deepburner

Nero Burning ROM is widely-regarded as the most complete disk burning software around. However, the program is becoming increasingly bloated and given that most normal users won’t use all of its advanced features, it makes sense to try out a free CD/DVD burning application first.

If you just need to quickly burn a disk with data, music or a movie, there are plenty of free solutions that will do the job with no nonsense. Check out the five free alternatives to Nero Burning ROM below, which are all reliable ways to burn disks for free.

One of the Christmas presents I got this year was a 1 GB USB memory stick. I find these devices quite handy for taking your stuff anywhere with you. They're becoming so popular that software programmers have now discovered a new gold mine in the development of applications for USB sticks, be it brand new programs or simply versions of popular tools that have been specifically adapted for USB sticks. These so-called portable applications are growing fast, giving you the chance of easily creating a customized, full-featured software kit and carrying it around with you. Just take a look at the list below and see the great applications you can now have in your pocket.

• Portable Firefox - A smaller version of the best web browser
• Thunderbird Portable - Special USB version of your favorite email client
• Portable VCL Media Player – Take the versatile media player anywhere
• CCleaner Portable – All the power of CCleaner on the move
• Portable NVU - The superb WYSIWYG editor in your pocket
• DeepBurner Portable - Just plug your USB key and burn discs
• Portable Puzzle Collection – Pocket-sized games for short breaks
• EssentialPIM Portable – Portable version of this great personal organizer
• Portable Gaim – MSN, ICQ, AOL, Jabber, Yahoo! and IRC on your USB
• Portable Cornice - A fast image viewer ready to work from your memory stick
• FileZilla Portable - Take your favorite FTP client with you

With books and CDs, DVDs are the most popular presents for the holidays and always great for the family. For one, I know my brother is into gangster movies, so I'm definitely going to get him some DVDs starring Humphrey Bogart or Al Pacino. Now the best way to truly enjoy a DVD during the holidays is to be nestled in a comfy sofa and have a nice widescreen TV with HD quality and surround sound. We're not all lucky enough to have a plasma screen and a DVD player though, but at least we can watch them on PC. Even more so, with the right programs, you can do much more with a DVD on a PC than on a TV. That's why I decided to compile some of the best insideTonic posts on different DVD applications you might find of use for the holidays.

The first program to have is PowerDVD. This classic player for PC is easy to use and works seamlessly. I personally like how the playback control hides discreetly once your movie starts and the way you can configure it to optimize elements like sound. AVS DVD Player is also another excellent player with really good advanced sound options.If you're taking a bus, plane or train to get back home during the holidays and have a long journey ahead, you can always take out your laptop and watch DVDs on that. However lucky owners of Pocket PCs can spare all the trouble by converting DVDs to Windows Mobile Format with CloneDVD and watching them on their mobile device.

What if you've loaned a DVD to a friend but really want to watch it during Christmas? You could always ring him up and ask for it back, but the best is to have made a backup copy previously, using AnyDVD. If you want to be able to watch a copy of your DVD with any player the best thing is to rip it with a tool like SmartRipper. You can then watch the ripped version in VLC, if you take the time to learn a little hack.

But maybe you don't want to watch DVDs at all but instead want to make a nice compilation of your holiday photos and clips to send out to relatives. I'd suggest using DeepBurner to record your DVD and a good labelling tool to make your own album cover. Or simply use VSO PhotoDVD to put all those holiday snaps on DVD in seconds.

So you see, even if you only have a PC at home, DVDs are still a great present to offer. Not only can you watch them but you can also burn, rip, create photo compilations or convert them to play on other devices.

Software applications are being constantly improved with every new version. Bugs are fixed, designs are polished, new functionalities are added. But sometimes they become too bloated, often losing sight of what they were created for in the first place. So for instance, whenever I need to record a CD or DVD, I no longer turn to Nero but use DeepBurner instead.

This neat program allows you to record CD or DVD in a very simple way: every time you launch it you see a project selection window where you can choose what to do (create a data disk, create an audio CD or burn an ISO image) and you're then guided through a few easy steps in a wizard-like process.