Optical Drive: Definition and additional resources from ZDNet

Generally refers to the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive in a computer. See optical disc.

Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia.
Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc.
All rights reserved.

Additional Resources

Getaway day: How to secure your laptop for holiday travel: Getaway day: How to secure your laptop for holiday travelNot for Vista Home Premium!Why not tell people that this does NOT WORK encryption radio button grayed out in Vista Home Premium - only suckers who paid for M$ for the Ultimate or business/enterprise editions!RE: Getaway day: How to secure your...; Tags: Notebooks, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), laptop computer, holiday travel, TrueCrypt, Getaway day, Getaway; Discussion threads 2008-07-03
Airport security part 4: Attack of the body scanners!: Airport security part 4: Attack of the body scanners!Airport SecurityI'm fairly sure if anyone was to see me naked... their eyeballs would no longer function anyway. I say go ahead, it's more a punishment for them than me. But I can certainly understand why many people would find...; Tags: airport security, body scanners!, scannerS!, Nate; Discussion threads 2008-07-03
Whither Blu-ray?: Whither Blu-ray?It's the lack of HDTV ownersand the ignorance of those who do own that I think is the biggest issue. People who don't have HDTV would see no benefit to spending extra money on BluRay, and those who do own will never believe there is a difference unless you...; Tags: HD DVD, Blu-ray, Consumer electronics, TVs, TV & Home Theater, HDTV, DVD; Discussion threads 2008-07-03
Weekend Gadget Guidance: Sync files between computers over the Web, free: Freeware application and Web service Dropbox instantly backs up and syncs your files over the Internet and to any Windows or Mac computer. Once you install the application, it will create a Dropbox folder on your hard drive. Any file you put inside that folder will sync...; Tags: Web, File, Computer, Dropbox Web Interface, Productivity, Microsoft Windows, Channel Management, Operating Systems, Software, Marketing, Andrew Nusca; Blog posts 2008-07-03
PC Backup Utilities (exe): PC Backup Utilities is an exclusive backup/restore solution for home and business purposes. With this comprehensive solution, Even a novice can backs up his/her Windows/Linux Systems, documents, business information, photos, musics and emails. Upgrade hard drive and migrate/propagate system to other computers locally or over network will become an easy...; Tags: PC, Backup Utility, Computer, PC Backup Utilities, Desktops, Productivity, Hardware; Software downloads 2008-07-03

YBridge (exe): YBridge allows securely access your home PC from outside your home or while traveling. Map your home drive on the work PC. Watch from work how your babysitter is taking care of your child. Securely exchange files and other data with friends. Achieve better throughput using built-in compression mechanism. Take...; Tags: Mechanism, PC, Asuns, YBridge, Desktops, Hardware; Software downloads 2008-07-03
Email Extractor (zip): Email extractor is a very powerful and reliable tool to extract e-mail addresses from all kind of files. It retrieves absolutely all valid e-mail addresses and generates an output file with de-duped emails. Just point the program to a folder or drive containing email address and the program will do...; Tags: E-mail Address, St. Andrews Software, Email Extractor, E-mail, Online Communications; Software downloads 2008-07-03
Seven Tech ways to make America better this July 4: Something about getting a new neck earlier this spring made me start thinking about how to change my life to make America a better place. Here a few that you can try to make the country better over the Fourth of July weekend: 1.) Turn off your...; Tags: Phone, PC, Cell Phone, Computer, Productivity, Telecom & Utilities, Cellular Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Mitch Ratcliffe; Blog posts 2008-07-02
Notebook SSDs REDUCE battery life at 50x the cost: Notebook SSDs REDUCE battery life at 50x the costYou make sense... I don't usually like your blogs, but you've stumbled into a real gem here.I personally use a laptop with a traditional drive, and store my user data on a 16G SD card. Best of both worlds apparently: my data...; Tags: Engineering, Notebooks, battery, RPM, Wattage, notebook; Discussion threads 2008-07-02
Notebook SSDs REDUCE battery life at 50x the cost: Tom's Hardware is reporting test results that show that costly notebook flash drives actually use MORE power than hard drives - shrinking battery life by up to an hour. How could this be? The test Testing 4 SSDs against a 7200 RPM 2.5" drive on a...; Tags: Disk, Battery, USB Flash Drive, Tom, Notebooks, Engineering, Flash Memory, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Robin Harris; Blog posts 2008-07-02
AVADirect Core 2 SLI DDR3 Gaming System: If you consider this upper midrange $3,220 AVADirect's Core 2 SLI DDR3 Gaming System representative of the value and build quality available from this small custom builder, we can report that we were mostly happy with this PC, even if we found it loud and its gaming performance a bit...; Tags: Games, AVADirect Core 2 SLI DDR3 Gaming System; Product reviews 2008-07-02
Calling all auto engineers: this is an emergency: Calling all auto engineers: this is an emergencyThere are no engineersTheir parents made sure they went into business and got MBAs due to the wonders of globalization!Too many chiefs, not enough indians.-MWhy not just drill for more oil?I think it is simply amazing how everyone in Congress is standing around...; Tags: Food & Beverage, Total Cost, food; Discussion threads 2008-07-02
WordPress, Gears, and the converging browser/desktop: I had a good conversation today about the browser/desktop hybrid and where the converging is going to happen. Will it be more on the desktop side or will it be more on the browser side? I think we've seen the original browser-based development model win out as more and more...; Tags: Wordpress, Blogging, Web Browser, Desktops, Web Browsers, Hardware, Internet, Ryan Stewart; Blog posts 2008-07-02
Stop the madness: 10 steps to kill failures: Are you too pussy-footed to pull the plug on projects that will inevitably fail? If so, you're not alone. Whether through fear, denial, or ignorance, many organizations don't kill their doomed projects fast enough. It's a darn shame because these lousy things can drive everyone crazy while burning scarce resources....; Tags: Project, Failure, Corporate Governance, C/C++, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Programming Languages, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Michael Krigsman; Blog posts 2008-07-02
Costing Sun Ray vs Wintel: Costing Sun Ray vs WintelSo, you like Sun Ray, Yes? KiddingSeriously, interesting article--Sun Ray is looking better and better!There are so many good reasons to consider using Thin Client. Sun Ray just reinforces that.A few questionsWhy did you so much oversize the client. why use E7200 core duo ? why...; Tags: Servers, server, VMware Inc., Sun Ray, Costing Sun Ray, Sun Microsystems Inc., Wintel; Discussion threads 2008-07-02
Win-Traveller (exe): Win-Traveller is a script based Packaging suite, capable of customizing MS Windows 2000/XP/2003, to better organize and manage User's Profiles including: User's Data, settings, and computer programs. It's Either for: Safe keeping or as Backup; High and handy portability from home to home and office or even for Traveling; For...; Tags: Portable, Computer, Traveller Soft, Win-Traveller, Productivity, Desktops, Hardware; Software downloads 2008-07-02
McCain's campaign team has no Facebook chops: You have to admire the chutzpah of the idea of convincing voters that they should vote for a candidate through an arcade game rip-off of Space Invaders, because it's simply ludicrous coming from a candidate who has declared he doesn't even know how to "use a computer." Aaron Jacobs-Smith of...; Tags: Facebook, Team, John McCain, McCain, Jacobs-Smith, Games, Personal Technology, Mitch Ratcliffe; Blog posts 2008-07-01
Samsung BD-P1500: The most important question for any standalone Blu-ray player is whether it's better than the Sony PlayStation 3. Let's answer that one right off the bat: Samsung's new BD-P1500 is not. They both cost the same ($400 list), but the PS3 has better image quality, currently supports both Blu-ray Profile...; Tags: Overall IT, Samsung BD-P1500, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony PlayStation 3; Product reviews 2008-07-01
2008 Volvo S80 T6 AWD: Photo gallery:2008 Volvo S80When we took delivery of the 2008 Volvo S80, we immediately opened the boxes, pulled the various panels out, and tried to match up the bag of fasteners with the pictures in the assembly directions. Actually, new Volvos look nothing like flat-pack Ikea furniture, trading in their...; Tags: Volvo, Volvo S80, driver-alert system, lane-departure; Product reviews 2008-07-01
Google retires AdSense referral program: Due to reasons unknown, the AdSense referral program is being retired at the end of August. It's unclear how popular the referral program actually was, but it's safe to assume it wasn't a huge money-maker for Google. In their official announcement, they alluded to their reasoning behind retiring...; Tags: Google Inc., Google AdSense, Garett Rogers; Blog posts 2008-07-01