Lightscribe

A number of DVD Burners these days are coming with a “Lightscribe” option.  The principle is: if you have DVD media designed for Lightscribe, after burning your data (or whatever) on to the data side of the DVD, you then remove the DVD, flip it over, and put it back into the burner.

Then, by running the Lightscribe editing software, you design a logo / image etc to be ‘printed’ on the other side.  The printing is actually a laser that burns the laser-sensitive material on the reverse side of the disk, which is why you need disks designed to be “Lightscribe”

Some initial impressions, after trying it out for the first time (actually the second time, but the first time was a couple of years ago, and I gave up because it was too slow to be practical).

1.  It is still slow – for the image I made, it took 16 minutes to burn

2. The image I chose probably wasn’t very suitable, and the results looked rather ordinary.  High contrast is definitely required.

3. If the image is not high contrast, the result looks very muddy.

4. Even with a high contrast image, the result is rather pale and dare I say, unimpressive. (And very low contrast)

I’ll try some other images and experiments, but at this stage, I still don’t see that there is much to recommend the Lightscribe process.

Logitech MX Revolution

I have always been very impressed with the Logitech range of products, particularly their mice.

This one is particularly impressive – the MX Revolution.

There are a number of user settable features that give it a good amount of customisation. I particularly like the sensitivity control, and the overall precision and responsiveness. You can also set which of the buttons are active, and what they control. The top wheel has 2 settings – one a ratchet controlled position (which is common on a lot of mice), and a free-spinning setting that allows you to quickly scroll through large documents. It can also be clicked left and right for horizontal scrolling.

Finally, I particularly like the grip – it is a medium sized mouse and I find the size and design adds to the overall sense of control. Update – I’m starting to find that the mouse is better for people with smaller hands. The recess for the thumb is so deep that I imagine that it could become uncomfortable for people with larger hands. On the other hand (sorry) for the same reason, it is a very comfortable larger mouse for people with smaller hands….. I haven’t concluded which hand I am on……

The unfortunate thing, and seems common for Logitech, is they only provide a bluetooth version with the set that includes a keyboard. If you want the mouse on its own, you need to use the USB receiver (which looks like a USB Key).

Overall this appears at first appearance to be another typically superior Logitech HID (human interface device).