14 DAY TRIAL // If I don't have any backup program in sight, using a regular CD/DVD burner can help me get the job done as well. Of course, that is only a case that makes it useful to have a CD/DVD burner at hand, but I am sure that you all know how useful can such a program be...of course, you also must have an optical drive capable of burning discs, but we're not inside the hardware section here, so here it goes...
Today's burner is called Alo CD & DVD Burner, its latest version is 3.0.1 and the price that you have to pay for it is only 19$. Of course that I have a trial version here, and its only limitation is that you can run the tools of the suite for 14 times, exactly 2 times per module. The setup package has 5.9MB in size and it was very easy to install the program. These being said, let's move on to the interface and features available here, shall we?
When you start the program, you get to see a window that has the same purpose as Nero's SmartStart - to help you choose your task easier than you would do otherwise. Alo CD & DVD Burner's control center window has seven items available - Data CD, Data DVD, Audio CD, MP3 CD, WMA CD, Audio CD Ripper and Burn ISO. All the graphics here look great, glassy, up to date and carefully done, and using this program should be easy for everyone, so let's move on and check the way this works.
The Data CD and Data DVD tools are extremely simple, and I must say that I expected a little more. Anyway, once you have the tool up and running, you can drag the files and then just burn'em. That's all, no complications! What I really enjoyed to see here is the chance to use keyboard shortcuts for the main operations you are going to perform here, like adding files or burning the disc. This may be simple, but you don't have to worry about the usual options encountered in such programs, like burning speed or file system setting.
The Audio CD tool lets you burn audio CDs using various sound files from your hard drive as sources. The bad part about the Audio CD tool is that I wasn't able to erase my CD-RW disc here, because that feature wasn't available...so I had to close this one, open the Data CD module again and erase it there. Bad, really, really bad!
Next, I got lost in the mist completely, and the outdated documentation couldn't help me either - why do I need tools to burn MP3 and WMA CDs? Isn't the Data CD able to burn my MP3, WMA, TXT and all the other files on CDs or DVDs? That's a question that must be answered, but unfortunately, I am not the one to do that.
The Audio CD Ripper sounds good as an idea, and I know that older versions of this program had this feature available. On theory, the version that I have here can also be used, but I wasn't able to start it, and I still had some trial runs left, so it wasn't my fault. Again...bad, very bad!
At last, Burn ISO...a tool that should work, but the program crashed at this point. Excellent! What else can I say? After all, can this be my bad luck? Even I can't be that unlucky, believe me!
The Good
Alo CD & DVD Burner is very easy to use, with all the basic features needed to burn CDs and DVDs, its interface looks excellent and the price is good.
The Bad
As I've said, this program's price is good, but only considering that everything works fine...the truth is that the Help file is almost useless, the Audio CD Ripper didn't work, and the trial version is way too limited.
The Truth
Alo? Hello, Alo CD & DVD Burner is there? Try and make this application work as it should or you'll burn yourselves, guys! That would be a pity, because this program looks really good, but the interface doesn't cover its drawbacks. Anyway, I must say it again, maybe it was only my bad luck, so give this program a chance, in the worst case scenario, you'll enjoy only the interface and curse the rest...
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
