Source: DoMiN8ToR
C|Net has a review of the Cie DVD-RAM IEEE 1394:
The challenge of removable storage is to offer stability and capacity while remaining as portable and affordable as possible. The LaCie DVD-RAM external drive, one of the first DVD-RAM drives to write to 4.7GB single-sided and 9.4GB double-sided discs, succeeds on all counts--but it'll put a strain on your wallet. The drive provides huge amounts of removable storage as well as the reliability of optical media, and it can read DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs. If you require serious amounts of removable storage, this drive may be your best option. |
At $799, the drive is pricey, but you'll more or less recoup the value in the low cost of the discs. A single-sided, 4.7GB disc sells for around $24.95, or about $5.31 per gigabyte, making it a very affordable backup solution, especially if you require the flexibility of removable media. By comparison, a bargain 20GB hard drive goes for little more than $100, or about $5 per gigabyte. And like a hard disk, you can read, write, and erase data on a DVD-RAM again and again.
Not everyone has a use for 9.4GB of portable media. But if you work with digital video or audio or need to distribute large amounts of data efficiently, DVD-RAM is an effective solution. The average user, however, will be content with a CD-R/RW drive, such as the Ricoh Media Master.
CNET Labs tested the LaCie, you can find the article here. They also mentioned the speed... transferring a 500MB directory took about 9 minutes, quite fast according to them.
