rip

Featured Freeware: FreeRip

Like a finely tuned laser, FreeRip 3 does one task: extracts songs from your CDs. You remember CDs, right? (Heck, I barely do.) Fortunately, FreeRip accomplishes its goal accurately--with little flair or window-dressing--and makes for an easy-to-use audio-track ripper.

The latest version of the program features some long overdue enhancements. Chief among them is the inclusion of the WMA format, and it's hard to believe it wasn't included before. FreeRip also supports WAV, MP3, Vorbis, and FLAC. Other features include multitrack ripping and an option to use the program as an audio-file converter. The options menu is extensive … Read more

Rip, copy, and convert DVDs with free A-one DVD Tools (today only)

Freebie-software site Giveaway of the Day serves up another gem today in the form of A-one DVD Tools, which includes separate utilities for copying and ripping DVDs. It normally sells for $51.95, but if you download and install it before midnight today (June 7), it's free and clear.

A-one DVD Copy promises to duplicate even protected DVDs in as little as 30 minutes. A-one DVD Ripper will convert your DVDs to just about any format, including Divx, AVI, iPod, PSP, Zune, and 3GP. You can learn more about the two programs at developer Yaoming's site, but remember … Read more

Ripping audio from concert DVDs: Ask the Editors

Q: I have a collection of live concert performances on DVD that I would like to be able to listen to on my iPod. Is there an easy way to rip just the audio, but not the video, and export the soundtrack to my iPod? -Tom (via e-mail)

A: There are many roads to take on a project like this, but I'm going to show you two that are free and both Mac and PC compatible.… Read more

Rip DVDs to your PC, iPod, Zune and more with free Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate (today only)

Last month, freebie-software site Giveaway of the Day offered a great DVD-ripping utility. If you missed it (or didn't like the program for some reason), here's your chance to score one that's arguably even better: Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate.

Normally priced at $55, DVD Ripper Ultimate promises to rip discs to just about any video format. It includes preset profiles for iPod, iPhone, PSP, Zune, Zen, and dozens of other devices. It can also rip DVD audio, great if you want to turn, say, a concert DVD into a batch of MP3s. Plus, there's a video … Read more

Rip DVDs to your PC, iPod, Zune and more with free Aplus DVD Ripper (today only)

Remember Giveaway of the Day, the site that offers one commercial software program free of charge every day? They've got a gem today: Aplus DVD Ripper (Windows), which lets you back up your movies to your PC and/or convert them for viewing on your iPod, Zune, cell phone, or other portable device. It normally sells for $39.99.

Remember, there's a catch: You have only until midnight tonight (ET) to download and install the program. After that, it's gone (though GotD does occasionally repeat its giveaways). But that's the one and only catch, so if … Read more

Nero 8 Ultra gets a face-lift, adds new features

In addition to the disc-ripping and -burning capabilities with which Nero first made its mark, the digital-media suite also offers a bevy of options for managing movies, music, and photos. Nero helps you create and edit videos and music files, share that content online, turn your PC into a media center, and back up and recover data in case of disaster. Nero 8 includes a revamped entry page in addition to new support for burning and creating HD and Blu-ray CDs and DVDs.

Nero 8 costs $79 to download, $99 for the box, and $49 to upgrade from Nero 7 Ultra Edition. In the past, Nero has not issued a new version of its software every year, unlike so many other brands. Instead, a new package would come onto the market every other year or so. Peppered between each release were significant updates that Nero's 50 million or so active users could download for free. Now, however, Nero will follow an annual version-update schedule.… Read more

Nero 8: Sneak a peek at brand new features

What's better than Nero 7's suite of multimedia apps, which bursts with tools to record, edit, save, and distribute audio, video, and data CDs and DVDs in a dozen permutations?

The so-new-you-can't-buy-it release of Nero 8. Tune into the First Look video below, and watch this space on Monday for a full review.

Story of 'Jena 6' ignites alternative newscape

If you search the New York Times or the LA Times for "Mychal Bell" you won't find a single article, but the 17 year-old African American is currently facing up to 22 years after being convicted by an all-white jury for aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Bell and five others were originally charged with attempted murder for their role in a fight with a white high school student.

Known as the "Jena Six," their story has all the characteristics of what you would expect to find in a high school history text profiling the racial tension in the South during the 1950s, but as a current event it has been completely ignored by the mainstream press though it has been covered by many independent media outlets.

Why is this? Does the mainstream media not want to acknowledge the grim reality that racism continues to plague our country? Or has our news media collectively decided that celebrities are the ones worth covering?

… Read more

Report: DVD ripping less a threat than file sharing

At last, news that Hollywood studios and file sharers can both celebrate.

Researchers at the NPD Group have found that, contrary to popular belief, far fewer consumers copy, or "rip" DVDs as a means of obtaining movies and TV shows. DVD ripping is far less prevalent than sharing files via peer-to-peer services, according to the report.

"There is an urban myth or feeling," said Russ Crupnick, an NPD senior analyst, "that people are using services such as Netflix to borrow and burn. We're not seeing any evidence of that."

Ripping CDs, which some … Read more