Original Review:

Roxio's (the audio division of Adaptec) Toast Titanium 5.0 is without a doubt the best CD authoring software for Macintosh on the planet. You can burn anything you want to. Data CDs, audio CDs, video CDs, PC-compatible CDs, hybrid CDs, the list goes on. Earlier versions were fantastic, but this version puts the final nail in the coffin of other CD authoring titles.

Probably my favorite feature is Disc-At-Once (DAO). DAO is the ability for CD-burning software to burn audio data seamlessly with no break between tracks. I used to have to rely on Adaptec's Jam software to accomplish this. Not anymore! Anyone who wants to burn a disc of live music without a pause in audio needs this software. Toast still doesn't feature cross-fading and other disc mastering features of Jam. Hopefully Roxio will incorporate those into the next version or release a new version of Jam (the current version is a couple years old).

As for users of Apple's system-native Disc Burner and iTunes: I strongly recommend taking a look at Toast! iTunes doesn't support DAO and Disc Burner requires you to copy data to a temporary partition or making a disc image before burning. Toast doesn't require any of that, making the process quicker and easier. You can make a temporary partition with Toast, too, if that's what you want.

The only bad thing I can think of is that a fully-functional version of Toast is not yet available for OS X (See update below). There's a beta preview that you can download, which will let you do a number of things. But tasks like direct CD copying and making temporary partitions aren't available yet. An OS X version will be free (at least Roxio said it would be) to registered users of the current version.

Bottom line: This software is definitely worth the $99 I paid for it. Actually, I think it's selling for $89 or less these days, which you can't beat with a stick! And if you've got the Lite version of Toast with your burner, you'll probably outgrow its limited features quickly.

*UPDATE*

Version 5.1 is out and adds complete MacOS X compatibility. Roxio made good on its promise (though a little late) and I commend them for that. For those having trouble using the software (and giving bad reviews) here's some help:

-Don't use a USB burner: they can't burn faster than 2X due to the limitations of USB technology.

-Know your extensions (OS 9 and lower) and remember that Apple's own Disc Burner extensions conflict with Toast's.

-Use it in MacOS X and you'll see what I mean. No extensions. No restarts after the install. No coasters!


Recommended: Yes