Average Rating: 
Rating:  - You won't get burnt with Toast
Toast was one of the first programs I bought for my OS X iMac, and I've certainly not regretted handing over the money in the slightest. It works perfectly with an Iomega external USB drive on my iBook and G3 iMac, and also with the Superdrive on my G4 flat-screen iMac. Why get Toast when OS X will already burn CDs and DVDs? I wanted it mostly for its VideoCD features - before I was lucky enough to have an iMac had a Superdrive, I wanted to make discs that could be played in home DVD players. Thanks to iMovie and Toast, that's exactly what I did: made lots of home movies in VideoCD format. Toast even provides a plug-in for iMovie and QuickTime to make the entire process remarkably painless. OK, so the quality of VideoCD wasn't a match for DVD, but it's pretty close to VHS quality and darn good fun. After that, well, almost every time I burn a CD I reach for Toast. It's just so easy to use, and flexible - I can be sure that a CD I burn will work on my PC system as well as on my Mac for example. Recent updates to Toast add new features: be sure to download any patches! The version with Jam is aimed more at professional musicians who want to create audio CDs that can act as masters for duplication - certainly not a feature I need (you don't want to hear me sing). If you want a reliable, flexible, easy to use way of writing CDs and DVDs on your Mac, this is the solution. It even comes with other utilities that simplify converting old LP albums to CD audio. Good value for money.
Rating:  - Feeling Toasty
Toast is a really nice software package, although quirky at times. All the blame can't be placed on Toast. It, like so many other software titles, adds extensions to your Mac which can conflict with so many other extensions. Still, if your Mac is reasonably conflict free, you should be able to burn CDs or DVDs with fervor. The interface is clean, although not intuitive enough. (Click-and-hold a button for options is not an obvious method.) Toast does a very good job of burning Mac data, PC data and hybrid data CDs. Audio burning has also been improved in this version and, Toast can now recognize an audio image file to find track breaks. Previously only Jam was smart enough to recognize individual tracks in an audio image.
Some tips: Increase the memory allocation to the application. Give Toast a large buffer (64K). Try to avoid disk-at-once recording. DAO is good for "live" recordings, where you don't want an audible gap between tracks, but it taxes the system. If you can stand to have gaps between the tracks, track-at-once is more reliable. Use test mode to determine if your system is able to transfer data quickly enough for the speed you've requested for a burn. DAO and high-speed burning require data to be transferred at very high data rates. You may find you need to burn at a slower speed to achieve reliable burns. The "Toast CD Reader" extension is only needed if you intend to use your CD burner to read existing data or audio CDs. If you only want to burn CDs with your burner, you can safely run without the extension.
Background burning is a nice feature, but, if you are using the system for other tasks while burning, you are at risk for data underruns. Also, if your source is MP3 files, remember, MP3s must be converted before actually being written to your new CD. This too can add to the delays in data transfer. If you have the disk space, convert MP3 files to AIFF files before burning and use the AIFF files with Toast for more reliable results.
Rating: - Fresh Toast!
I've been an avid user of Adaptec's disc burning software Toast for a little over a year. So I was a bit disappointed when Adaptec decided to let Roxio handle the production of the software. However, when upgrade season came around I still went out and bought myself a full copy of Toast 5. The program received a MAJOR overhaul and it was all for the best. New features include a shiny new interface and background burning. This means that now you can set your CD-RW to burn a CD and then use other software without fear that your machine will lock up or screw up your CD. It also boasts the ability to burn VCDs. There's only one con to the software... Background burning means that now my petty excuses to stop working during burning time are history... It's a superlative addition to your Mac burning needs.
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