Hewlett Packard C44653 CD-Writer Plus 8210e

The HP CD-Writer Plus 8210e drive helps you create, share, and store graphics and audio on your own CDs. Record up to 74 minutes of music--approximately 650 MB of data--on a single CD. In order to support the HP 8210e, your PC must run Windows 98 and have an available USB port.

The HP 8210e is an external tray-loading drive that plugs directly into your PC's USB port for quick setup and operation. Because it is an external drive, you can use it even if you don't have an open bay on your PC, and the HP 8210e is completely hot-swappable so you can connect it to different PCs without needing to reboot. The HP 8210e has a maximum read transfer rate of 900 KBps and a maximum write transfer rate of 600 KBps.

A generous software package is included with the HP 8210e. Sonic Foundry's ACID helps you create your own songs and record them directly on to CDs, while Broderbund's Print Shop Multimedia Organizer Deluxe collects, organizes, and publishes videos, photos, graphics, music, and Web pages. Adaptec's software lets you drag and drop files to CD from Windows Explorer or save directly from any application. With its Easy CD Creator, you can share or create CDs that play in most CD-ROM drives and audio CD players. For non-audiophiles, the HP 8210e is a great way to keep your business and personal files safe, accessible, and transferable. The HP 8210e comes with a one-year hardware warranty and 90 days of coverage on software.

Thanks to its Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection, the HP CD-Writer Plus 8210e drive is up and running in minutes. Set up is easy - simply plug the included USB cable into your PC's USB port and you are ready to go.You will love the convenience of an external drive. It is perfect if you do not have an open bay on your PC, and you do not have to open up your machine. Plus, you can use it on more than one machine - move it between systems without rebooting. It has never been easier to backup your files on all of your PCs.

1 Does the job reliably
I got one of these back in mid-2000. It's been quite reliable. I actually got it used, because I had a defective drive from another outfit (Iomega). I then tested someone else's drive (the one I have now) on my Mac with Toast 4, which worked. I went out and bought an 8230e, the kind available at the time. It didn't work, so I traded with the friend for his drive.

It's worked reliably, and rarely produces a bad disk. Even though it doesn't advertise so, it works with Toast for Mac. It doesn't include any Mac software. I wouldn't have bought it afterwards because it's not particularly fast and the computer I bought at the New Year of 2001 had FireWire. But it's served me well over the past few years, and will be subject to less use when the new iMac comes.

2 Can't Beat This Drive for Ease of Use - So Friendly, So Fun!
Background: I have burned lots of CDs but never had my own burner. I bought this drive for its USB connectivity (one drive I'll use on many PCs).

I expected installation to be a pain (on every PC). I expected it would be hard to use for making copies. I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG!

It took me longer to unpack the box than it did to install the drive. Total time for both: 10 minutes. Instructions: insert USB cable, one floppy in drive...2 minutes later: ready to go. Awesome!

Once installed, software is a BREEZE. Start yourself off by inserting a blank disk and you never have to look for the software in your start/programs/etc.. It AUTOMATICALLY pops up with the right window -- if the CD is blank, it asks: What do you want to do? An Easy Menu then takes you right to the program you need.

Insert a blank CD-RW and it will format it in the background; insert one that is already formatted and it doesn't annoy you with any windows/menus -- just go right ahead and use it.

It passed my wife's skepticism with a new record: no complaints, nothing but "wows". She inserted a blank CD-R, one click on the menu to the right software, inserted a disc to copy. Bingo, started copying. 10 min later, she's got a copy and no fuss.

The combination of CD-R and USB isn't the speediest and I've coasterized a couple of discs, but I'd trade coasters for the ease-of-use that this drive provides -- in a heartbeat.

If anyone from HP is reading this, congrats gang, because this really isn't like an HP product of yesteryear -- it is simple to use and fun right out of the box. Keep making products like this -- Please!

Ease of use - 5 stars Performance - 3 stars Fun - 5 stars Value - 4 stars (versus other USB CD-Rs) Overall 5 Stars