Nero Burning for Linux

ceasol writes "The German company Nero, developers of the award-winning Nero Burning ROM suite for Windows, now release a free version for Linux called NeroLINUX a CD/DVD Burning Software, and include many features from the Windows version. This software is proprietary but free if you registered." The OEM versions of Nero that come with many CD burners aren't sufficient, though; NeroLINUX is free-as-in-beer only if you've registered "a full version of Nero software version 6 or higher," or a "retail version or downloaded version."

Comments

Free as in...

[ari_j]

So it's not free as in speech or free as in beer. It's more like free as in carbonation.

It's pointless

[KiloByte]

Now, tell me, what exactly would I want Nero for?

It's only value is that it includes a comprehensive point&click interface, but even though it's stuffed with features, it can't beat the existing, free tools.

Unless you're a Windows user who wants a program he's familiar with, there is no reason to even look at it. Plus, it's not even free-as-beer, as you need to pay for a full, registered version of Nero for Windows.

Re:What?

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

So you have to buy, or already own a copy of Nero. So tell me again how this is "free-as-in-beer?"

Well, it's free-as-the-beer-you-steal-from-the-convenience-sh op, given that Nero is usually d/l'ed rather than purchased really.

Perhaps they account for P2P in their "free as in beer" assessment...

So... dear Linux community what do YOU want?

[lonesometrainer]

Would you like to open your beloved OperatingSystem to the mainstream, would you want to see it become a real alternative to Windows, with commercial and proprietary applications?

Then put your comments ("they rather release the source, k3b is a lot better, I want to compile this shit under gentoo") where the sun doesn't shine. Mainstream and real competetion equals to commercial stuff (and the author of this message thinks this is GOOD).

Or do you prefer to stay geekie? Sugar-coke, kernel-hacks, geek-elitism, no sunlight, no showers, spots (and clearasil), jokes about years old bsd-girl-daemon-pics? Then let them know it (and greet the openbsd community in that case).

Decide for yourself.

This *is* important.

[Anonymous Coward]

Cut the free software crap. This is a mainstream company willing to take pay-per-use apps on Linux seriously.

Don't forget that the OS itself is pretty much commodity. Its the apps that count, and for a mature and *decent* app to make it to Linux is important news.

Ahh the wonderousness

[sparkie]

You all tout desktop linux like it's in the near future, then when a company brings a trusted name over to the linux desktop, all you see are complaints about how it's not free.

How about stop whining and give them a little support. Nero has been around on windows desktops for quite a while. Not that it's going to be the app that makes 2 million users stand up and switch, at least it's a start. People can now use their 'favorite burning application on linux' if in fact that is their favorite.

The point is joe schmoe doesn't even know what cdrdao is, nor does he want to learn another application. Yet, you say linux is destined for the desktop? I say bullshit. It's not destined for anything.

The biggest hurdle to Desktop Linux, is the current users of linux themselves.

I know this is Slashdot ...

[cdrguru]

But could we please call Ahead Software by their name instead of calling the company Nero? The product by Ahead Software is Nero. Yes, Nero was their original and sole product for a long time. I believe it was originally written by one guy. The company now has revenues exceeding $30 million a year.

How serious are they really?

[jejones]

I took a look at the web site, and clicked on the "buy" link. There's no way that I can just buy Nero for Linux. Either they haven't updated their web site completely, or they want to make me buy Nero for Windows in order to get Nero for Linux.

That, as Milton Friedman would say, distorts the commmunication that one's purchases constitute in a free market. I don't want Nero for Windows--I don't use Windows (save at work, under duress). I have no use for Nero for Windows...but there's no way I can communicate that to Nero with my money, the way they have it set up.

Re:Nero is to K3B arguably what OSX is to Linux

[westyvw]

Could you point out some of these better features? I have used K3B as a front end for cd and dvd burning and I would rather use it then Nero. Nero just gets worse, the interface is uglier and more confusing then ever before. So to find out I took a noob (family member) who had never used any CD burning software before. We did some basic tasks in Nero and some Basic tasks in K3B. Once comfortable, we did some shortcuts and some more complicated things like making amusic cd from mp3's that was live music so you needed to remove the pregap for example.

In the end the user preferred K3B over Nero. It was easier to use and "just worked right".

Re:Useless

[celtic_hackr]

Nero may be fine, I don't use it.

However ...

Nero Express, the OEM version (which is probably
the same as the Linux free version) is a piece of crap!

I've been working on burning some CDs at work using Nero's OEM version. I've begged them to let me use Linux to burn them. Each CD has 8-14,000 files. This just buries the CD burning software and loads the system to 100% usage. I've literally spent HOURS babysitting this process just to burn one CD, then I have to reboot the machine to burn another one.

I've suggested zipping them into a single file, but no go.

I wouldn't take Nero Software to burn CDs under Linux if they paid me!

I routinely burn backups to my Linux CDRW containing 10s of thousands of files and I don't spend hours doing it.

I *am* the target market for this.

[likewowandstuff]

I am one of those Windows users who has spent a lot of time looking at Linux distros but has yet to commit. I am studying for those basic certifications I need to be taken semi-seriously and recognize the need to move to Linux for reasons both personal and professional. I have spent the money on Nero Ultra Edition for the sake of having a lot of stable tools beneath the fairly unattractive interface.

Being able to keep (some of) these tools while I move on to greener pastures will make life just a little easier, and I will feel that my money was better spent.

Re:I *am* the target market for this.

[unixbugs]

...you can have it. The whole point of open source software is to know what it's doing and how it does it.

I have to say... I found your innocent comment almost insulting!

Personally I don't think this article's subject is any reason whatsoever to use Linux.

Sure, sure, go burn your stupid CD with the click of a mouse. Wee. Get hooked so nobody else's projects will ever make it. What are you going to do with your mouse when all the other projects are dead and you can't use Nero anymore because upgrades cost too much or your version "is not supported"? Buy something else? Ahh, that's it, you'll take your money elsewhere because you are used to paying out the nose for something you can't even own. Proprietary obsolescense at it's best.

Yeah, I know, "but the article says it's free". For now at least. This article really rubs me the wrong way. I can't stand the fact that it made it here. If I wasn't so tired (and drunk) I'd take the time to write you a script that could handle alot of the most common things needed for burning several types of CD's. Maybe I'll work on that tomorrow just to spite these fuckers.

I use Linux for the same reason I bought a truck that didn't come with an EULA saying I can't open the hood. Alot of developers and admins make better money doing other things besides putting buttons on a bash script and trying to package it like this. I'm reminded of when Visual Basic first came out. All these crapware apps hit the scene doing simple shit like a graphical traceroute and sign-u-on-alot, etc - some eventually growing together and becoming big money. Sickening to think this could happen to Linux where no source code could be available and the whole Idea lost to a generation of "converts".

Think about this. Why bother "Making The Big Switch" just because of something like this? I stuck with the tools I need to get my job done and done well. Stick with Windows. It will make my job of fixing bugs and hammering out workstation and server images alot easier if I don't have to include a bunch of shit that nobody can fix or understand why it broke because there is no source. We leave that bullshit for the Windows Guys. Talk about a miserable bunch, "ah just format it again".

Granted I'm not having the best day either, but that isn't because of the worm/bug/feature going around rebooting Server 2003 right now that nobody can seem to track down.

I realize alot of you think this might be a step in the right direction, but it's not. First of all, how many distro's do you think this will support (or be supported by)? You sure as hell aren't going to see a tgz of source code coming from them any time soon. Secondly, who could possibly benefit from this in the long run? Has history taught us nothing? Is this what we really want to become of each and every app that we use? CD's are allready designed to rot as it is, that itself is bad enough without having to rely on someone to provide us with software to write them.

Despite what you may think of my slant on this there is a very simple fact you cannot ignore: for each person like me, there are 10 Microsofties with a shitload of money and weight to throw around because of the name they carry. That is not to say anything good about the jobs they have, or anything bad about the money I make, its to show what it took to bring Linux here to begin with. It wasn't done by a bunch of mild mannered and sheepish fucktards who did what they were told, that's for sure.

If you don't like my opinion, do what everyone else does, censor it by modding it down.