There are of course other methods of achieving the same goal; some of you may be familiar with .zip or .rar files which have the added advantage of being able to not only take many files and store them temporarily as one but also compress the data, making the total file size smaller. Unfortunately, when using this method on a media disc you strip out important characteristics of the original such as boot code, disc structures and file attributes which can often prevent an application from running.

As a result of this exact copy process, the format has become a popular method of transporting pirated software – the ISO file is an exact match of the original and as such there is no reason the software would realise it had been copied and refuse to run. There are plenty of legal uses for the format, however, and it is highly likely that even the most legitimate users will come in to contact with an ISO file at some stage sooner or later.

Unfortunately they are not the most user friendly file format; you can’t simply complete the download then double click to run the application as they first have to be returned to their original format. There are typically two methods that can be used to complete this process; burn the data back to a physical disc or create a virtual drive on your computer.

The first method relies on a piece of disc burning software such as the fantastic and free CDburnerXP (www. cdburnerxp.se). Simply click ‘burn an image to disc’, point the application in the direction of your ISO file, insert a blank CD or DVD and your computer will then spit out an exact copy of the original media as if it had come direct from the manufacturer.

The second method uses a piece of software such as the free Alcohol 52% (www.alcohol-soft.com) to create a virtual drive that can simulate an actual CD or DVD disc. By asking Alcohol 52% to ‘mount’ an ISO file downloaded from the Internet, Windows will be tricked in to thinking there is a physical drive connected to your computer containing the original disc. You simply access it through Windows Explorer as you would any other regular drive connected to your computer.

This latter method prevents us from having to waste a blank CD or DVD which is especially handy in instances where it would have only been used to install the application before being discarded. We can also keep the original ISO file and mount it whenever it’s required rather than having to store and locate a physical disc when the data is required again in the future.

There are additional benefits, especially when it comes to speed. Not only does it take seconds to mount an ISO file, rather than the minutes it would take to burn it, but in addition the speed of reading the data is exponentially faster. A virtual CD for example will read at 200x speed whereas the fastest CD drives on the market are limited to 52x speed.

Some users may also appreciate the ability to create multiple virtual drives that can function simultaneously; this is useful if you have more than one disc that you need frequent access to without the need for multiple readers. You can create copies of your own discs and load them up on to multiple virtual drives in this fashion and as long as you own the original it is perfectly legal.

I am aware that film critics have been around for as long as the movie industry itself, however the opinion of one person can very rarely be trusted. For this reason I’ve started relying on a website called Rotten Tomatoes to do a little bit of quick research before I decide to rent a film.

Rotten Tomatoes compiles the reviews of dozens of movie critics for any given film and works out an average rating after taking all these opinions in to consideration. Whilst it could be argued that one mans rubbish is another mans gold, this website will at last be able to get an idea of whether you’re likely to enjoy the film or not. In order to aid your decision, users are also invited to submit their own ratings and reviews online so that you get a more objective opinion than simply that of a critic.

To get started visit www.rottentomatoes.com and type in a movie of your choice hit the search button. As there are usually several results which potential matches so simply click on the movie that exactly matches your description. From this point you will be taken to a page which gives you all the information that you need to really know about the film; this includes but is not limited to the following:

- The average rating of the movie based on the critic reviews along with a chance to read each individual review in full.

- The average user rating of the movie which is made up using information submitted from other users of the website.

- Information on the DVD itself such as running time, special features and format.

- A movie synopsis which rarely contains any spoiler material which would affect your enjoyment of the movie.

- DVD Photo Stills and Theatrical Trailers.

- Movie Mistakes section. This is usually quite good if you enjoy picking a movie apart by spotting up factual inaccuracies or that reflection of the cameraman in the mirror.

Rotten Tomatoes also includes news, interviews with actors and directors, a forum where users can get together to discuss any aspect of any given movie, and various random features – last month for example they had the Halloween themed ‘Top 50 horror movies of all time’. Dotted around the site are a number of charts indicating movies that have recently hit the box office or been released on DVD and whether they’re worth watching or should be avoided.

Not wanting to be restricted to just movies, Rotten Tomatoes also caters for gamers with a similar system which allows you to research video games prior to purchase; perhaps this could be particularly useful for clueless parents in the run up to Christmas?

Of course, I do know there are circumstances where you will enjoy a movie that others have hated and I certainly don’t think that you should live your life avoiding the unknown based purely on the opinions of others. That having been said, I’ve personally found Rotten Tomatoes to be an invaluable and free resource. By taking the opinions of dozens of critics and hundreds of users, you should be able to work out which movie is right for you to watch this evening.

The roots of podcasting most likely lie in the blogging world as it is the natural progression to broadcasting information via the written word. I’m sorry for chucking another buzzword in the form of ‘blogging’, but with technology suddenly becoming cool there are dozens of new ones making their way in to our vocabularies. A blog, for those of you that don’t know, is an online journal that is frequently updated and intended for the general public. I should also just mention a technology known as RSS (Really Simple Syndication) which provides a continuous feed detailing updates that have been made to a particular data source; a podcast site for example.

Traditional mediums such as television, radio or streaming Internet media give users little control over the time when they hear a recording whereas Podcasting allows users to download content directly on to a compatible device so that it can be listened to later. This is one of the reasons that it has become popular so quickly as in the modern world we like everything to be on demand and tailored to fit around our lifestyles, not vice versa.

Let’s say for example, that I catch the bus to work and I want something new and interesting to listen to everyday. By heading to a podcast directory such as www.podcast.net I can choose to subscribe to as many podcasts as I want from a list that runs in to the tens of thousands. Then, whenever I synchronise my iPod of other generic MP3 player with my computer any new downloads available from my podcast list will be downloaded for me to listen to later. The list of subjects is extensive and includes everything from the arts and entertainment to politics, computing, music, religion and the news.

Unless you want to download and manually copy podcasts on to your MP3 player as and when they are released, you will need some software such as the free program ‘Juice’ (http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net) to allow you to automate the process. Once the software is installed you are free to add as many podcasts as you feel that you will have time to listen to and Juice will from then on ensure that you’re kept up to date. Fortunately there are versions of Juice to run on Windows, Linux and Mac OS – it is very much a cross platform compatible application which is very much in keeping with the podcasting ethos of access for all.

A subject as diverse and with as much content as Podcasting cannot really be convincingly covered in one article so the best tip I can give you is that if you are at all interested then download the software, visit the directories and take some time to see what’s out there. Yes, there is a load of absolute rubbish but all you ever have to do is hit the unsubscribe button; as with many things in life you have to sift through the chaff to get at the wheat.

I do have one last tip I feel I should share – Subscribe to the Chris Moyles podcast; it’s fantastic!

The reason for the media being incorrectly identified as being faulty is that each brand of DVD disc uses a different dye on the bottom of the disc as well as differing plastic compositions and silver reflector density. As such the DVD writer has to adjust its laser for each different type of disc and if your DVD burner doesn’t recognise a particular disc then this process becomes quite difficult for the writer to achieve.

This week I’m going to show you how to do something called a ‘firmware update’ which is a small piece of software developed by the manufacturers as they test new discs and improve the compatibility of their drives already on the market. By performing a firmware update on your drive you can gain benefits such as faster disc burning as well as greater compatibility both in actually recognising blank discs and creating a good quality, universally compatible disc at the end of the burning process.

Thankfully performing a firmware update is free of charge and as long as you take care with what you’re doing it’s relatively easy. I will point out that if done incorrectly there is a possibility that you could permanently break your burner but as long as the slightest amount of care is taken it should be pretty difficult for even a novice computer user to cause any amount of damage. I will declare in true Click tradition that I won’t be held responsible should anything go wrong and your drive is rendered useless as a result of following any of the advice given in this article.

The first step is identifying the make and model of your DVD drive which can be easily achieved by downloading and running the free Nero Infotool utility. This can be downloaded from www.nero.com/nero7/eng/Info_Tool.html and once run the program will display the type of drives present in your system in a drop down box up the top left hand side of the window. In my case the utility returned the result ‘HL-DT-ST GSA-H10N’ which was as clear as mud to understand but a simple Google search informed me that this was a LG branded drive and ‘GSA-H10N’ was the model number.

Once armed with this information you should head to the manufacturers website which again can be found relatively easy with a Google search. Once there head to the support section and whilst I can’t tell you exactly where to look you should simply look for a section dedicated to DVD drives and firmware updates. If you have problems locating firmware for your particular drive then a good place to start is one of the help forums such as www.rpc1.org where you will find people happy to give you advice.

Once you have located the correct firmware update for your drive simply download the package on to your computer and whilst in most instances a firmware update will just involve running the update utility and clicking on the ‘Go’ button it is imperative that you read the accompanying instructions. Once the utility has completed then that’s it, you can delete the file you just downloaded and rest safe in the knowledge that the software stored on the firmware chip inside your DVD burner is bang up to date.

Congratulations, now completed your drive should now be more compatible and potentially less troublesome than it was ten minutes ago when you first started reading this article. If you have had any problems updating then your best bet once again is to either head back to the manufacturers support page or a user supported forum such as www.rpc1.org.

The website www.hungover.net would be an apt site to spend New Years day visiting as it is host to literally dozens of hangover cures as well as other assorted fun areas to distract you from the pounding that will most likely be going on in your head. We’ll take the areas of the site one by one:

First and foremost you get to choose from the hangover cures separated into three categories; freaky, healthy or classic – Each section contains ten suggestions on how to help stop the pain. I haven’t yet tried any of these yet so for the time being I’m going to take the classic route of having a light snack and drinking as much water as you can before going to bed, then continuing to drink plenty of fluids along with a good meal in the morning. A bit of exercise to get the blood pumping around your body in the morning always helps but I’ll leave you to decide how you want to tackle this one.

The site also lists the different types of drinks and how they are likely to make you feel in the morning. Of course this is a personal thing more than anything else but it is well known the some drinks are nastier than others when it comes to the morning after and this area of the site should help you to avoid them.

My favourite part of the site is the diagnosis area which asks you what drink(s) you were drinking the previous night along with what parts of your body are now affected; simply tick the relevant boxes and the site will come up with the ‘ultimate’ cure for you based on these answers.

Of course this site is just a little bit of fun and this article should be taken in context with the spirit of the season; I am not by any stretch of the imagination condoning binge drinking however I’m sure we have all had one glass to many from time to time which is where this site will come in useful!

Once your head is sorted check out www.snapfiles.com/get/calpainter.html for a handy little utility to allow you to print out a personalised calendar for the coming year. You simply select the format and colours you wish to use along with 12 images and ‘Calendar Painter’ will create a calendar for the next year based on your choices. In addition to being able to simply select the design you can also add birthdays of friends or loved ones that you wish to remember and these will be included as part of the finished product. Once you have completed your calendar simply print it out and then save it so that the design and important dates can be reused for next year.

This utility is a small, free download that was recommended to me by Ian McMillan – It is by no stretch a groundbreaking piece of software but would be a worthwhile distraction for a few minutes on New Years day which would also save you on having to buy a boring shop made calendar for 2006.

Obviously such a service is extremely useful but I believe it is under appreciated because the site is often used as a mirror for other websites with little credit given if they don’t want to users downloading files directly from their own servers. Let’s assume I am talking about the program Spybot on my Internet site and I want to give my readers the chance of downloading the program so that they can try it themselves then I have two options. I could either host the file on my own website or link straight to the correct place on Download.com.

The first option would require me to dedicate a large proportion of my bandwidth (data transfer allocation) to supplying those users that want to download the file and that could potentially mean me having to pay more for my web-hosting. The logical alternative would be to link them directly to the file stored on Download.com which then puts the onus on to them so that they have to worry about such things as bandwidth usage and costs. The reader then starts happily downloading and doesn’t bother to check out the rest of their site so chances are that although you have all probably visited Download.com dozens of times it is quite likely that you have never even noticed!

I’ll be taking a look at this resource today as it is a fantastic site which is fast, useful and easy to navigate and deserves you visiting it for more than a few seconds at any one time.

When you first visit the page you’ll see that all the free software that is available to download can be listed in several different ways. First and foremost you can choose to sort the software by category for example ‘games’, ‘design’, ‘business’, ‘Internet’ and so on as well as then being able to further refine by sub-category. These are logically laid out which makes the process of browsing so many thousands of programs somewhat less daunting.

In addition users are asked to rate the files that they download based on how useful they found them and whether they did what they expected it to do. This is particularly useful as it then allows you to search for software in the order of the user rating that it has received or even by the number of times that it has been downloaded which prevents you spending your day downloading files that despite sounding good actually fail to deliver.

Along with the user reviews you are also shown the software developers description of their program along in many instances a Download.com review. This further assists you in choosing a program that suits your needs.

The site itself is supported by non intrusive advertising and you’ll find that the software you download will be either completely free of charge, supported by advertising, supported by donations or simply trial versions. A lot of it is all extremely good quality and although you may spend a while sorting the metaphorical wheat from the chaff I am sure that you will find something that interests you eventually.

Next time you have a few minutes on your hands head to www.download.com and search for that piece of software which will make your computing life just that little bit easier.