Iris plugin on my Firefox - it makes image searches into slide shows - complete with 3D, youtube and hulu support, and best of all - it works in Mac OSX, Windows and Linux.
For those of you who are video buffs, and want an alternative video player for your Windows setup, and miss the old style video player (that doesn't tell Microsoft what you're watching) then you might want to look at the K-Lite Codec Pack. This package has some nice add-ins that are worth looking at, including something called Media Player Classic.
If you find these tools helpful, perhaps you'll also find the Piratefish Anti-Spam system helpful as well. It's designed specifically to help non-linux users build an anti-spam gateway using Ubuntu Server.
Cheers to you all!
1) It should not be necessary for a system to be rebooted when adding CD-ROM burning software.
2) The software should be easy on the "dumbed down" menu's. Folks do get the files/folders anology of disk storage management, but there seems to be a conspiracy against showing this stuff in the fear that folks will be confused - and some folks are, but most arent.
To this end, I have a few programs to present:
First, InfraRecorder. Infrarecorder is similar to Nero and Roxio - it can burn ISO images, make ISO images, and it can work with most CD and DVD records - and no reboot is required, and it's open source. I've been using InfraRecorder for years without problems on multiple systems - and you can try it without even uninstalling those other softwares first.
Second, The only place that InfraRecorder comes up short is mastering DVD's for playing on your living room DVD player. To make up for this, look at DVD Flick - it's also open source, but it's not a simple disk maker - it's designed to perform the transcoding needed to master DVD's and burn them. It has some simple DVD menus and chapters features as well. I've been able to assemble different home videos, build menu's, and put everything together quite nicely with this one. It's an excellent free option compared to paying $60 or more for Nero.
Third, if you're the type of doesn't want to burn ever ISO you download, and can utilize them locally on your computer, there's a program called Daemon Tools that deserves a look-see. Daemon Tools permits you to mount ISO images as additional virtual disk drives, and it's quite the useful tool.
Another item worth mentioning, for a while now I've been enjoying the Cool Iris plugin on my Firefox - it makes image searches into slide shows - complete with 3D, youtube and hulu support, and best of all - it works in Mac OSX, Windows and Linux.
For those of you who are video buffs, and want an alternative video player for your Windows setup, and miss the old style video player (that doesn't tell Microsoft what you're watching) then you might want to look at the K-Lite Codec Pack. This package has some nice add-ins that are worth looking at, including something called Media Player Classic.
If you find these tools helpful, perhaps you'll also find the Piratefish Anti-Spam system helpful as well. It's designed specifically to help non-linux users build an anti-spam gateway using Ubuntu Server.
Cheers to you all!
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