Ahead Fiddles While NERO Doesn't Burn

We've been using Nero, the combination NLE and burning software package since version 6. It was always a bit clunky and never in a class with the expensive professional NLE products. It was however street priced under $100 and it did do most things well enough. I always found the ability to produce a DVD with and without chapters and export in MPEG especially useful. Now comes Nero 9 and in my opinion the death of Nero. Of all the imperfections listed by users the most frightening and the deal breaker for me is, "It removes the XP Reset Points".
Here are comments posted by Dan C. "Hot Rod Programmer" (Dallas, Texas) - "I'm the biggest idiot in the world for buying this burning software that's trying to be everything that's media. I purchased Nero 7 some time ago and used it on 32-bit Windows XP for years and aside from a crash now and again I was very satisfied. Now I've updated to 64-bit Vista and I wanted a fresh new version of Nero for my new computer. Stupid me didn't take the 5 minutes it takes to find some reviews before I bought it online. What a mistake. Short list of problems: * Over an hour to install on a dual core processor machine? You've got to be kidding me! * Application locks to the first machine you install on. * You have to buy eleven applications so that you can burn a DVD. * StartSmart has dropped 50 IQ points as compared to Nero 7. * "Patent Activation" * Core CD/DVD burning applications seem untouched from Nero 7, which is all I care about. * Takes up 1 GB of disk space. * Even after an hour installing you still have to go to the web-site to download docs. * Already frustrating, you have to download each doc one at a time? * Update does not seem to do anything except send you to the web-site. * Online support is a joke. The "TOP 5 FAQ" - IS the entire FAQ. I write software for a living and I would be ashamed if I was in any way associated with a bloated piece of garbage like this. The company is based Germany, but I can guarantee the software is not written and tested by German engineers. I've worked with them before and they write awesome software. I am almost certain Nero has outsourced their development to some other country and now we all suffer. I'm done with Nero forever. "
The Storyboard is looking at DVDFlick and ImgBurn - both have free versions.