Hi:      This is my first blog entry here on My Nero and I'd like to talk about a few issues with this latest "greatest" package. Overall, I have been pleased with Nero and have used it since about Nero 3 if I remember correctly.  It does a myriad of things fairly well and a few things very well.  I have noticed that as the program has become more "feature laden" it has gotten larger and larger and most importantly, needs to be on faster and more powerful hardware.  This is par for the course with any large program of course and has to be expected to some degree.  On the other hand, every newer version has problems when it is first released:  true with Nero 6, Nero 7, Nero 7 Enhanced and now with Nero 8.  I would say Nero 8 has worked pretty well for me but here a couple of issues I have had and/or noticed. The Help Files, while not included with the massive program download, can be downloaded separately.  However, unlike Nero 7, they do not integrate automatically with the program.  They should--they act like they will--but they don't.  You need to find each of the individual program folders within Nero and overwrite the original "to keep the download file small (etc. etc.)" help file.  Then and only then, is it integrated.  And yes, I install Nero to the default location.  If you, by chance, ever need to reformat the hard drive that Nero 8 is installed on, be sure you uninstall it from your original location first (if it's possible).  I say this because I reformatted my hard drive recently and now, Nero has this habit of telling me I am using a Serial Number which has already been taken.  It asks me to explain why with a couple of multiple choice questions.  I answer it then a few days later, we go through the process again.  The program should be able to tell that it is the same computer (albeit with a slightly different software setup than the last time--no difference in hardware), but it seems unable to do so.  And God help you if you try to upgrade to Vista from XP.  I don"t want to think about it. I recommend you do not use the "update" function of Nero SmartStart.  Ideally, it should work well and make it easier to update to a newer version of the program.  However, several things can occur when you try to use this feature:  1.  If you did not install the entire program (I do not use Nero Home or Photo Snap for example), if will install the entire program again and it is difficult at best, to delete the parts you do not want.  It shows error messages consistently when you try to use the StartSmart update interface to take out the program features you do not want to use.   2.  As before, it overwites the Help Files that you previously put into the correct folders and you're back to the "to keep the download file small (etc. etc.)" Help Files.  You then must "install" the downloaded files manually--again!  3.  The automatic update function takes a loooooong time to work--longer than if you just download the file yourself and install it again. I do appreciate the hard work which must go into making a program as large and feature laden as Nero.  For the most part, the program works well (for me anyway) and I have succesfully used most of it's features.  But, as has been mentioned previously, Nero Support seems to be mostly automated or by phone (if you want to pay for it) which I think is pretty bad when  you consider this is a totally new program--not just an upgrade to Nero 7.    I think the support personnel must be overwhelmed by all of the "glitches" and problems that have shown up the past month or so since it's release.  And the previous poster was correct when he says the more information you can give to these people, the better.  On the other hand, it sure would be nice for some kind of response when a person sends 7 or 8 e-mails with pictures and everything and no one even acknowledges that they received the info.  I, like many of the folks on My Nero, have been a loyal customer (some of us for years) and it would be in Ahead's best interest to act like we are just that:  CUSTOMERS.    Roxio is out there and if Ahead doesn't want the business, I'm sure they (and others) do. Finally, I do want to make it clear I have not tried to contact Support for any of the above issues so far.  My hope is that with future updates, these problems will be fixed--along with many of the others I have read about.  I think these people do want to give us a hassle and glitch free program; they're just not sure how to do that yet.  I'll wait a bit longer before I will let the frustration take over.  And again, I have been able to do everything I"ve tried to do with the program so far, so this is just for informational puposes. Thanks for reading.