StarTech Slim DVD-RW Drive Review
Has your laptop or desktop DVD or CD drive kicked the bucket? Does your laptop or
desktop only have a CD burner and not a DVD burner? Have you neglected purchasing a DVD burner because of high prices and inflated installation fees? Would you like to have the capability to watch DVD movies in high resolution on your desktop or laptop? Would you like to easily backup your movies and data to high storage media such as DVD? (A dual layer DVD will hold over 8GB of data. That is roughly 16,000 2mb high resolution photos or 8,000 4mb mp’3s on just one disc) To put that in perspective, if you took 450 high resolution photos every day for a year, you could store all those precious memories on just one disk. WOW!
If you answered yes to any of those questions above then you may want to consider purchasing an InfoSafe External Slim USB 2.0 DVD +/- RW Dual Layer drive from Startech.com. This slim external DVD and CD burner features a high quality Panasonic drive. The drive is sleek, elegant, compact, fast, reliable, and very quite. It is also a snap to setup and use.
Recently I received an InfoSafe External Slim USB 2.0 DVD +/- RW Dual Layer drive from Startech.com to try out. It’s great to have around with me in my laptop bag when traveling because my laptop doesn’t have a built DVD-RW drive. Previously, I purchased a different model DVD-RW external drive that was heavy, large, and required an external power source. The bulky drive wouldn’t fit in my laptop bag and was very inconvenient to use. The InfoSafe External Slim drive has completely eliminated those inconveniences. Before owning this drive, I use to have to crawl under beds and desks in hotels rooms to find an available power source, only to find out my power cord would not reach from my bed. Not any more!
For installation, all I had to do was plug in the two USB cords to my pc and that was it. I didn’t have to fumble around with installing additional drivers. This device is truly plug and play. After the drive was detected I popped in the included Nero 7 Essentials. The Nero Essentials DVD and CD burning software is the perfect package for all your DVD backup and viewing needs.
This external drive doesn’t even need to be plugged into an external power source, albeit it does have an included power adaptor. The power adaptor isn’t necessary to use unless your computer doesn’t have two available USB ports. Most computers today have plenty additional USB ports available so most people will probably never have to use the power adaptor.
Did I mention it’s great for when traveling with the kids? My car does not have a power adaptor so in the past my kids couldn’t watch their favorite DVD movies on my laptop. Now, when we travel I just charge up the laptop and plug in the Infosafe External drive and the kids enjoy their favorite movies from the backseat of the car. How’s that for a peaceful driving experience?
Furthermore, I was so impressed with InfoSafe External drive that I plan on purchasing a second one as a gift for my parents. My parents are older and their desktop computer sits under their computer desk. I get tired of them having to get down in the floor just to insert a disk into their computer. Needless to say they will be very pleased with their new external DVD drive that sits nicely in reach of their fingertips, right next to their computer monitor.
In closing, no additional power cords, along with its small size and light weight make it a perfect accessory to carry along with a laptop during your travels or to use as the primary drive for your desktop pc. It is about the size of a DVD movie case, very attractive, very quiet, and easy to use.
Overview of features:
• No external power source required – This remarkable drive powers itself from
• Supports both USB 2.0 and 1.1 – Which means it’s compatible with both older and newer computers. Of course you will get a faster read and write speeds if your computer supports USB 2.0. But many older PC’s have USB 1.1 ports and I want to be able to use this external drive on any computer I plug it in to.
• Easy installation – If your computer is running Windows 2000 or higher you don’t even have to install a driver. Just plug and play.
• Media Support – This drive reads and writes all popular CD and DVD formats out there, including dual layer DVD’s.
• Impressive Speed – Provides 5x DVD-RAM write speeds, 8x (DVD+RW), and 6x (DVD-RW) I was able to burn a full 4.7 DVD in just under 12 minutes and a 750mb CD in under 5 minutes.
• Backup Large amounts of personal data – With a dual layer DVD I can store over 16,000 high resolution photos on just on disk.
And that’s just some of the many great features you will get with the InfoSafe External Slim USB 2.0 DVD +/- RW Dual Layer drive from Startech.com
This extensive tech review was brought to you by the dad behind Paintshopblog.com
Baby Jamz Boom Box Shape Sorter Toy Review
We were recently given the chance to review a few products from the new Baby Jamz toy
line created by Mathew and Solange Knowles,the father and sister of Beyonce Knowles. These products have come about just in time for Christmas for the tiny hip-hop lovers in your family.
The Baby Jamz Boom Box Shape Sorter Toy was our favorite out of all three toys that we got to sample. It is simple, sturdy, and an engaging musical toy for babies under 2. The shape sorter plays 3 nursery rhyme songs by Solange Knowles with a hip-hop twist. The songs included are Hip Hop Buckle My Shoe, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and The Wheels On The Bus.
For some reason I just can’t get used to these songs and I will say that I think many parents will find them irritating while others will probably welcome the change from the ordinary nursery rhymes.
The product states that the toy is for 6 to 36 months but I think it’s a little oversimplified for kids over age 2. While our son did enjoy this toy and I liked it as well, I noticed he got bored of it very quickly possibly due to the toy only having 3 shapes and limited capabilities.
Overall this is a good buy for kids who are into music at a very young age. However, like I stated above, if you have a child 2 or older I would not recommend this toy. Maybe try the dance mat instead.
These toys are sold exclusively at wal-mart.
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And now it’s time for a contest…
Baby Jamz Shape Sorter Contest:
We wanted to give one of you the chance to win one of the toys from the new Baby Jamz toy line to see how well you like it. To enter to win the Baby Jamz Shape Sorter leave a comment on this post telling me you want to win by Sat. Dec. 22nd, 2007.
Rules: US resident, 18+, void where prohibited, must have a contact email address and please check back to see if you have won. It is best to bookmark our site, add it to your feed reader,etc. and check daily to see winners and other things we have going on with the site.
Have you tried any of the toys from the new Baby Jamz toy line? Leave a comment telling us what you think of them.
ESRB.org Review: Video Game Ratings For Parents
Most of us have kids that like video games. Really, is there a child left that doesn’t enjoy games? My 6 year old is a video game fanatic along with his Daddy, and they play all sorts of games.
Before renting or buying our son a new game, I thoroughly look at the title and the rating in deciding what is appropriate for our 6 year old. However, I do realize there are some parents out there that are busy or don’t know what the ratings fully mean. This is where ESRB.org comes in. ESRB aims to help parents make informed decisions when buying video games. Along with the ESRB ratings and content descriptions being on the package of every video game, they are also on the website.
If you plan on buying your child a video game this upcoming holiday season, make sure you visit ESRB.org before going out and buying a new video game for your child! Check it out online before you buy! ESRB.org has also been especially helpful to me in finding new age-appropriate games for my son that I may not have otherwise seen in stores!
Happy video game shopping this holiday season…
Kajeet: The Cell Phone For Kids
Kajeet is a new cell phone service for kids. So basically it’s the lastest tech gadget for kids and so far we (mom and 6 year old son) are loving it!
Kajeet is the solution for kid cell phones because there is no contract and no additional fees. All you have to do is buy the phone and pay as you go. The Kajeet Sanyo Katana phone is cool, ultra slim & sleek and perfect for kids. My son has the blue one and really likes the added digital camera! I guess it’s time to teach him all about ring tones and how much fun they can be! Did I mention it was also blue tooth compatible? WOW!
With the Kajeet service, parents can view who their kids are talking to and what they are doing with the phone. That is a big plus. Actually it’s one of the main reasons why I totally recommend the Kajeet service.
Overall, we give Kajeet a 4 thumbs up! We recommend it for back to school and the upcoming holiday season. It is sure to be a big hit with the kids! I hope you will take some time and visit Kajeet.com to see what it’s all about.
Siente: Night Songs from Around the World Winner!
I’m pleased to announce the winner of our Siente: Night Songs from Around the World giveaway: Akinvt
Thank you to all who entered and congratulations to our winner.
If you didn’t win or missed the giveaway and you’re aching to get your hands on Siente: Night Songs from Around the World, don’t worry. Yellow Tail Records is generously offering you a 15% discount! Just enter the coupon code AMR at checkout at www.sientehome.com.
Review brought to you by Leslie of MyMommysPlace.com
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