10X CDRW Shootout: Sony Spressa Vs. HP 9310i - PAGE 3

Software Install

Sony Spressa CDRW Drive

Installation of the software suite is a little frustrating due to the overly fancy menus and videos that pop up when the CD is inserted. Unfortunately you have to watch a new animation or video each time you select to install a different program from the main menu, however if your Windows savvy enough, you can navigate through Windows Explorer and go directly to the directories from the CD to install the apps. So other than being ready to perform acupuncture on every last nerve in my impatient body (while waiting for each animation to end) -installation was a synch. The first thing you have to install in order to burn a CD is the Sony extreme software. It works much like any other burning software –there is drag and drop support, and the ability to burn in multiple formats. But what we really grew found of was the ability to burn a music CD straight from MP3 files! We did have some problems during our first few CD-writes –causing us to lose a few CD-R disks. But after reading into the help files a bit, we realized that Auto-insert notification must be turned off in order for the writer to work correctly. After disabling that (in device manager) the software worked fine every time.

The other software packages fills in the blanks where the Sony extreme software leaves off. ABCD works just like Adaptec’s Direct CD –enabling you to use a CD-RW or a CD-R disk just as a removable drive. It worked fine in our test system, and proved to be a nice utility when you don’t want to go into a compete CD-writing session, as with the Sony Extreme software.

The Spressa Play/Record player is basically a Winamp type player with the ability to record CD’s directly onto a CD-R disk while playing them back. It’s a decent player –but not one worth installing if you do use Winamp –there aren’t any visuals, or other tweaks that are available. Besides we would rather burn an entire disk of music at one time, rather than burn as you listen kind of thing.

Then there’s the MixMan Studio suite. This software allows you to create / edit all kinds of music on your computer. There’s basically several different audio tracks that you can assign different music patches to, and mix them mix them all together in a mumbled sort of musical beat. Think of it as an endless supply of Brittany Spears type tracks. :)

And Finally –what I feel is probably one of the coolest CD burning utilities included in the package, Retrospect Express Sony Edition. This software allows you to make a complete and total backup your system onto one or multiple CD-R disks. Furthermore –it also lets you clone one disk to another (much like Symantics Ghost). And like Ghost, there are other options to choose from when backing up your system, even one that creates disaster recovery CD’s in case your system goes down HARD! That enables you recover completely from a hard drive failure by booting to the restore CD’s created using Retrospect –very cool!