If you’re looking for a Nero-like utility that can rip, burn, and author just about any kind of optical media, look no further: StarBurn v.10 supports everything from CD-R to DVD+RW to Blu-ray, and it’s free–today only–from Giveaway of the Day.

Interestingly, there’s a freeware version of StarBurn that’s available every day, but the Giveaway-of-the-Day version includes features found only in the $495 Network Edition–namely, DVD and Blu-ray decrypters and network burning capabilities. While StarBurn doesn’t actually copy protected BDs and DVDs, it can create image files (ISOs) from them, which you can then turn around and burn to blank media. (It doesn’t produce iPod-ready video files, either–for that, look to a program like HandBrake.)

Like previous Giveaway of the Day offers I’ve mentioned, the only catch here is that you must download and install StarBurn today. With that done, it’s yours to keep. (When you install the program, make sure to disable all the “additional tasks” except the first one.) Based on what I’ve seen so far, StarBurn is a powerful utility that’s definitely worth downloading.

This article was derived from news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-10006856-58.html