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MicroSolutions Backpack DVD+RW (USB 2.0)
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Another bone I have to pick is with USB 2.0. Sure, it's the latest technology, and it's technically faster than the ubiquitous version of FireWire (1394-400) that is so prevalent these days. But that's just it -- USB 2.0 is too new to be commonly available, and offers no real technical advantages over 1394. Plus, USB 2.0 doesn't work on a Mac, at least not as of this writing (late June, 2003). If you have a portable drive -- a "Backpack" -- it seems like the first characteristic you'd want that drive to have would be interoperability. Not so with USB 2.0. Yes, you can use it with USB 1.1 hosts, which are much more common than 1394, but then the drive would operate at a speed that's 40 times slower, too. No thanks.
Beyond that, the drive enclosure seems to be cheaply made. It looks like an internal drive with a thin plastic box glued to it. I would think a drive that's supposed to end up in a backpack would be built like a truck, but this seems like it would need a hard-shell carrying case in order to ride in any of the rugged backpacks I've seen toted around.
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Summing up, I wasn't thrilled with the overall experience of the MicroSolutions Backpack DVD+RW. You could do better, for less money, with a more-versatile internal drive, made by one of a multitude of manufacturers. There was a time not too long ago when I would have marveled at this drive and its DVD-burning prowess. But now, DVD drives are starting to become a commodity, with units far more versatile than this selling for less. Save your money. If you want to take data with you, make yourself a DVD at home, or get an internal DVD burner for your notebook. Better yet, get one of the tiny 1394 hard disks that are flooding the market right now and take your data with you that way. They're smaller, lighter, faster, can also carry power through one cable -- the same cable as the data (something you can't do with USB 2.0), and set up as just another disk, instantly, on a PC or Mac without crying out for some proprietary driver. Now that's the kind of storage I'd like to have in my backpack.
 Digital Media Net Executive Producer Charlie White has been writing about new media and digital video since it was the laughingstock of the television industry. A technology journalist and columnist since 1994, White is also an Emmy-winning producer, video editor, broadcast industry consultant and shot-calling television director who has worked in broadcasting since 1974. Talk back -- Send Chazz a note at cwhite@digitalmedianet.com.
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