Startech Lightens the Load with New Portable CD/DVD Burner

Finally, someone has developed a portable CD/DVD burner that doesn't sacrifice speed for portability!

The folks Startech have just released their new Slim DVD+/-RW External USB 2.0 Drive ($121), which can handle everything from CD and DVD +/-R to dual layer DVDs and at speeds we expect from built-in drives.

This baby burns CDs at 24X, DVDs at 8x and dual-layers at 4x. It's also one of the few portable burners that can handle DVD-RAM.

For those addicted to them, here are the specs:

-- It supports mini-CDs.
-- It's light, weighing in at only 12.35 ounces.
-- It comes with Nero 7 Essentials.
-- It's hot-swappable. Just plug it into a USB port and use it.
-- It isn't Vistaphobic and will also run on Macs.
-- You don't need to use the unit's power supply if you just need to read from CDs or DVDs.
-- Its buffer is a hefty 2MB.

For more information, check out the company's Web site at www.startech.com.

Michael L. Berman can be contacted via email at jocgeek@earthlink.net or through his Web site at www.jocgeek.com.