Nero took 3 of the apps they used to bundle in the Nero & Nero Platinum suites & made them optional downloads, & they made them free. I do not know if they're somehow limited if you don't have Nero installed -- they wouldn't run properly in my XP Mode VM so I couldn't compare them. I also want to add a caution -- I don't know why they wouldn't run in the XP Mode VM, but some of the symptoms pointed to Windows Installer problems, so while they installed fine in win7 64, you really should back up or at least set a restore point before installation... once Windows Installer gets messed up there's a very good chance you'll either have to live with it being broken or re-install Windows.
All 3 apps are available on Nero's download page [nero.com] towards the bottom, along with a few other free tools like DiscSpeed. All 3 are .zip files, & when you run the setup app enclosed in the .zip file it further expands the included setup files in the User Temp folder where they're then run. I mention that for 2 reasons -- 1) the setup files are left in the Temp folder for you to delete afterwards, & 2) some people may just want to try running the .msi installation file for the apps themselves, possibly skipping a little bit of the bloat Nero's famous for.
The version 12 apps themselves are Cover Designer, Wave Editor, & Sound Trax. The Cover Designer's a decent enough app, but it's a cover designer, so IMHO there's not an awful lot to say about it. It comes with a bunch of templates for various printers & labels as well as Lightscribe. Wave Editor is a pretty nice audio editing app that can use both Direct X & VST plug-ins or filters in addition to the filters & tools included in the app. It's not Sound Forge Pro or the Adobe equivalent, but it is better than most of the free & lower cost programs, & probably a bit easier than Audacity. Sound Trax is a multi-track audio editor that can output 5.1 AC3 etc. -- not many of those around free or low cost.
