While Nero's audio and video editing features aren't likely to put Adobe's audio and video editing products out of business, they're sufficient for most users who just want to do some basic editing as simply as possible

Finally, Nero includes both an audio and video player so you can listen to music or watch DVD movies on your computer. The Nero DVD player even lets you capture images from video and store them as graphic files. If you have a digital video camera, Nero also lets you record directly to a DVD disc.

Packaging your CD or DVD
Once you've burned your CD/DVD, you may want to take the extra step of designing a disc label along with a CD/DVD case cover to go along with it. Nero offers templates for designing disc and CD and DVD covers. The Nero boxed product also includes a handful of disc labels along with a plastic disc stomper to help you align and press each label on to a disc. This might be one reason to buy the boxed product, rather than download it.

Nero's disc label creator acts like a simple desktop publishing program where you can add text and graphic images to make your labels and covers look professional If you've ever used any type of desktop publishing program, you'll find Nero's disc labeling creation program easy to master right away.

Is Nero right for you?
If you're fairly computer literate and interested in burning CDs and DVDs, there's no question that Nero can meet your needs. Novices may want to tread cautiously when considering Nero, since Nero may not be the most intuitive program on the market. Still, with a little bit of persistence, even beginners can find that Nero can perform a variety of CD and DVD burning tasks much easier than you might have thought possible.

In a few weeks, another article, that talks about the video and specialized production aspects of Nero, will be run in Connected Photographer Magazine (at http://www.connectedphotographer.com). See you there!

OUR RATING: 3 of 5

Wallace Wang is the author of The Book of Nero 6 and Steal This Computer Book, both published by No Starch Press. Besides writing computer books, he also performs stand-up comedy, having appeared on A&E's "Evening at the Improv" and appearing regularly at the Riviera comedy club in Las Vegas.