German company Ahead Software have released a Linux version of their award-winning Nero Burning ROM.

Nero has long been the industry standard for CD and DVD compilation on the Windows platform, and the announcement of its availability for the Linux operating system could be a major boon for Linux users and developers alike.

According to the website, NeroLinux 2.0.0.0 utilises version 6.6 of the NeroAPI for its burning processes. As far as this uninformed writer is aware, this makes NeroLINUX the first Linux CD burning GUI that is not merely a frontend for such perennial favourites as cdrecord and cdrdao.

Of course, this should not take anything away from the fine work of Sebastian Trueg, Christian Kvasny and the rest of the k3b team. K3b is still firmly in my top ten must-have linux programs, and if the NeroLINUX licensing and registration is anything to go by, I will be sticking with k3b for some time. This from the Nero website:

NeroLINUX is FREE of charge if you register:

• A Full Version of Nero Software Version 6 or higher
• Retail Version or Downloaded Version

Please note: This offer is not for OEM or Trial version users.
OEM users can Upgrade Now for a special discount offer.

So if I wanted to get myself a copy of NeroLINUX for this computer I would not only have to forgo the freedom I am afforded by the GPL-licensed k3b, but also purchase and register a full version of Nero Burning ROM for an operating system I don’t even use or own - Windows.

I think the “free-as-in-beer” NeroLINUX, if nothing else, will foster some new interest and development in burning software on the Linux platform, which can only be a good thing. But so long as the “free-as-in-speech” k3b is still around and kicking I will be burning my coasters with GPL-goodness.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 13th, 2005 at 6:09 pm and is filed under Linux. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.