Annoying, paternalistic Microsoft

Windows XP comes in with a very intuitive CD-burning interface: just open up the CD drive, and drag and drop files into it, and choose the ''burn a CD'' option.

Unfortunately, WinXP can't burn disk images (scroll down to bottom). This is a major inconvenience to those of us who have a small pile of Linux DVDs (which come with the UK Linux mag we regularly get), don't have a DVD-R drive at home, but **do** have access to one at work.

I was going to try some of the Live CD Linux distros, in an effort to get The Lady's USB flashdrive to work on our PCs at home. The plan was to take the *.iso files from the DVD, then create bootable CDs. However, this requires the ability to make a ''ISO image'' -- and WinXP can't do that by itself: You'll need to get some additional CD authoring software.

This means that:

• You can't create exact duplicates of data or music CDs -- which under ''fair use'' laws, you're supposed to be able to (for your own use). For an audio CD, you'd have to rip the individual tracks to your hard drive, then re-combine them to burn the copy.
  
  
• As mentioned, you can't create an ISO image file or bootable CD.
  

In other words, there's legitimate, non-pirating reasons to want this function -- but WinXP excludes it. Gar!


My workaround: Saved the individual files from my DVD to the HD; burned them onto CD-RW; will take them home and dump the CD contents onto **my** hard drive -- and burn my **own** bootable CDs. A minor nuisance -- but do-able. ;)


Ayep!


--GG

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Addendum, Fri, Mar. 24, about 8pm: In all fairness, it turns out that the stock CD-burning software that came with my HP CD-burner doesn't burn iso-images either. But the ''Nero'' CD-burning software does.

Maybe I should broaden my rant to all CD-burning apps that allow a full copy of an existing CD, but not the ability to create your own disk image. Doesn't seem **that** hard of a feature to add on.