Pan, re:DVD-RAM Frankly, I'm hoping that it's backward compatible and will burn CDrom media as well, though I haven't confirmed that. I still do have (gasp) Zip media for sharing with others. My primary uses will be threefold: hd backup, archival storage, and DVD-Video. I don't really plan to distribute data on DVD-ROM, but will likely want to store video accessible by a standard DVD player. (Video is my line of work - and having an efficient way of storing digital video and cg animation in a transportable standard will be a dream come true... heck, right now more people have DVD players than DV-CAM/mini DV video cassette decks... hmmm... $300 & up vs. $1500 & up... I wonder why that is...) Besides, I suspect that before my computer's useable lifetime expires, DVD-ROM drives will be much more prevalent than they are now. I imagine in two years, everyone will have one (well, almost). -ScottK