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Don't you dare make a Mac-format CD.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T h e   R o a d   L e s s   T r a v e l e d
The secrets of making CDs on an OS X Mac


June 30, 2004


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, The Post-Standard

   Burning CDs on OS X Macs is easy. It might even too easy, judging from some of the letters I've received from frustrated Mac converts.
   If you're a switcher also, save this week's column and keep it handy. I'll explain the facts of OS X CDs burning.
   First, forget everything you learned when you were running Windows.
   Many Windows PCs still suffer from an old failing inherited from the dreary days of MS-DOS, the operating system that Windows was based on. In the bad old days of DOS-based Windows computers, you didn't dare touch the keyboard or the mouse (or do anything else) while burning a CD. if you interrupted the computer in the slightest way, you had a good chance of getting a free coaster, not a CD.
   OS X Macs don't work that way. You can burn a CD or a DVD while your computer is doing anything else. (If you have two or more burners, you can even burn multiple CDs or DVDs while your computer is doing anything else.) I routinely burn CDs and video DVDs while doing photo and video editing. (And i do my photo and video editing while I am doing all my other, normal activities. OS X is like that.)
   Second, forget the idea that Apple gave you a way to burn CDs and DVDs right from the desktop. Apple did, in fact, do that, but I want you to forget it. Why? Because you don't have enough control over the recording without good software. Apple's built-in method is OK for a quick CD-R full of files, but you're much better off using software designed for CD and DVD burning.
   (Yes, I'll explain how to do it from the desktop if you really want to know. You put a blank CD or DVD in the drive and drag files or folders to the disk icon that shows up on the desktop. Then you Ctrl-Click on the disk and choose "Burn.")
   Toast, the universally admired Macintosh CD-recording software from Roxio, is almost essential. You can find it at any store that sells Apple software or from www.roxio.com. It costs about $80.
   Roxio used to use the "Adaptec" brand name, widely known in a decade ago for its peripherals. Toast has everything you need, including a cute name. (Your CD is toast if you don't make it right, I suppose.) The name has even engendered a further pun. Roxio's audio-recording software is called Jam, the term for what happens when musicians get together and play just for fun. But think about this: Toast and ... Jam?
   But I must confess that I do most of my CD burning using Dragon Burn -- you're right if you spot another pun -- because it has a friendlier interface and seems to work just as well as Toast. Get Dragon Burn from www.ntius.com. It's $40.
   Third, don't you dare make a Mac-format CD or data DVD. Mac fans can argue persuasively that the Macintosh data CD format, called HFS (or HFS+ for the latest version), is better suited to CDs than the dreaded old Windows version. But they won't ever convince me.
   Microsoft has no interest in getting Windows to recognize Mac-format CDs -- Windows is a monopoly, and monopolists lose their incentives fast -- so every Mac HFS or HFS+ CD you make will be gibberish to every Windows user on the planet.
   So be sure to choose either the Windows format or the compromise "hybrid" format when you make CDs or data DVDs. (Video DVDs have their own universal format. You won't have to worry about them.) My version of Toast doesn't even give Mac OS X users a chance to make a Mac-only CD -- a good thing. (Choose the hybrid option if you use Toast.) Dragon Burn's best option is "Hybrid (HFS+/Joliet)." ("Joliet" is a Windows CD format adopted by most other operating systems.)
   If you'd rather make your CDs or data DVDs from the desktop, you'll automatically get hybrid disks if your Mac has a current version of OS X. Apple improved the operating system's disk-burning method recently. OS X now creates only hybrid disks. If you find that CDs you burn from the desktop can't be read in Windows PCs, upgrade to the current OS X version -- or use Toast or Dragon Burn instead.