Dvd Ram

[WageSlave]

Okay, another noddy question.
I have never used DVD RAM, but am I correct in thinking it's not really a DVD at all but rather a type of portable hard drive?
And if so, can you use it without having a DVD burner? Are there problems when trying to use the DVD RAM on another PC?

On my PC I have a CD burner and DVD player. I want to copy a very large folder of data (approx 9.75 gb) to a portable storage device, which I can then access at client sites without too much difficulty. DVD RAM is about the only viable candidate, unless I'm mistaken...

[wc2]

You would be better off buying :-

A - Ipod
B - portable Laptop HDD & Caddy

DVD RAM Drive would be like carrying a large lunch box arround with you.

[expat]

Okay, another noddy question.
I have never used DVD RAM, but am I correct in thinking it's not really a DVD at all but rather a type of portable hard drive?
And if so, can you use it without having a DVD burner? Are there problems when trying to use the DVD RAM on another PC?

On my PC I have a CD burner and DVD player. I want to copy a very large folder of data (approx 9.75 gb) to a portable storage device, which I can then access at client sites without too much difficulty. DVD RAM is about the only viable candidate, unless I'm mistaken...

I'm no expert, but until one comes along.... DVD-RAM is 1 of the 3 DVD formats (the other 2 being DVD- and DVD+ as in DVD-R or DVD-RW etc). A particular DVD disk is manufactured as 1 and only 1 of these 3. A particular DVD drive will read and/or write 1, 2, or 3 of the formats.

To write it you need a DVD burner. To read it, obviously, a DVD reader, which supports it. That includes a driver and software. It seems to me that (a) DVD-RAM is the least supported of the 3 formats (b) it was championed by Microsoft. Decide for yourself whether you want to depend on that for data access on client sites.

A self-powered USB disk drive may be a better bet: but if the client doesn't use XP then you're not well positioned. It does depend on what the client has, and allows. They may not have DVD readers of any kind; and - especially in banks - they may block USB storage devices (rightly, IMHO). Useability of any given method may depend on whether you can get access, and how easily, at the client's site. Different for each site, in other words.

[expat]

I'm no expert, but until one comes along....

apologies, wc2, I didn't mean to imply that your answer wasn't a good one (it is).