Taking a hint from Roxio's user-friendly Easy CD Creator, Nero 6 Ultra ties the suite together with an elegantly designed launch panel, called StartSmart, that is completely configurable and shows only the applications you use.

In my tests with shipping software, I noticed small interface glitches throughout the suite (Ahead has been quick to post fixes), and I found the new DVD player promising but not yet full-feature. I also didn't care for the strict step-by-step approaches used by Nero Vision Express 2 and BackItUp, which grow tiresome to walk through when you've acclimated yourself to the way they work.

But in spite of these drawbacks, the suite's impressive capabilities won me over.