Burning CDs
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Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.
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Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.
MacBook/MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO DDR2 667Mhz 4GB Kit $80, 3GB Kit $60, 2GB Kit $40, 1GB $20 - Click to Maximize your Macs...
Evan Kleiman - 2000.12.13
Q. All of my friends that have PCs are always talking about CDs they've burnt with their computers, but I don't have a CD burner in my iMac. What can I do about this?
A. Unfortunately, for a long time, Apple has not offered a CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable) or CD-RW (Compact Disc-ReWritable) drive as an option. And because of this, they lost many potential sales and profits, because many people wanted this option on their iMac or other Macintosh computer. However, last Tuesday Steve Jobs announced that he will be including CD-R as an option on some new Macs. But what do you do until then? Well, you do have some options.
This first option is the only one for iMac users, such as myself: an external USB or FireWire CD-R drive. Since USB is limited to 680 Kbps, the only real option for speed-conscience iMac owners is a FireWire CD-R or CD-RW drive. You can pick one up at places like MacMall and Outpost.com for around $300. It's a steep price right now, but since this technology is still somewhat new, it can be somewhat costly.
Another option is installing an internal CD-R or CD-RW drive in your Mac. VST makes a nice one for about $350. However, there are many down sides to this. You can't install one of these on any iMac or the Cube, and installing it on a Mac with a free drive bay can be somewhat confusing.
In the end, for awhile at least, you'll have only a few options if you want to record music with your computer. It seems that the cheapest and easiest option may be just to wait and get it installed by Apple on your next computer.
Further Reading
- How Can I Burn a CD?, Chris Lawson, Mac Daniel, 4/4/2000
- Burning CDs, Scott L. Barber, Online Tech Journal. Hints on burning CDs with older Power Macs and SCSI burners.
Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.
Recent Mac Daniel columns
- Bringing G3 iMacs and other G3 Macs into the Tiger Age, Dan Knight, 12.07. Tips on hard drives, memory, WiFi, and getting Mac OS X 10.4 installed on G3 iMacs and other older G3 Macs.
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Links for the Day
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- List of the Day: 1st PowerMacs is for pre-PCI Power Macs.
- September 5 in LEM history: 99: Why the G4 uproar? - 00: It wasn't even a Mac - 01: Stop the upgrade insanity - 02: Sharing your Internet connection - The evolving low end - 03: Apple #5 in laptops - 06: Installing Linux on a PCI Power Mac - PDQ PowerBook G3 at 8 - The good old days - 07: Comparing Apples and Dells - 12" PowerBook G4 reliability
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- Another Free POP3 Provider, Recharging a Dead PRAM Battery, Current Kanga Value, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.03. GMX email now available in US, Panasonic UJ-841S drive won't burn discs, restoring a dead PRAM battery in a Pismo, and thoughts on Kanga value today.
- Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
- Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03. Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
- Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03. Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
- Upgrade Options for 15" and 17" Aluminum PowerBooks, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 09.02. Memory, hard drive, optical drive, and flash card readers for 15-inch and 17-inch aluminum G4 PowerBooks.
- More links in our archive.
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