Why?

Why?
I pose this question after a short but frustrating search for software.
Not software for me. Software for a Windows user I know.
The frustration I encountered happened while I was searching for a free online radio station ripper.

In Linux we have StreamTuner and StreamRipper.
Tune in a station, click record and save as much of the audio you want.
But doing a search for a free Windows app that does the same thing is an exercise in futility.

Oh sure, they say it's free. Free to try for 30 days. Free to try but limited functions until you buy.
Or you get that free version that will then impregnate your computer with more spyware then radio stations it will tune in. Every piece of software had some kind of catch to it. That catch being money.
You either paid up front for it or you install some piece of crap that was paid for by advertisers in the back alley that will spy on you in the hope of selling you something with the constant ad barrage you will unleash on your computer.

Now I'm not condemning all free software titles for Microsoft. There are several excellent programs available for Windows users. One of my favorites from day one is Irfanview. I like it so much that I have it installed in my Linux pc using Wine. Winamp was also a favorite of mine back when I was using Windows. And there are others that are just as good. Just not that many in a variety of categories.

Why can't free software for Windows be like that found in Linux. Open source software abounds in the Linux community but seems very stifled in the Windows community. I assume the motivation for money is what drives the Windows software writers while the Open Source community looks at the development of software as helping the community and fellow users.

I guess that me using Linux for so long has changed my attitude about software. I have nothing against developing and marketing software for profit. But there also needs to be an equivalent number of software titles available for free with no crippling or attaching hidden strings to it.
Why aren't there that many open source software titles for Microsoft users?
Why?

End of rant. Have a nice day!

BTW....... I am in no way condoning illegal downloading or theft of music. Unfortunately some people and forums feel that recording an online radio stream is illegal. I don't see it that way. They pay the fees to play the music and stream it to your computer. Recording it for your later listening pleasure is considered fair use. If it wasn't then all those cassette recorders and vcr's would have been illegal from day one. Of course a certain big company ( S***) sees it differently now that they don't produce vcr's.

TaZMAn

Cd / DVD Label and Insert Maker

I made a Cd as a present for some friends of ours.
As I put the Cd in the case, I realized it looked too plain. It needed a case insert.
I played around with making my own case insert using the Open Office word processor but it was tedious and I couldn't get it it quite right.

So I decided to look on the internet for a linux based Cd/DVD case insert maker.
It only took a few seconds for me to find this online label maker;

Online Cd/DVD Maker Mirror
http://www.aczoom.com/tools/cdinsert/

Note: The above link now points to the main web page from which you can access the online label maker. I used to provide a direct link to the online maker but the author keeps changing the address.

It was more then I had hoped for. It not only would make my case inserts for Cd's but also does DVD cases, Cd/DVD labels and envelopes.

All I had to do was enter the song list info, upload a picture and the website generated a file that I could print or save. Excellent!!

But it's an online service (Free) and I wanted a program that allowed me to do the same thing from my computer locally.
Not to worry. I started reading his page and saw a link for the source code which is found here;
Source Code
http://www.aczoom.com/tools/cdinsert/#download

All I had to do was download the cdlabelgen-4.0.0 tar.gz file, extract it and do a make install from the terminal. It was done installing as fast I pressed the Enter button. Notice that I didn't say I used make because that command wasn't needed nor was configure.

Okay! I had the Cd label generator files installed but this only allows me to make labels and inserts from the terminal. Since I'm not one to enjoy typing tons of commands to do a task I needed a GUI for this software.

That's where gtkcdlabel comes in. It provides a graphical user interface that is easy to use and makes labels and inserts in seconds. It also has a preview button that allows you to see what the insert or label looks like before you print it.
And this GUI package comes in the form of a deb file in addition to rpm and source files.
I downloaded the deb file, clicked on it and installed it.

You can get the gtkcdlabel package from here; (Note! They also have the cdlabelgen-4.0.0 packages available for download)
Download Page
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=14155

Once installed, you will find it under your Applications - Office category in your menu if you are using Ubuntu.

The only problem I came across so far had to do with the color option selector.
I would choose a color for the text but it would preview as a different color.
I had used the default black text color when I created the insert for my Cd case and had no issues but it may take some playing around to get the correct color. And I'm not sure if the preview is displaying the wrong color but will print the correct color or if it's a glitch with the software.

Other then that this software gets a 4 thumbs up for saving my present from blandness and turning it into a professional looking Cd case.

And with the option to use the online website to make your inserts and covers, that will allow users of those other OS's to create their own inserts and labels without having to spend $$$ on another piece of software.

Enjoy!

TaZMAn