New Upgrades: ICQ Slims Down, Easy CD Creator Beefs Up From DVD Data Burning to SMS Text Messaging Eric Grevstad
Mon 9/30/02 -- Roxio Inc. has released an upgrade of its flagship CD burning software, Easy CD Creator 5.3 Platinum. Priced at $100, the program is a free upgrade for registered Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum customers.
Version 5.3 offers data burning support for DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW, with faster formatting for DVD+RW and the ability to duplicate non-copy-protected video DVDs. The program also adds numerous drive-specific performance enhancements, the ability to play MP3Pro files, and links to free trial subscriptions to Roxio's cobranded digital media services Pressplay for music files, Roxio-Audible.com for spoken-word recordings, and Roxio-SnapFish for photos.
In other upgrade news, America Online's "other" instant messaging service, ICQ, has introduced a slimmed-down client called ICQ Lite with just the features ICQ fans use most often. It's now available as a free, time-limited beta program.
Just a 1.7MB download (as opposed to 3.6MB for the full-featured ICQ 2002a), ICQ Lite offers instant messaging including a typing indicator that lets you know when the other party is typing a message, multilingual support, and the ICQ Meet People Search Engine for finding a person or group of people in the ICQ directory listings. The program supports Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging to and from mobile phones, whether or not the phone owners are ICQ users.
