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24 December 2007

Ask MeFi proxy request For one of the first times I can remember, I want to ask a question but can't because I've used one in the last week. Would anyone be willing to post this question for me?→[More:]I want to get an external DVD burner for my new Windows laptop. Suggestions?

I have a ThinkPad X61 with no internal optical drive so this will be my primary CD/DVD reader as well.

Should I try to get a FireWire drive or does it not matter? Any particular brands or models I should seek or avoid? It would be really nice if there were one that would play DVDs from any region or could be programmed to do the same.

Any U.S. vendors I could order from and get in the next week? Or should I just go out to Fry's and get something there? I'm in Austin, TX, for the rest of 2007.

Also, I'd like to install Windows XP from the drive (Vista is awful); will I have any problem booting from an external CD drive?

post by: grouse at: 21:27 | 14 comments

I'll dot it for you. Should I say 'posted for grouse' and you can answer any subsequent questions in the comments?

posted by chewatadistance 24 December | 21:35

uh, do it, even.

posted by chewatadistance 24 December | 21:35

Oh hell, I'd do it. Is it interesting?

posted by jessamyn 24 December | 21:37

ready to roll all I have to do is hit post...

posted by chewatadistance 24 December | 21:40

Thanks, chewatadistance, that sounds fine.

posted by grouse 24 December | 21:55

Done! (I'm yoga over there.)

posted by chewatadistance 24 December | 21:58

What's wrong with Vista?

posted by netbros 24 December | 22:00

Well, I find the user interface intensely irritating. I think there are bugs that still need to be worked out. And I don't feel like learning all the new crap right now.

posted by grouse 25 December | 07:14

Since my job is working with computers I am pretty much a computer person. Vista makes me understand how non-computer people interact with their computers.

"Arrrrrrgh! Why do all these confusing message boxes mean??? Why are there so many icons I don't want? Ahhh! Stop that and do what I want. Aieeee!"

posted by grouse 25 December | 07:17

Vista is a lot more stable than XP. Reboots and crashes are almost non-existent. It was written as a security enhancement release. So far that seems to be working out, as there aren't as many issues ... yet.

Granted, it doesn't do much else over XP. Search function is vastly improved, but as you mentioned, the message boxes can be annoying. They really only happen when you install new stuff though.

Look for a service pack in the 1st quarter for any bugs and other oogies. Me, I like it.

posted by netbros 25 December | 10:15

I haven't had a system crash yet with Vista, but I almost never had them with XP SP2 either. I have had a lot more application crashes, and that's without even installing anything other than Firefox, Flash, and Workrave.

And I'm not complaining about the user access control feature.

I'll wait for the service pack before reconsidering.

posted by grouse 25 December | 11:28

I also resent that my desktop is full of "let us sell you some more stuff!" although that might have less to do with Vista and more to do with Lenovo.

posted by grouse 25 December | 11:29

I've now had one system crash and one instance of the system ceasing to work until restart. Vista is rapidly losing the reliability battle.

posted by grouse 26 December | 14:52

IMO, Vista is nowhere near as reliable as an up to date XP system. That, and needing 2GB for anything like XP's performance, and the inflexibility of the UAC stuff, makes it a poor choice (if you have a choice of Vista or XP) at the moment. Unless your laptop has an XP driver set, 'upgrading' to XP might be difficult. I expect things to get fixed up slowly as SP1 and other updates trickle out.

posted by DarkForest 26 December | 19:33

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