There is no dearth of good CD/DVD burning tools for Ubuntu. Brasero Disc Burner comes as default in Ubuntu and it is a good enough tool with almost all functionalities you expect from a basic CD/DVD burning application. But what really are the alternatives. Here is a quick listing of very good CD/DVD burning applications available for Linux(in no particular order). Read on.

1. K3B - KDE Burning Tool

K3B has been my favorite CD/DVD burning tool ever since I started using Ubuntu some 4 years ago. K3B is a Qt based application and it might look a bit out of place in Ubuntu GNOME desktop. But from a functionality point of view K3B is far ahead of all its competitors.

• Click Here to Install K3B in Ubuntu
• Those using other distros, visit K3B Download Page.

2. GnomeBaker Burning Tool

GnomeBaker is a free and open source CD/DVD authoring application for Linux. It is based on GNOME desktop environment. GnomeBaker comes equipped with functionalities like: Drag and drop to create data CDs (including drag and drop to and from the Nautilus file manager), Create audio CDs from existing WAV, MP3, FLAC, and Ogg files etc.

• Click Here to Install GNOME Baker in Ubuntu
• Those using other Linux distros, visit GNOME Baker download page.

3. Brasero Disc Burner

Brasero supports features like on-the-fly burning, multi-session, on-the-fly conversion of music playlists in all formats supported by GStreamer and so on. Brasero is my second favorite Burn tool available for Linux. It used to be system default on Ubuntu.

• Click Here to Install Brasero Disc Burner in Ubuntu if you are using an older version of Ubuntu which don't have Brasero pre installed ie.
• More information: Brasero Homepage

4. Xfburn for Linux

Xfburn is a tool to help burning CDs and DVDs. As the name indicates, Xfburn is better integrated with Xfce desktop though it can be used in any Linux desktop environment.

• Click here to install Xfburn in Ubuntu
• Those using other flavors of Linux, visit Xfburn Download Page.

5. Nero for Windows, Linux

Yes, Nero indeed has a Linux version of its popular CD/DVD burning application. Nero Linux 4 costs US $19.99 and there is a demo version also, available for free download.

• More Information and Download Links: Nero Linux 4

6. ImgBurn for Windows, Linux(under Wine)

Before getting excited, let me make it clear. ImgBurn is not an open source application and there is no official package for Linux as well. But ImgBurn is among the few applications which runs neatly under Wine and that is exactly why it is included in this official listing of Wine supported applications.

• Visit ImgBurn Homepage for more information.

7. SimpleBurn for Linux

SimpleBurn is a minimalistic application for burning and extracting CDs and DVDs. SimpleBurn was designed to have minimal dependencies. It uses GTK2 libs for the interface for burning it uses CDRTools (cdrecord, cdda2wav, mkisofs) or CDRKit (wodim, icedax, genisoimage).

• Installation in Ubuntu is a bit complicated since there are no DEB packages available AFAIK. You can compile and install SimpleBurn instead. Instructions here.

8. InfraRecorder for Windows

Although InfraRecorder does not belong to this list since it does not have a Linux version, it is a widely acclaimed open source CD/DVD burning tool for Microsoft Windows licensed under GNU General Public License. In 2007, CNET rated InfraRecorder the best free alternative to commercial DVD burning software.

• More information at InfraRecorder Homepage.

9. CDRDAO Command Line Tool

CDRDAO(CD recording Disk At Once) is an open source CD burner application for Windows, Mac and Linux. CDRDAO records audio or data CD-Rs in disk-at-once (DAO) mode based on a textual description of the CD contents. The CDRDAO application is run from the command line and has no graphical user interface. 

• More information at CDRDAO Homepage.

Hope you enjoyed the listing. Interested in more such listing of useful applications? Check out this collection of top bit-torrent applications and media-center applications for Linux as well.

You all must aware of the fact that both IE9 and Firefox 4 was released within a span of two weeks and both of them are considered highly improved versions their predecessors. Now here are some interesting download statistics of both the browsers. 

source: firefox wallpapers

Mozilla F1 extension is a product of Mozilla Labs which is behind such incredible concepts like Seabird Mobile Phone. F1 is a simple Firefox browser extension that allows you to share links fast and easy. Share links from within the browser, from any webpage, using the same services you already know and love. Mozilla F1 is made by Mozilla Messaging.

Hotot is undoubtedly one among the very best Twitter desktop client for Linux and that was exactly why we included Hotot in our list of 18 must have applications for Ubuntu. Now, if you don't want a separate desktop client for a primary web application like Twitter, Hotot is now available in Chrome Web Store to be installed within you Chrome/Chromium web browser.

Unity is the new improved Ubuntu interface which is all set to debut in another month or so when Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" is officially released. A lot of ideas keeps coming in from users on how to improve Unity interface even further. Tweak Center and Launchpad + Ubuntu Sowftare Center integration mockups set the tone and now here is another one. Idea is to have a Firefox 4.0's Panorama kind of an interface as workspace manager for Ubuntu Unity.

Community contributed wallpapers collection for Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" is finally released. The collection include 17 brand new wallpapers and this latest set of community contributed wallpapers for Ubuntu is definitely the best so far in my opinion. We will feature a few of the wallpapers below which we think are the best of the lot. Download links for the full set of 17 wallpapers can be found at the bottom of this post.

Recently, the distribution AriOS made it to DistroWatch's database. I had read Dedoimedo's review of AriOS earlier, where he said that it is a user-friendly and very pleasant distribution to use, and it is much better than its predecessor mFatOS. Intrigued, I decided to try it out.

Nautilus Elementary is perhaps one of the most talked about projects in the Linux world last year. Later in the year 2010 though, Nautilus Elementary project was discontinued and the developers decided to concentrate on an entirely new file browser project called Marlin, which will eventually find its place in upcoming Elementary OS project. But hold on, they have now decided to restart the Nautilus Elementary project and PPA's have been updated already for both Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick and Ubuntu 11.04 Natty.

The much anticipated Firefox 4 was officially released earlier today. This is *the* fastest Firefox ever to be released and is also the best in terms of looks and functionality as well. When the new super fast JaegerMonkey javascript engine made web browsing so much faster, innovative additions like Tab Candy(now called Panorama) is definitely going to help end user with better tab management capabilities. Not even a day has passed since the official launch of Firefox 4 and look at the download statistics. At the time of writing this article, Firefox 4 has already been downloaded for more than 2.0 million times!!

As you all should know by now, LibreOffice is already the new default office suite for Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal. You can even install latest LibreOffice in Ubuntu Maverick, Lucid easily via LibreOffice PPA by following the instructions here. Now, here is a very good looking and very creative LibreOffice splash screen that demands your attention.

Faenza icon theme is arguably *the* most beautiful icon theme for GNOME and also has support for the widest range of applications in Ubuntu GNOME. Faenza 0.9 was released a day ago and it brings in a number of major upgrades including a new "darkest" theme and many other openly visible as well as subtle changes.

When we featured this collection of top 10 most popular icon themes for Ubuntu GNOME some time ago, Ubo Icons was probably one among the most promising set of icons for GNOME in that list, though it was still a project yet to be completed back then. Well, the first alpha release of Ubu Icons is here and it looks quite stunning.

Osmo is a handy personal organizer application for Linux. Feature list includes calendar, tasks manager, address book and notes modules. Osmo is comprehensive in its set of functionalities yet very easy to use and configure. In many ways, Osmo is as good or even better than Getting Things GNOME personal organizer application in my opinion.

Calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application for Windows, Mac and Linux. Important functionalities include library management, format conversion, news feeds to ebook conversion and even e-book reader synchronization features.

If Java4Ever movie trailer made you laugh like hell, Office 2010 movie is going to make you laugh even harder. You get the central "characters" of the movie from the name itself, I suppose. Thanks you YouTube yet again. Watch the video below.

Nintendo 3DS is a portable game console by Nintendo, which can produce 3D effects without the need for any special glasses. Nintendo 3DS is among the early entrants into the market for devices with glassless 3D capabilities along with the likes of LG Optimus 3D smartphone. Following video is supposed to be among the very first ever video commercials of Nintendo 3DS gaming console for US market.

AwOken icon theme is among the most downloaded and highly rated icon themes for GNOME and we had no second thoughts while including AwOken in our listing of top 10 most popular Icon themes for Ubuntu GNOME. AwOken version 1.9 brings in a lot of changes that includes a new darker version of the theme as well as a very useful customization script. To make things even easier, now you will able to install AwOken icon theme in Ubuntu using PPA.

I concede that I am a big fan of Elementary Project and the goodies it brought to the Linux desktop eco system. I also accept the fact that, reviewing a developer only preview of an application and calling it "not ready yet" is kind of self defeating. But the kind of expectations a project like Elementary OS carries around makes it vulnerable to close scrutinisation at every level. Consider this as one such *very* early Elementary OS review.

While Tweak-Center mockup was a brilliant idea that stood out from the rest of the crowd, here is another very interesting concept that demands your attention. USC Launchpad Concept integrates Ubuntu Software Center with Launchpad and thereby provide easy access of hundreds of awesome applications hosted at Launchpad to its users.

It has been really long since we featured any new collection of wallpapers for Ubuntu or Linux. Article featuring Ubuntu/Linux wallpaper packs was the last in this particular category and even that was several months ago. So here is it once again, a nice and simple collection of 15 Ubuntu branded wallpapers from across the web. Enjoy!

Now, this video is a very special one especially to those who are ardent followers of computers and technology. In this video, Apple Inc.'s co-founder Steve Jobs introduces Macintosh to the world for the very first time on 24 JAN 1984. This event in many ways marked the beginning of PC revolution that continues even now. Steve Jobs describes in length on how he managed to bring down the cost of Macintosh to "just" $2,495 apiece and how insanely good its display is.

It hasn't been long since we last reviewed Ubuntu Natty Alpha 2 and now, Ubuntu Natty Alpha 3 is already here. This is yet another milestone in this major build up towards the much anticipated release of Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal final on April 28, 2011. As is expected, latest Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Alpha 3 comes packed with a number of new features and major bug fixes. Quick review of Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal Alpha 3.

• UPDATE: Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal Released, Reviewed

We have discussed a lot about multimedia applications available for Linux, but never really about media center applications specifically. Unlike many other niches where Linux lags behind other proprietary OS's in terms of good applications available, Linux have a clear upper hand when you consider the sheer number of very good open source media center applications available out there. Here is a quick listing of top 5 media center applications for Linux. Read on.

XBMC Media Center

Mobile World Congress 2011 was quite literally overwhelmed by the sheer number of new Android OS based devices. Among the devices, the ones who completely stole the limelight were the Tablets. Almost all major hardware manufacturer has a Tablet in the pipeline and most of them are running open source Android OS. Here we are going to feature some of the best and most promising Android based Tablets unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2011.

source: android wallpapers

Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal Alpha 2 Review, Screenshots
Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" alpha 2 was released a day ago. A lot has changed with Ubuntu since we reviewed the first alpha release of Ubuntu Natty some weeks ago. Here is a quick review of the latest release of Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal.