Software : In Depth: Best free DVD burning software: 8 programs to burn media and backups

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• In Depth: Best free DVD burning software: 8 programs to burn media and backups
• Do Siri job postings point to expansion of the personal assistant?
• HTC Myst may welcome 'Facebook Home' to Androids everywhere

In Depth: Best free DVD burning software: 8 programs to burn media and backups Posted: We may be more likely to sync our files with a smartphone these days, but CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs are still a very useful way to store, share and present your data. The companies behind the top commercial burning suites know this, too, which is why they can charge such eye-watering prices. But you may not have to spend big money - or any money at all, in fact - to get the functions you need. Some of the best disc burning software around is actually free, and yet still has the power to burn data discs, audio CDs, videos, Blu-ray discs, run backups, manage disc images and more. We've got everything you need to know. 1. ImgBurn ImgBurn is a lightweight burning tool with plenty of useful features. It can write data to disc, or create audio CDs from all the main music formats. There's support for creating, reading or writing a host of formats (BIN, CCD, CDI, CUE, DI, DVD, GI, IMG, ISO, MDS, NRG and PDI). The program has lots of advanced settings and options, and works with everything from CDs to Blu-ray discs. You can't just drag in a few videos to create a video disc, though (you'll need a video folder), and ImgBurn can be a little complex to use. But if you need real burning power, or lots of disc image options, then it's probably the best free tool around. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Ashampoo Burning Studio Free Ashampoo Burning Studio has a good range of options for a free tool. You can burn data discs, audio CDs and DVD video discs (from folders), for instance, as well as creating and burning disc images. There's also a built-in CD ripper, and even a simple backup tool which can span a backup over several discs. These options are relatively limited. File format support is poor when compared to ImgBurn, for instance, and there's little fine control over how a disc is burned. The program is exceptionally easy to use, though, and if you just need the basics then Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE makes a great choice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. DVDFlick Most general disc burning tools can only create video DVDs from a prepared folder. Install an authoring tool like DVDFlick, though, and your life will be much easier. The program is very easy to use. Add your movie clips (more than 45 video formats are supported), choose your preferred menu template and you can be creating your finished disc (or DVD folders, or ISO image) with a click. There are some issues here. The menus are very basic; encoding is slow, and the program is getting old (it's not been updated since 2009). DVDFlick does still work very well, though, so if you need more video DVD functionality than other programs provide, we'd give it a try. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. StarBurn A little more basic than some of the competition, StarBurn is essentially a collection of small tools which you access from a simple icon-based launcher. There's still plenty to explore here, though. Straightforward wizards help you to burn data, audio CDs and video DVDs (from folders), the program can help you create images from discs, or your choice of files, and there's even a little room for extras, including a CD ripper and simple audio file conversion tool. Image support is a little limited at ISO only, and experts won't like the lack of fine control, but StarBurn remains a capable tool which is also very easy to use. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. BurnAware Free BurnAware Free is a likeable tool with an appealing interface. It scores well on the fundamentals, too, with options to burn data discs (including to Blu-ray), audio CDs, video DVDs (from folders), boot discs, ISO images and more. You don't have all the options or file format support provided with some of the competition (the program only works with ISO and CUE/BIN images, for instance), and it's only free for personal use. But if simplicity is a top priority then BurnAware Free still needs to be on your shortlist. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. DVDStyler If you're tired with the lack of DVD video support in regular burning tools, then DVDStyler can help - it's a surprisingly powerful authoring tool. The program imports all the main video formats, for instance. It's smart enough not to re-encode MPEG and VOB files. Drag and drop support and pre-built menu templates mean you'll be producing quality DVDs very quickly, but DVDStyler also has more menu customisation options then some commercial tools. All this power can make the program a little complex in place, and there are reliability issues (we've known it to crash occasionally), but the lengthy feature list means you should still give it a try. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. CDBurnerXP CDBurnerXP opens with a clear and simple menu, making it easy to find the function you need. The program can burn data discs (CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray), audio CDs and disc images, as well as creating video DVDs from folders, and there are some small but welcome extras. When burning an audio CD, for instance, you can import a CD from a playlist, use the built-in audio player to check any track, and print the playlist when you're finished. The program doesn't excel everywhere - it only works with ISO images, for example - and it can become trickier to use when you get into more complex tasks, but overall CDBurnerXP is a solid and reliable burning application. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. Free Video to DVD Converter Free Video to DVD Converter is all about creating video DVDs, and its simple wizard-based interface makes this generally very easy. Import your videos (most formats are supported), set up your menu (tweak chapter names, fonts, colours and more), and the program will burn the disc, create an ISO image or DVD folders with a click. There aren't the same menu design possibilities that you'll see with DVDStyler (you only get one template, for instance). The program is missing a preview option, and it's not been updated for a while. But Free Video to DVD Converter is also simple to use and one of the more reliable free DVD authoring tools.

Do Siri job postings point to expansion of the personal assistant? Posted: It looks as if Apple is preparing to expand its virtual personal assistant Siri, as the iPhone maker posted a dozen Siri-related job ads over the weekend. Apple began advertising on its jobs portal over the weekend for new positions related to Siri that range from "Siri Software Engineers" to a "Siri Interaction Designer" and a "Siri Monitoring Architect." Apple hasn't announced anything regarding Siri, but given the talent that the company is looking to bring on board, it seems the old girl is about to get better. The listings themselves also provide a glimpse, if an uncertain one, at Siri's possible future. Sounds like a Siri-ous overhaul Siri had a lot of promise when she hit the iPhone scene, but her crow's feet and split ends quickly began to show through her shiny, commercial facade. Apple began posting job listings in January that pointed to some improvements for her virtual personality. The latest job listings hint at even further improvements and expansions. One asks for Hadoop engineers "to implement, support, and maintain large-scale infrastructures" for Siri. A Siri speech operations engineer would "take part in building and managing some of the world's largest server deployments" that "will have the potential of directly and immediately benefiting millions of Apple customers." Siri software engineers will "contribute to the next big revolution in human-computer interaction" by, among other things, "[improving] Siri's accuracy." Meanwhile, Siri interaction designers "will contribute to extending Siri's capabilities, knowledge, and intelligence, helping invent new techniques for conversational interaction." And so on. What's really in Siri's future? Based on the job listings it seems Apple will soon begin working to improve Siri's accuracy (a much-needed effort) and add new functionality, though we can't currently guess what that might include. Previous rumors have claimed that Siri could wind up expanding beyond the mobile realm to Mac OS X, but nothing in these Siri job ads seems to hint directly at that direction. One thing is for sure, though: Siri is here to stay.

HTC Myst may welcome 'Facebook Home' to Androids everywhere Posted: Facebook's "new home for Android" will open its doors on Thursday, though that impending due date isn't stopping a number of leaks from bubbling to the surface. First, some background: Reports from last week suggest that during a Menlo Park event, Facebook will introduce a handset built by HTC and injected with a tweaked version Android. The rumors said this 'droid will put Facebook front and center, including making account info pop up immediately on the home screen. OK, now that we're up to speed, let's look at the most recent breeches. Android Police has gotten its hands on a system dump for "the Facebook phone," and while the information may make you go "eh," it does give us details about what we might see come April 4. It's important to note that the publication couldn't actually log into the program since, as a pre-release, it looks as though only employees of the social network have access, but there's plenty to glean from the available data. Myst-ery solved? According to the build.prop specs, Facebook is working with a phone made by HTC with the model name of Myst. That moniker should sound familiar, as rumors of the HTC Myst have lurked in the shadows for the last several weeks. This particular handset is destined for U.S. wireless carrier AT&T. Its skin is the old Sense 4.5 and it runs Android 4.1.2. There's a 4.3-inch display with 720p resolution, on which you can see the snaps you take with either the 5MP rear camera or 1.6MP front camera. It looks as though the phone lacks an SD Card, though it has 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi. The processor is pegged as a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960. Much of this we've heard before, thanks largely to regular leakster @evleaks. Previous info from the Twitter-handled tipper says that the same 4.3-inch display will own 320ppi. The MSM8960 is said to run at 1.5GHz while the phone will also pack 16GB of internal storage. To wrap it all in a bow for you: We're definitely looking at a mid-range phone here, which may be a let down to those who've been waiting for "Buffy" to rise for the last two years. But what about the Facebook? What will set the Myst apart from other mid-tier devices, at least initially, is a one-of-a-kind Facebook app. According to Android Police, the package name for the regular Facebook app is "com.facebook.katana." Myst's package is titled "com.facebook.wakizashi." Wakizashi has everything it needs to be a home screen app, one that's called "Facebook Home." We actually heard TechCrunch talk about Home last week in a report that also highlighted the social network's deep home screen integration on a new device. "Rosie," HTC's traditional home screen app, is nowhere to be found on the Myst, and Wakizashi has a number of added Android permissions. A few of those include the ability to turn off the lock screen, have Facebook boot up as soon as the phone starts, a way to control the Wi-Fi connection and a "SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW" function that lets the Facebook app generate windows that layer on top of all other windows. Additionally, and more importantly, there are permissions that let Facebook read settings for the stock Android Launcher, HTC Launcher and TouchWiz Launcher. That TouchWiz element is particularly ear-perking because it means that Facebook Home isn't limited to Myst: It can find its way onto other handsets as a standalone application, one Police thinks could end up on the Play Store. All told, it looks like this is a "mutant Facebook app," and not a rewrite of the Android OS as previously believed. However, this determination comes from an unreleased dev build, so Thursday could bring about a whole other software beast. At least for now we're a little less Myst-ified.

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