Stomp, Inc.'s RecordNow MAX 4.0 review @ CDRLabs.com

And yet another review from the guys from CDRLabs.com as this time they've taken a look at Stomp, Inc.'s latest gem, RecordNow MAX 4.0.

I've often harped on how important software is to the hardware. Maybe it's because creating hardware is my day job and I'm revolting after quitting time, but I'm a staunch believer that the best CD-RW can be utterly ruined by poor software support. Easy CD Creator has gotten better (and much, much bigger), but in the early days of parallel port 2x writers it was awful. Granted the hardware was poor as well, but I swear my coaster rate was right up there around 50%. Even leaving the computer (P2 300) alone with the screen saver off wasn't enough to guarantee success. I truly cherished every succesful burn. These days the "back-end" of software is pretty good. There's intelligent file caching, optimized buffer usage, and burning engines that are efficient and lightweight.

But, since the back-end is only a part of the story, we're forced to report on the GUI, or front-end of the software. As more and more people begin to use burners, the lower the average computer IQ becomes. A GUI has a way of simplifying things to bring out the productivity in even marginal computer users. RecordNow MAX 4.0's claims of corporate dominance might give us some clues into a possible superior front-end. Then again, if it's not possible to do anything without a Wizard spoon feeding me questions, that would detract from the power users' opinions. Can Stomp strike the right mix?

Part of the conclusion:

RecordNow MAX 4.0 is quite a package. I've used it exclusively for almost a month and it hasn't failed me yet. I feel safe recommending it wholeheartedly to the corporate and professional user. The home user who only has the cash for a single burning package will have to decide if he can live without the audio editing and label maker.

So, what was done right? The free and unlimited MP3 encoder (but no WMA? Boo!) is absolutely incredible as it has a wide range of bitrates (no variable). The package is easy to use, intuitive, and it doesn't make you hunt around forever trying to figure out how to do something. They could include more menu items into the Disc Explorer since it ended up being the "miscellaneous" dialog for the misfit functions. But, it works if you can remember what those functions are.

You can read the complete review of Stomp Inc.'s RecordNow MAX 4.0 on CDRLabs.com. The package gets an overall score of 9.

Source: CDRLabs.com