Review on 📀 I/Omagic External DVD +/- R/RW Drive with LightScribe Optical Drives (24x) - IDVD24DLSE #14700365 by Brion Pine

After unsuccessfully trying to get 2 different new Memorex CD burners to work with my 2 year old iMac I finally gave up and found this I/O Magic. I ordered it and was pleasantly surprised to find that this device worked GREAT with my Mac right out of the box. (It doesn't say anything about it being able to be used with the included Mac! - I'm using OS 10.8.2 Mountain Lion with Roxio Toast version 11, although it worked with the older version 10 as well.) that my Mac detects a burner called "Atapi". Although it comes with PC software on a CD, it works plug and play with my iMac. I particularly like that it has a faster write speed than my 10 year old LaCie. LaCie only burns at 4X, I've found this new I/O Magic burns my DVDs from 8X and up the burn speed to 16X. He burned a full regular CD (700MB) in just 3 minutes, starting at 16x speed and ending at around 42x speed! While I wouldn't call this burner quiet in use (it has a fan on the back to keep it cool), it's not that loud. There is also an on/off button on the back. I was surprised how light and quite compact it is. It has a glossy black finish and a regular tray that slides out for a CD. The Lightscribe engraved labels (which look amazing btw) took about 28 minutes to create - my old La Cie took about 18 minutes, so a bit slower, but I couldn't believe the results - comparing the same labels on both. Burner, I/O Magic's new Lightscribe engraving was actually TWICE DARKER! And that's if you're using a "split" burn with the free Lightscribe software. A very pleasant surprise! The old LaCie label actually looked DIM on closer inspection! What I found earlier looked very good. That's technological progress, I think. An interesting note I found via Memorex live chat: I was told that the Lightscribe factory in Japan was destroyed by last year's tsunami and that there are NO plans to restore it. He suggested I stock up on Lightscribe CDs, which is a great idea just in case it's true. I will be VERY disappointed when this becomes a reality and this wonderful CD labeling technology is discontinued. I am very happy that I bought this new burner. especially when they stop Lightscribe's ability. And I bought this unit directly from I/O Magic (through Revain) in Irvine, California. Great price, packaged very well and shipped quickly. I hope this helps anyone who is thinking about buying one of these. specifically for use with your Mac.