Real Networks is suing the movie studios to license their RealDVD software. The studios are suing Real to stop the DVD-burning software form being sold. Meanwhile, there are hundreds of DVD rippers out there, and many claim to be legal. Why is Real under the microscope?

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There are tons of good backup-software applications available on the Web. Brian likes Second Copy and Rafe recommends Carbonite.

HTC Touch Diamond, BlackBerry Curve, or Motorola Q9? If we had to choose, we'd go with the Curve.

Need help puttin' OS X on a PC? Well, keep in mind you might be breaking the law, but there's a Web site that can advise you. Head to the Osx86project.

Email us! Whether it's a regular text note, or a recorded video question, you can send it to cnetlive@cnet.com. Keep your videos to 15 seconds or less, post them to a Web site like Youtube and then e-mail us the link. Here's an example.

A lot of our tips here at CNET require you to burn an ISO image to CD. Many of you have written in asking how the heck to do that. Here's the video on how. Watch that then come back for the steps.

An ISO file is a single file, usually with the extension .ISO. Sometimes, on Macs, they may be called .CDR. It's essentially all the data that goes on a CD, also called a disk image. When you burn the ISO to CD, you're essentially creating an exact copy of the CD the ISO was originally made from.

Here's how to burn one.

You'll need a blank CD of course.

And some software that burns CDs. For this example, I'll use a free program called CDBurnerXP.

Put the CD in the CD drive.

Launch the burning program.

You want a setting that allows you to burn data, not music. This is often called a data setting. CDBurnerXP has a special setting for ISO images.

Browse for the ISO file on your hard drive.

Make sure an option to finalize the disc is selected. In some programs you may need to select a bit for bit option as well.

Burn the disc.

If all goes well, you should have a perfectly usable disc.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Toshiba may be considering dropping HD DVD in the next few weeks. The HD DVD deathwatch has been on since they canceled their CES event after Warner announced its switch to Blu-ray exclusively.

This news got me thinking. Consumers have been waiting on the sideline for one format to win. But what if you end a war and nobody cares? I don't expect the coronation of Blu-ray as the high-definition king will cause consumers to stampede to buy Blu-ray players.

Another thing to consider is the "war" has kept folks talking about Blu-ray and HD DVD. But if the war ends, the talk, and the free publicity, ends too. DVD players haven't historically been big headline-grabbers. Blu-ray players will have to do something extra nifty to get people talking again.

Finally, video-on-demand is penetrating the home. Almost all major cable services in the US and Canada offer it. DirecTV just started rolling it out to it's subscribers. Also, Apple fans can snarf up the Apple TV and buy high-definition movies right from the set-top box now. With the ability to get HD movies in your house already, what's it going to take to push someone into buying a Blu-ray player?

The studios could start releasing some movies only in Blu-ray, but that might backfire. It's a delicate balance that the Blu-ray folks should be able to navigate. However, if they get overconfident at their "win" they could easily blow it.

Of course all this requires HD DVD to bow out, but I think at this point it's reasonable to assume it will bow out whether it's the next few weeks or the next few months. But that will only mean Blu-ray has defeated HD DVD. It won't mean Blu-ray won consumer's hearts.

Could the end of the next-gen optical format war be on the horizon? While you wait for the shakedown, why not tune in some ambient color for your TV? Plus, organizing meetups with your 700+ Facebook friends, 800 IM contacts and your five real friends isn't an easy task, and we found one service that aims to annoy everyone equally. Lastly, we send Mark the intern out into the streets to see if New Yorkers are scared their workplace computer habits could get them fired. That and more, on today's episode of The Queue.

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Show Notes:

Forrester Research

Color DVDs [Via Geekologie]

Moon prize part deux

Blast alerts [Via Switched]

Contact us:

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