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YAMAHA ADDS STYLE TO CD BURNER

I admit it. I'm a sucker for anything that looks good, especially when it comes to computers. I shun those dreary beige box computers and dull looking peripherals. While speed and power are certainly important qualities to have in my number cruncher, I also want it to look good while it's crunching. Just as our cars, clothing and other functional accessories make a statement about who we are, the computers we use are no exception. Anyone who's seen Apple's latest iMac will agree that a large segment of the consumer computing industry is becoming fashion conscious. Many of these devices are earning design awards.

CD players have been looking good for some time mainly because so many of us wear them while we listen. However most CD burners still look like hideous beige boxes but that too is beginning to change. Yamaha has recently introduced the CRW-70 Spyder CD-RW drive that lets you burn your CDs in style. The Spyder's specifications are right up there. It writes at 12X, rewrites at 8X, reads at 24X and ripps at 24X which lets you copy a 74 minute audio CD in less than 5 minutes. The Spyder can play MP3 CDs as well with its built-in MP3 decoder. Other features include SafeBurn that helps to insure your new CD will be perfect despite other applications that may be running at the same time you are creating a new disk.

But enough about the specifications. The reason to check out the Spyder is because it looks great. It's metallic silver color case sports a streamlined design that makes you want to own it. The slim little drive measures about one inch tall, 5 inches wide and 7 inches deep. The clamshell design gives you easy access to your disk while the burner's controls and LCD display let you operate the unit as a stand alone CD and MP3 player without the need for a computer. But when you're ready to burn new disks, the Spyder hooks to a PC or Macintosh via the USB 1.1 or newer USB 2.0 standards.

Yes your computer or peripherals may still be able to get the job done. But with flat screens, all-in-one designs, aesthetically pleasing colors, shapes and other characteristics that make these products look great, they still may be considered by many to be obsolete if they're not great to look at. $299.99.

www.yamaha.com

QUESTION:

Should I upgrade to intel's latest 2.2 gigahertz Pentium 4 microprocessor?

ANSWER:

It all depends on what you currently own. If your current computer is a Pentium 4, then the answer is "no" since you'll realize a very small performance increase that can't be justified by the cost of what you'll be paying for a new computer. If you own a Pentium III machine, it's still a bit of a coin toss. However you will see a very good performance increase over what you have now and chances are that many of your existing peripherals and software will work just fine with the newer machine. If you own a Pentium II or less then it's a no brainer. The new system will be a quantum leap over what you have now. Things will run much faster than you ever dreamed possible and you will achieve a Zen-like state of computing nirvana.