We all remember the humble floppy disk and how it ground away in our computers, trying to save little bits of information without becoming corrupted or damaged. Then came our savior, the CD-ROM, which managed to store a lot more information without the problems of corruption or damage. Of course, for a long time the CDs were read-only, so we could use programs or documents which were already saved to CD-ROMs but we couldn't save our own information to them, so if we wanted to transfer our own files from one computer to another, unconnected computer, we had to rely on the floppy disk anyway. Then the CD-Rs and CD-RWs came onto the market, allowing us to save a lot of information onto disks, either once or, in the case of a CD-RW, time and time again.

Now another revolution has come about with DVD writers, which allow us to save even more information onto a disk than the CD-R and CD-RW allowed us to save. However these drives are only standard or options in some of the very newest computers, and many of us have perfectly good computers without these writers. For those of us who want to upgrade without going through the hassle of getting new CPU cases, external writers offer a great solution to our problems.

With an external writer we can use our own computers to make our own movies or photo discs which we can then play on home entertainment systems. Writers are also great for storage and file backup, since these new discs can hold a ridiculous amount of information, especially if you're saving digital photographs or text documents. Though they are still good for transporting data from one computer to another, remember that not all computers are equipped with the correct drives. Often times this can raise compatibility problems, though with external drives it's an easy fix: you can just attach the external drive to the computer you want to transfer files to and move the files that way.

Most external DVD writers attach to computers through either a USB 1.0, USB 2.0, or Firewire port; be sure to check compatibility with your computer and its connections before purchasing one. Also, remember that external drives are also great for laptop computers since they allow you to make copies while at your home or office and then leave the drive behind when you're travelling with your laptop