Burned again or... Nero, was Rome all he burned?

It could be a pirate thing. What software should I use? It goes back some years when I got my first pc and met a guy who opened my eyes to all the possibilities. So what software should you use? What ever it is you want, but do the homework. Compare, figure what you need the program to do, how much you are going to use it, what features it has or doesn't have, how easy is it to use and most important, is it compatible with your OS. 
     Point being when I was in pirate training I leaned towards a burn program called Nero. Nero was IT, the only burning software to use, it was great, on and on and on... well I found this wasn't the case. Now I did find my way to pirate this program and used it for several years never having a problem. Yes I did notice the warning tag "Nero 8.whatever has known issues with this operating system." Of course I ignored this warning, after all I was a pirate. Some years down the road my computer became out dated, to make a long into short I had to replace it. 
     Excited? Oh you bet I was, a new toy; so to speak. Adjust this, control that, change this, that and the other, make it truly "My Computer." Well came time I wanted to burn some CDs and DVDs and wouldn't you know I did not have Nero on the new computer. The copy I had for installing was of course out dated, for use with XP and not compatible with Vista. Well, you know what I did, wink... I found the one that was compatible download install and used for several months when... the same warning tag introduced me to the nightmare of the "Dreaded Blue Screen!"

Needless to say, I learned an important lesson here. PAY ATTENTION TO WARNING TAGS! I also learned that my original burn program, Roxio wasn't the problem my friend had said it was, Nero was; or at least the pirated copy I was using. 
     For those unfamiliar with "the blue screen" it means something messed up, in a bad way and your Windows program will no longer work. The only solution to my knowledge is Format and start over. 

Disclaimer: I no longer pirate software. I am a law abiding pirate.