slot load drives kick tray drives buttocks

got my panasonic UJ845B dvdRW/RAM/CDRW today...heck of a lot faster than that crap dvd drive i got with the computer...but more importantly, slot loading, so none of that fussing around with stupid flimsy trays.

the thing to watch out for is that the thing sucks the cd in quickly (if anyone has the pioneer drive is it slower?)

anyways, the good thing is that Fn+F10 still works to eject the cd and the eject button on the drive itself is much easier to push than the dell drive

now that i got the 3com 3crwb6096b bluetooth to work. everything is flush like i want it. the 3com bluetooth works without having to extend the antenna. here are some new acquisitions so i could play around with the bluetooth. The anycom BTM100, the iogear mini 800DPI, Motorola HS850, and Motorola RAZR V3. The panasonic UJ845B is plain looking so it's not so exciting. simple swap of the adapter on existing drive and the plastic housing frame to fit in the media bay.

i bought mine at www.pcalchemy.com

www.dfwdepot.com also sells them. dfwdepot also sells the pioneer dvr-k04L which is the same size. if the pioneer employs their traditional slot mechanisms, then i think it will be a smoother disc insertion than the Panasonic. However, I do not know if the Pioneer is dvd-ram capable if that matters to you at all. i did not buy from dfwdepot, b/c they are in texas and i didn't want to pay tax

you do not need to buy the adapter they sell as an option...just use the one off of your current drive. both sell the panasonic for $150 (you'll have to work out if you need to pay tax and how much shipping). pcalchemy does not sell the Pioneer, though. dfwdepot sells it for $155

here are some photos for your questions.

yes, it is completely flush
no, the outside bezel leaves a 2.5mm gap on the left side..the delll OEM face has a little extension on the left to cover it up. not a problem for me though

you take the plastic housing off from your old drive and screw it onto the new drive...this includes the interface adapter. if the bottom front part is glued, you'll have to use a screwdriver to peal it off...no problem...it resticks on fine. since it is a slot loader, you cannot use the front plastic piece, so you will have to live with the 2.5mm gap on the left. but that is rather cosmetic since the side plastic housing essential covers the left side

i like them both, but the iogear is a bit too narrow for my hands since i'm on the computer all day, so it is not for all day use...when i have some time, i'm going to modify it to give it a padded wing to make it wider

the anycom mouse is really nice...i'm not sure if i like the tapered back though yet. i had initial problems pairing and keeping it paired without having to manually pair it everytime it was off, but the problem seems to have gone away for some reason after i reinstalled software. no problems at all with the iogear though. also the anycom charger: i think i got an older won which has problems with intial charging. it charged the batteries all the way, but the LED kept flashing as if it wasn't charged. not to worry, the second time i conneced after testing to see if the batteries were fully charged, the LED signalled as it was supposed to.

the iogear is more suitable for me as the cable is the same cable i need to synch or charge my motorola RAZR which is convenient.

my criteria was small enough to carry, but wide enough to be comfortable...i think the anycom at 1.88inches is the right width, but the anycom has a lower profile than what i think may be optimal (but i haven't decided yet). i also wanted a chrageable mouse via usb cable (but not a bulky recharging dock) and one with an on/off switch. i could not find any other bluetooth mice out there that meet those requirements.

the bluetake BT510 has usb cable, but the mouse is not rechargeable so it does not recharge batteries if you use rechargeables in it. it is too bad, b/c that one is probably, dimensions wise, the one i would want.

as far as selling in UK. don't know, but i know some list they ship internationally as well. if they don't say, i guess you could just email them to see if they do

the last one is the motorola HS850 wireless headset. i have it plugged in because i was charging it...and it is extended. it's great, very light, very comfortable and it's been on standby over the past two days as well as talked on for several hours. so i think it works to spec