dvds

MacFixIt Answers is a feature where we answer questions e-mailed to us by readers. This week, we have questions on the application services not appearing in Safari, Time Machine drives not being set up correctly, an AirPort Express unit not working as a WiFi extender, and burned CDs not mounting or ejecting.… Read more

Here's something you don't see very often: a freebie for Macs. But Digiarty Software is showing the love by offering the WinX DVD Ripper for Mac, normally $35.95, absolutely free. No strings attached.

If the WinX name sounds familiar, it's because the company has offered a few Windows-only freebies in the past--most notably the Windows version of the same app (sorry, but that offer's long gone).

DVD Ripper can copy copy-protected movies to your hard drive and convert them to any number of popular formats, including FLV, MOV, and MP4. In other words, it's … Read more

Regular Cheapskate readers know of my fondness for Giveaway of the Day, the site that serves up a daily helping of free software.

Regular readers also know that I'm always on the lookout for a good DVD ripper, as I like to archive my discs for viewing on my media-center PCs and convert them for viewing on my iPhone, iPod, etc.

Today's giveaway, LeKuSoft DVD Ripper, has one ace up its sleeve compared with other rippers I've featured: it decrypts and rips not only regular DVDs, but also Blu-rays.

To grab this freebie for yourself, follow these … Read more

Want to archive your DVDs to your hard drive or convert them for viewing on, say, your iPhone or Zune HD? No problem: all you need is a good DVD ripper.

Today only, Giveaway of the Day is giving away WinX DVD Ripper Platinum, which normally sells for $29.95.

Just pop a DVD in your drive, fire up the program, and choose an output format: AVI, MP4, WMV, iPhone, PSP, 3GP, or any of half a dozen others.

The utility has a clean, simple interface that should be easy enough for novices to navigate. And advanced users can get … Read more

Netflix has more than a million people to thank for its latest surge in sales and earnings.

After winning 1.1 million net new subscribers in a single quarter, the company announced Wednesday that fourth-quarter profits jumped 36 percent to $30.9 million from $22.7 million in 2008's final quarter. Sales climbed 24 percent to $445 million from $359 million in the year-ago quarter.

The new subscribers added since the third quarter marked a record for the online rental company, which offers DVDs through the mail and streaming content for 12.3 million customers. Netflix also lost fewer … Read more

I own J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot. The DVD's bought and paid for. Needless to say, I'm not about to give Apple another $14.99 so I can watch the movie on my iPhone or iPod Touch. That's as ludicrous as buying the MP3s of an album I already purchased on CD.

Alas, though it's easy to turn a CD into iPod-friendly digital media--iTunes can do it, as can Windows Media Player--ripping a DVD requires a bit more muscle. That's why I tested the latest versions of two popular products: WinX DVD Ripper Platinum ($29.95) and Wondershare DVD Ripper Platinum ($39.95). (Apparently platinum is the, um, gold standard when it comes to ripping utilities.)

Basically, I wanted to see how well the two tools handled a new release like "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" and an older one like "Back to the Future." Again, these are movies I own; I believe creating a digital copy constitutes fair use, same as ripping a CD does.

For these fairly informal tests, I opted for medium-quality MPEG-4 conversion using preselected "iPhone" profiles. Also, my system has a quad-core AMD processor with 6GB of RAM, so performance results will undoubtedly vary unless you have similar hardware.

From a feature standpoint, the two programs are pretty similar. Both give you an abundance of conversion options, meaning you can rip your DVDs for viewing on devices other than just the iPhone and iPod (everything from Apple TV to Zune).… Read more

In the last year, consumers spent more money on video games in Britain than on films, including both trips to movie theaters and films on DVD, new figures compiled for U.K.'s Daily Telegraph indicate.

In the 12 months leading up to the end of September, 1.73 billion British pounds (about $2.8 billion) were spent on video games, according to data-monitoring company GFK Chart-Track. The U.K. Film Council said 1 billion British pounds ($1.6 billion) were spent at the British box office during the same period, with an additional 198 million British pounds ($320 million) … Read more

Giveaway of the Day is a site that offers a different software freebie every day of the week. It may sound too good to be true, but trust me, I've grabbed some real gems over the years.

Today's giveaway is an app for anyone looking to archive their DVDs or convert them to a mobile format. The aptly named DiscRipper normally sells for $29.95, but if you download and install it today, it's free.

Let me repeat that: The only catch is that you have to download and install the program before 12:00 PST tonight.… Read more

Like many people, I have a fairly sizable collection of CDs sitting in a storage room collecting dust. It's literally been years since I even touched a CD, let alone played one. So why am I hanging onto them?

Forget Craigslist. Forget eBay. Forget garage sales. Do you want to spin that jewel-cased straw into gold? Head to iPodMeister, where you can trade your old CDs for a brand-new hard drive, iPod, or even iPhone.

Here's how it works: You pack up your CDs (or DVDs), then e-mail the company to let them know how many boxes you … Read more