[Nachohat]

I want to buy an external CDRW drive for my powerbook. Pleas give me some suggestions. I want the drive to be:

1) Firewire ( 8X speed or more, doesn't have to be 24X!!)
2) OS X compatible
3) Affordable

thanx

[Skywalkers new Hand]

For a portaible the LaCie Pocket drives are the best.

USB and Firewire
8x
Bus powered
Cool case
Wrap around cord
Cost is quite high though.

Also the QPS 12x - 16x firewires are very good.

Works in OSX
Nice case
Comes with bag
No fan
Never made a bad disk for me
Burnproof

Formac:
Nice case
Bus Powered
Burnproof
Loud Fan
Lots of compatibility problems

[Paco Loco]

Yeah, I just got the LaCie Pocketdrive and i'm pleased with it.

However, there are two versions, one that writes at 8x and re-writes at 4x, and one that does both at 4x. I got the slower one as it is substantially cheaper - £260 instead of £420!!!

4x is a bit slow but the drive is extremely small, looks amazing, and is powered from the firewire bus. Havn't tried it under OSX though...

[pjkim]

I have a QPS QueFire CDRW drive and can't recommend it at all. The drive worked fine when I first got it last October. It is now making screeching noises and refusing to burn CDs. I have been calling tech support for the past month and a half. I stay on the line for 15-20 minutes and give up- I leave a message with my phone number (they say they will call back). They haven't returned any of my calls yet. I have emailed them also- no reply.

Their customer support is rather lacking. I can't recommend QPS.

Peter

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by pjkim:
<STRONG>I have a QPS QueFire CDRW drive and can't recommend it at all. </STRONG>

Well I am sorry to hear that. On another note out of the 6 Mac's that I have owned. 4 of them had to be completely replaced as they were defective. Apple's support was bad, they did not fix anything without a fight and allot of fuss.

If I were to recommend a computer based on this experience Apple would not be it.

I will continue to buy Mac's though as obviously not all of them are defective or nobody would buy one.

Judge for yourself.

[Nachohat]

we'll thanx for all the insight. I realize that not everyone is happy with any given product and that there are always some horror stories here and there. I'm pretty interested in the QPS 16X , or maybe I'll splurge on the 24X.

But damn, external CDRW drives are expenssive!! Maybe I should just buy a 16X internal to put in my old beige G3.

Decisions, decisions...

[ 09-05-2001: Message edited by: Nachohat ]

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Hey, Ain't nothing wrong with my 12x drive. It is only 1:45 seconds slower to burn a CD compaired to the 16x. Is that worth the extra price? Also remember that it is hard to find 24x CD-R media.

Since the 12x is very cheap right now you might want to look at it.

[pjkim]

Well I am sorry to hear that. On another note out of the 6 Mac's that I have owned. 4 of them had to be completely replaced as they were defective. Apple's support was bad, they did not fix anything without a fight and allot of fuss.

If I were to recommend a computer based on this experience Apple would not be it.

I will continue to buy Mac's though as obviously not all of them are defective or nobody would buy one.

Judge for yourself.

At least Apple answers the phone when you call. Just for grins, why don't you try calling the QPS tech support line. Chances are you will never talk to anyone. And the part where they say they will call you back if you leave a number- fat chance.

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by pjkim:
<STRONG>

At least Apple answers the phone when you call. Just for grins, why don't you try calling the QPS tech support line. Chances are you will never talk to anyone. And the part where they say they will call you back if you leave a number- fat chance.</STRONG>

If that is the case you should report them to the BBB as fraudulent and not honoring there warranty and tech support instead of crying about it here.

You should also e-mail QPS.

[pjkim]

If that is the case you should report them to the BBB as fraudulent and not honoring there warranty and tech support instead of crying about it here.

You should also e-mail QPS.

What kind of a rude ass mo fo are you? What is wrong with posting my experience with a company on a public forum? Maybe I want to warn others about their crappy tech support. How is that crying?

Maybe I want to punish QPS for their lack of tech support with bad publicity. Is that a good enough reason to post here? Is that crying?

BTW if you read my first post, you would have noticed that I have emailed them on with no response.

BBB? Do you really think that will help?

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Ha ha, rude ass MoFo. I like that.

It is fine to report about a complaint but you don't have to repeat it again when someone posts something good about them. We get it thanks.

I hate the way people constantly complain about something on a forum but do very little about it in the real world. One e-mail will not cut it. E-mail them every day, look for other numbers and yes contact the BBB and report them. You can also contact the store were you bought it.

I am sorry that you are not having luck with the drive but you have to take a strong initiative if you want it fixed.

[Thomas76]

yamaha 2100 firewire works fine for me.
it's a 16/10/40, detected by os9/x, itunes works fine with it.
It's a good CD burner I think.

[milhaus]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
<STRONG>Ha ha, rude ass MoFo. I like that.

It is fine to report about a complaint but you don't have to repeat it again when someone posts something good about them. We get it thanks.</STRONG>

Disgruntled Head of C-3P0, Severed Hand of Skywalker, etc.
I'd say his posts are necessary next to your glowing recommendations of the Que! burners, based on your experience with them. I've seen your postings recommending them to lots of people, without the warning about customer service. I realize that you've never had any problems with the drive, but you've certainly seen and heard lots of people who have - just search the forums. So they're necessary for a more balanced perspective, so people know what they're getting into. I've seen people question your employmeny status (i.e. that you work for Que!) because of your posts. If you're trying to give useful advice, give the whole picture.

For me, I love my Lacie drive - never had problems with it - but I'll admit, it's bloody loud, and if you plan on having the drive on all the time, then avoid this drive like the plague. But their customer service has been excellent, and general reports are positive. They replaced a FW HD because the bridge board wouldn't let the computer start up when attached but with the drive powered off, giving me a brand spanking new one with an Oxford chip. By the way, their FW hard drives are just as loud.

[Workers Comp Wampa]

Originally posted by milhaus:
<STRONG>

Disgruntled Head of C-3P0, Severed Hand of Skywalker, etc.
I'd say his posts are necessary next to your glowing recommendations of the Que! burners, based on your experience with them. I've seen your postings recommending them to lots of people, without the warning about customer service. I realize that you've never had any problems with the drive, but you've certainly seen and heard lots of people who have - just search the forums. So they're necessary for a more balanced perspective, so people know what they're getting into. I've seen people question your employmeny status (i.e. that you work for Que!) because of your posts. If you're trying to give useful advice, give the whole picture.</STRONG>

Sorry man, that makes no sense. I have told people not to buy the USB Que drives as they can have problems. Like I said I have not had any problems with my drives so I cannot comment on the support as I have never called them. I am not going to mention what everyone else has said, he can do a search for them if he wants but I don't quote other people.

Also like I said 4 out of the 6 Mac's I own have had problems. Does this mean I have to mention that every time I tell everyone I get a Mac?
No, I can still say that I like them and I recommend it.