Pros: It did exactly what I needed it to do, Had a pc without a cd drive and i needed to reinstall windows xp.

Cons: none so far

Pros: I have had very consistent results using this in the week I've owned it. Burns well, reads well, just what you'd expect. Haven't tried the lightscribe yet...

Cons: Noisy. - gets quite loud when reading and when writing, nothing unbearable, but not good if your drive is close to a speakerphone.

Pros: Exactly as described. I like the fact that it has a dedicated power supply and therefore only requires a single USB connection. It's quite. Works great in both Linux (Arch & Debian) and Windows 7

Cons: not really a "con," but the drive opens slowly, more slowly than any CD/DVD drive I have ever owned.

Other Thoughts: I wish it would have come without LightScribe so I could have saved $5 or something on the device. Seriously, LightScribe is just silly.

Pros: Hooked up without any problems. Works Great.

Cons: None thus far.

Pros: well it works and its quiet it burns on every kind of media i have inserted and dont even have one dead cd/dvd from it, i am burning allot.

Cons: nothing special, a bit big but nothing other than that.

Other Thoughts: i wasent a big fan of LG but this burner changed my mind.

Pros: See my previous Jan 09 review:
This replacement unit is the same in almost every way as my original unit with a few notable exceptionss.
See the "cons" below.
1) though still fast, notably not as fast as the first unit.

Cons: 1) Though audible, noticeably quieter than the original (Does not sound like it's about to take off like an airplane when revving up).
All other cons, are the same as with the original (i.e. short USB cord, large unit for portability between PCs/notebook, etc.), with the exception that I don't know how long this unit will last, since I've only been using it 2 mos now.

Other Thoughts: NewEgg hassle free replacement. Differences in noticeable rev speed and audibility tell me that my original may have been a fluke, or perhaps the replacement is, since they are not consistent in this manner. Noticably quieter & slower (now takes about 10 min to burn a full DVD) but still fast enough for my needs, & I'm hopefull that the slower speed will increase this units longevity over its "shooting star" predesessor. If this unit fails within a year of ownership I will submit a follow up review. As it stands this relatively inexpensive unit functions the same in every other way as the original first reviewed (very good), and other than already stated, possesses the same shortcomings. I still didn't need to use the accompanying software, nor do I use the "Lightscribe" feature. The only irreconcilable problem I had with the original was that it failed so quickly with intermittant-moderate use. It is still too soon to tell whether this unit will fare any better over the long run???

Pros: Easy to install. Fast. Reads or burns anything.

Cons: Trial software.

Other Thoughts: If you use the Nero 7, you will probably want to disable the Nero Scout. It runs continuously.

Pros: Worked with every OS and format I threw at. I made about a dozen data disks, 2 ISO images, and one movie. I used Windows XP, Linux, and Windows 7 (beta). Relatively fast - faster than any fixed drive I own (not saying much). External power means I can use the other sparse USB ports on my ancient laptop for other uses. It doesn't use a wall-wart power supply.

Cons: Its as bulky as others have indicated (it's a desktop 5.25 half bay drive, after all).
It could have the AC/DC transformer/power supply at the back of the case, eliminating the need for a 'brick' mid-chord.
Its moderately noisy (particularly noisy when on my desktop (which acts like a sound board), but when sitting on the the tower 4' to 5' from my keyboard and monitor - I don't hear much (but I don't hear as much as I used to).
I worry about the life-time based on other reviews, but not enough to buy the extended guarantee.
(None of these were significant enough to downgrade the rating from 5 eggs in 3 days of testing & use.)

Other Thoughts: The cord ran easily from the USB on the bottom of one of my tower cases to the top of the unit. Not as neat as I'd like, it had to drape across the other drives, but it did reach.
This is a good addition to my old laptop which does not have a DVD burner, but it needs to go in checked baggage, not in my carry-on due to the size.
The manual does indicate 'writing' times for Light Scribe (r) labels (full graphics at high fidelity may take more than 30 minutes) - but I wasn't able to test it.

Pros: 1) VERY FAST, much faster than any other internal or external reader/writer I've used. It could read a full DVD in 1-2 minutes and burn a full 4.35 GB DVD in about 6-7 minutes.
2) Plug & Play worked right out of the box.
3) Could read and burn all manner of media brands.
4) Worked well with XP & Vista operating systems and 5) both Notebook & desk top PC's.

Cons: 1) Came with an unusually short USB connector cord, making for inconvenient connections.
2) Was audibly loud when revving up (the trade off for the high speed).
3) NOT a compact drive. It is large and bulky and not readily suited for portability.
4) Very short Lifespan.
5) It cost almost half of the $57 retail price tag to mail it back to NewEgg.
The first 3 complaints were relatively minor and tolerable; the third is what produced my poor product rating.
I received this unit early August 08, and after slightly over 5 months of intermittent use it began to fail.
Though the unit still speedily read CDs/DVDs, it no longer acknowledged the presence of any blank DVD media for burning. Hence that feature was no longer available.
Trouble-shooted unit with different computers and different media types. Problem consistent only with this particular unit.
I am now awaiting replacement, which may take a while since all of the inexpensive DVD burners are currently unavailable?

Other Thoughts: I already had the complete version of Nero so I did not install the included software. I never used the Light Scribe feature, so I cannot comment about that.
I handled the unit carefully when using it with different PC’s, so I feel certain that was not a factor in its failure.
I read other reviews which tell of similar short product life spans. Still, I had hoped to get far better than 5 months use from it before it failed. I was very satisfied with the unit prior to its failure. Hopefully the replacement will fare better?
It is tricky to balance the value of this products exceptional speed versus its premature failure. If this $56 external drive can last at least a year or more of consistent or hard usage, one may be able to justify the trade-off. But failure after 5 months of intermittent moderate usage is not acceptable for me, even with the incredible speed. Hopefully this apparently high failure rate is an exception. I will post another review after a replacement.

Pros: It works great :]
I use it to make DVD's and it just worked right out of the box.

Cons: Its a little thick.