amcgee wants to know why Velan is the target of so much venom? As an early adopter of this software, allow me to give my two cents worth:

1. Velan does not respond to technical requests, bugs, or feedback. I am one of many people who paid for a working piece of software, and expect to get what I paid for. Simply put, if a company will not help a customer to resolve difficulties, then they have NO BUSINESS charging for their product.

2. FastDVDCopy is VERY uneven in its performance. I have a long list of movies that I own and wish to back up so my 3-year old does not trash them. Fast DVD Copy refuses to record many of them so they play back properly - bad menu links, "looping" menus, stuttering, etc. Simply put, if the product does not work as advertised, they HAVE NO BUSINESS asking for $100 for it - and then not answering their emails asking for help.

3. They have no return policy or performance guarantee. Unless someone else has had success, I cannot get them to refund my $$$ for their product that does not work as advertised. If you pay and discover that you are unhappy with its performance, you are screwed. Period.

4. Other software works better, and for less. I have used several other apps that do the same thing, on both Mac and PC platforms, which do not have the issues that fast DVD Copy has on the same discs. Yet, after 18 months of telling Velan about these issues, they haven't been addressed. If other software writers can fix their software (and there are some damn fine free applications out there), why can't Velan? I can't imagine that they cannot afford a better code writer, or at least a customer service line.

5. Why did I buy? Because they write a very attractive piece of software that, for many people, works fine; and because one can typically expect that if they pay good $$$ for an application (buggy or not), then that app will improve over time. This one has become fancier, but not better or more reliable. Frankly, speed, "look and feel", and even double-layer compatibilities are minor-league issues to me. What I want is an app that WORKS on the discs I need to back up. For me, Mac the Ripper and Popcorn (total outlay of $50) have worked at 100%. Yes, I have to use two apps. Big deal. They WORK.