Slashdot Mirror
Philips' JackRabbit32 DVD/CD-RW External Drive
James Bell writes "Designtechnica.com has just posted a brief first look of Philips new JackRabbit32 external DVD/CD-RW drive. This appears to be the first information leaked on the net about this product from what I can tell. This drive has multiple video out ports for hook up to a television or other video sources. There is also Dolby Digital 5.1 support as well as USB 2.0 and Firewire support. The drive can also play audio or MP3 CD's as well. Since the decoder is onboard, it should be easy to get the Jackrabbit32 to run under Linux I would imagine."
The drive can also play audio or MP3 CD's as well.
Pluralizing a word does not give it an apostrophe, contrary to popular belief.
Philips already has a version of this called the JackRabbit (no 32) that appears similar but without the DVD player. Here is a link to a pdf describing the product.
The included remote will also prove useful here, and help it compete with stand alone DVD players.
This'll work on your computer and your TV, but it doesn't really join them up in any sense. You'd think they'd try to make it more of a bridge between one box and the other, the TV and the computer, rather than just a hybrid device at a price. Seems like the idea is using it separately as a stand-alone DVD player, with that remote and all. (They let you "configure the drive" with the remote hooked to a dumb monitor. Not sure what you'd be configuring.)
I dunno... Do you want to go upstairs and pull plugs behind the computer to watch a movie on the TV with this in the living room? I don't know anyone who plays DVDs on their PlayStation, and that's already hooked up. (Does anyone have their TV right next to the computer shrine? Outside of dorm rooms and those who already own video editing setups?)
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
It was apparently shown at Comdex
/ comdex_day_3-06.html
http://www6.tomshardware.com/business/02q4/021121
Laptop users. The price of an official Toshiba internal DVD/CD-RW drive is GBP 395 plus VAT. Hence one might need to consider a slightly more economical solution if one does not require use of the CD-RW drive while travelling.
Having said that, get down to PC World and pick up an ordinary Freecom external CD-RW drive for GBP 99.99 (normal price GBP 149.99). (You won't find one much cheaper here.) On the other hand, the price quoted for the JackRabbit32 is only GBP 193.80; this doesn't sound so expensive.