Make Your Own CDs
Written: Jun 18 '01 (Updated Jun 18 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Versatile
Cons: External so you have to put it somewhere
The Bottom Line: With the ability to move the Backpack from computer to computer I have found this unit very handy.
|
|
|
| rbinck's Full Review: MicroSolutions Backpack CDRW |
I wanted a CD burner to make some music CDs for use in the car. I went shopping for such a device and ended up purchasing the Micro Solution Backpack.
Types Available
There are two types of Backpacks available, one connects to the printer port and the other will connect to a USB port. I purchased the one that connects to the printer port. I decided on the Backpack with the reasoning that I could use it with my desktop computer as well as my laptop computer. I travel between Houston and Kona and I can just pack my Backpack and be in the burning business anywhere.
Connecting The Backpack via USB Port
If you acquire a USB Backpack you need to be sure your computer has a USB port. Assuming it does, you can just connect the Backpack to the USB connection. Now if you have other USD devices, such as a USB scanner, USB video camera or USB keyboard, you will need a USB hub, if you don’t already have one. A USB hub is merely a box that will act like a USB port expander to allow the connection of multiple devices. The store where you buy your Backpack will also sell USB hubs, most likely.
Connecting The Backpack via Printer Port
This is probably the most popular method of connecting the Backpack. To do it you unplug your current printer cable (if you have a printer attached to your computer) and plug in the Backpack with the supplied cable. You then plug the printer cable into the Backpack. When you send anything to the printer, it will go through the Backpack. All of this is transparent once you load the software. The new models are called the triple play models and they have three connections in the same box: parallel (printer) port, USB and a PC Card (PCMCIA card) for laptops.
Software
The software that came with my Backpack was a driver for the Backpack to allow the use of the Adaptec software, the Adaptec Easy DC Creator™ and the Adaptec Direct CD™.
Easy CD Creator™
This software allows you to make data or music CDs fast and easy. My Backpack came with Easy CD Creator™ V3 and I needed to upgrade to V4 in order to use my .mp3 files for the source of my music CDs. The method of setting up a CD to be burned is fast and simple, much like coping files between two Window Explorers™. Each CD layout that is created may be saved for future use, if desired. In addition to the burning of CDs Easy CD Creator™ may also be used to make disc labels and jewel case inserts.
Direct CD™
This software is basically a driver that will with the use of a rewritable CD-RW disc, to act like another hard drive on your system. I find this software to be very handy for backing up data that needs to be updated from time to time. The CD-RW discs are not compatible with audio CD players like the CD-R disc are, so these are only good for data use.
Uninstalling The Software
Should it be necessary to remove the supplied software from your computer, the package comes with uninstall software that will automatically remove the software from your system.
System Requirements
The Backpack requires an IBM compatible Pentium, or equivalent computer, Standard IBM compatible parallel printer port or PCMCIA card slot or USB port. Operating system supported are Windows 95™, Windows 98™, NT 4™, Windows Me™, or Windows 2000™. At least 16MB of RAM is requires and 32MB is recommended. You will need about 10MB of hard drive space for each minute of music to be recorded. If you have 700 MB free, you are set for an entire disc.
Uses For The Backpack
The main thing that comes to mind is the ability to make music CDs for playback in your car stereo. It should be noted that some DVD players, although they will play commercially acquired music CDs, will not play CDs recorded with a CD burner such as the Backpack. I found this to be a small pain, as my home theatre system DVD would not play them. This caused me to leave my CD player hooked up and consume space. Most, if not all, car audio players will have no problem. I use a small notebook computer as a digital jukebox in my car and in my home theatre. To have music sources for this setup, I have burned my .mp3 files from my desktop (some 9,000+ of them) onto multiple CD-Rs. To listen to any given file, I just pop the CD-R into the CD drive and use Windows Explorer to find and launch the file. Using .mp3 files allows about 200 songs to be recorded on a single CD-R! Two or three of those will get you way down the road!
Other uses for the Backpack are as noted before to backup data from your hard drive. For this purpose I mostly use CD-RW discs so that the files can be updated as they change.
I have gotten into shooting a lot of photos with my digital camera and have found the Backpack is great for sharing the photos with others. I recently burned some CD-R discs of photos I took on our last trip to Hawaii and our recent trip to Washington State and gave them to my sons and daughter, as well as some friends and other family members.
Summary
If you have a use for a CD burner, the Backpack may be worth looking at. The new models will burn up to 8X speed and the versatility of being able to move it from computer to computer, I have found very handy.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
rbinck
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Member: Richard Binckley
Location: Houston, Texas
Reviews written: 125
Trusted by: 26 members
About Me:
Retired A/V professional, likes Hawaii and Classic Cars
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.