Friday, April 27, 2007

[Tech] SUPERDRIVE TO THE RESCUE!

(I tell ya, I'm a sucker for superhero stuff!)

Well, after the great response we’ve received from all of our readers about some of our tech pieces, I’ve gone in and kicked over the anthill in the back office to see what would happen. BIG mistake. After nursing the many tech-ant bites I got, they finally settled down and told me their tale of the Internal 8x DL SuperDrive (DVD-R + CD-RW) UJ-85J drive.

This drive (we’ll call it the UJ-85J for short) is one of the most common internal superdrives for many laptops, Mac minis and the iMac G5/intel models. The 8x DVD-R writing speed, and the 4x DVD+R Dual Layer are the same specs as the Macbook Pro 17 inch models. So for laptops you know that this drive is at the top of the game because it’s in the best models Apple has to offer currently. This drive also supports 5x DVD-Ram burning, which Apple drives do not support. With the ease of use of DVD-Ram, it adds into a great bonus for those who purchase it.

Now if you feel that the burning speed on your Powerbook/iBook is slow, it’s a great upgrade to get for it. I take that back, it’s not a great upgrade. Just because the Powerbook/iBooks have a Combo Drive only…it is a SUPER upgrade! (See, yet another superhero reference!) So, once you install it and install the patch software, it’ll work as a genuine drive for you. It works perfectly with iApps or Finder, and it can boot from CD/DVD boot discs.

Another benefit is the drive’s ability to work with OS9. Since there is no burning software currently available for OS9 (you’d have to find a REALLY old version of Toast…and you can’t purchase it normally), you’d need a drive like this if you’re still in “vintage times” and using OS9.

Since the Macbook/Macbook Pro 15inch models are smaller, they do not use the UJ-85J. They use a smaller, ultra slim drive instead. With some luck, we’ll hopefully see a SuperDrive like the UJ-85J for these models in the near future. Keep your fingers crossed, eh? :)

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