I often work from my netbook when I travel and the worst thing about the little machine is that it lacks an optical drive. I still get handed CDs and DVDs with information on them that I can't access on the little machine. There are also many ultraportable notebooks on the market that lack optical drives as well. This is an issue for many users who want to watch movies and be able to access software and other content on discs.

Samsung has unveiled a new and very portable external DVD drive that can burn to CD and DVD media at fast speeds, and is small enough to fit in most any laptop bag or briefcase. The little optical drive is called the SE-S084F DVD Writer. It has WriteMaster technology for multitasking on the PC and high-speed media writing on slower computers. The machine also has Buffer Under Run Tech to prevent errors.

The optical drive will work with Mac or PC computers and has special Tilt Actuator Compensation Technology to use all the disc area. The little drive is so power efficient that it can get the connectivity it needs and power from a single USB cable. The burner is available to purchase right now with an MSRP of $59.99. I did see the thing online for $49.99 today making it a very good deal if you really need an optical drive that is easy to take with you.

It's been a while since I saw a new PMP launch with a traditional HDD for storage rather than flash. Flash is generally used in portable devices because it needs less power and can survive the drops and bumps that come with life on the road better than a HDD can. The downside is that you get less storage with flash for the same money than you would with a HDD. Cowon has unveiled the X7 PMP in Korea and it uses a HDD for storage.

The HDD is available in 80GB, 100GB, and 160GB varieties. We have the large 4.3-inch screen to thank in part for the high storage capacity and space to fit in a HDD. Just be sure you don't drop it or you might find your new PMP no longer works. That big 4.3-inch screen is touch capable and the resolution is a mystery for now.

The maker claims the thing is good for 103 hours of music playback per charge or 10 hours of video per charge. Other features include Bluetooth, a radio tuner, support for DivX video, and an integrated RSS reader .Cowon says the thing comes with a web browser, which would suggest WiFi is featured as well. A basic 160GB model will sell for 339,000 won with a version with integrated dictionaries selling for 379,000 won.

No one will deny that the iPad is very expensive with the base version selling for nearly $500. Despite the high cost, Apple is selling as many of them as it can make. There are a number of people interested in a tablet though that simply can't afford the iPad. A company called Cherry Pal has a new Android tablet that is coming to market called the CherryPad specifically aimed at these folks looking to buy a tablet in the sub-iPad price range.

The CherryPad is a 7-inch tablet with Android 2.1 as the OS. An update for Android 2.2 will be offered later in the year. The little tablet has a Samsung ARM11 CPU at 800MHz and supports all Android apps. The screen is resistive touch capable and has a resolution of 800 x 480 and an integrated gravity sensor. Other features include WiFi, a microSD card slot, 256MB of DDRII RAM, and 2GB of flash storage.

If you want, the thing with 3G coverage an optional 3G modem is available to purchase. The CherryPad has a pair of USB ports, integrated speakers and a mic along with a headphone jack. The internal battery is a 3200mAh unit good for up to eight hours of use per charge. The tablet weighs 1.1 pounds and has an aluminum case. The best feature is the price; you can buy the CherryPad America for $188 plus $18 shipping.

There are many categories of video games that spawn some very hard core gamers. There are hard core MMO gamers, hard core FPS gamers, and hard core flight simulation fans. Perhaps the group that has the most expensive hobby are the flight sim fans where controllers and systems can run hundreds of dollars each.

Thrustmaster has launched what may be the coolest flight simulation controller ever called the HOTAS Warthog. The Warthog is an exact replica of the joystick and throttle from the A-10C fighter jet. The joystick has a heavy metal base and uses construction that is mostly metal. The base can be removed and the joystick can be placed into a cockpit. The controller uses magnetic sensors for accuracy and has 19 action buttons with a 4-way POV switch.

The buttons on the joystick take the exact same pressure to operate as the buttons on a real airplane. The throttle is a dual throttle system and also uses magnetic sensor tech. The throttles have a push and pull system with detents for idle and afterburner. The detents can be disengaged as well for aircraft without afterburners. The throttle has 17 action buttons and its own POV controller. A control panel is also built onto the throttle with multiple toggles and the whole works is backlit. Warthog will ship this month for $499.99.

If you want to be able to shoot the video from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod out to your TV you really need a dock of some sort today. The problem is that many of us have entertainment centers that are so crowded that a dock just won't fit. This is where Scosche comes in with a new cable for dockable Apple gadgets that will let you view that video on your TV.

The cable is called the sneakPEEK II and has both component and composite connections on the TV end. On the end that attaches to your gadget is the standard Apple docking connector. That standard connector means the thing will work with any Apple device that can be docked including the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Another cool feature is that the cable has a micro USB port and comes with an AC adapter that will let you change your device while you play video back on the TV. Scosche specifically points out that the thing will work with the Netflix app on the iPad. I can see this being really good for those that plan to sign up for Hulu Plus as well. The cable is shipping now for $59.99 direct from Scosche.

Telstra has to day allowed two-year warranties for all mobile phones on a 24 month contract, except Apple's iPhone after lengthly discussions with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

ACCC chairman, Graeme Samuel said in a statement today "Telstra has decided to do what's right and fair for consumers, and has been negotiating with manufacturers to bring in warranty periods that last for the length of a consumer's contract," he also added "It is important for consumers and suppliers to realise that the Trade Practices Act implies certain statutory rights into consumer contracts. Just because the manufacturer's warranty period is up, it does not mean that consumers can be hung out to dry if they are left with a faulty product and ongoing service contract."

Telstra has had success with 24 month warranties with some manufacturers, those being HTC, Blackberry and ZTE.

The latest addition to Valve's smash hit zombie apocalypse FPS, Left 4 Dead 2 has had some DLC released in the form of "The Sacrifice", which is free for PC users (yay!) but for Xbox 360 users, they'll need to pay 560 "Microsoft points" or $7.

Valve didn't think making it free on PC was enough pain to cause toward Microsoft, so they lowered the price of the full Left 4 Dead 2 purchase price on Steam to $6.79 which is 20 cents cheaper than the DLC content on the Xbox 360 as a standalone purchase! So PC users can now enjoy Left 4 Dead 2 for half the price it used to be, with all the DLC content, still, free.

For Xbox 360's to get the same deal, it requires a ~$30 purchase of the game, then $14 for the 2 DLC packs, with $44 total.

Right now there's no confirmation, but the one thing that should interest you is the news caused Adobe Systems stock to rise 17% before falling slightly down to 11.5% higher than before the rumour. Microsoft shares rose by 0.4%.

News broke from The New York Times as they reported Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had a secret meeting with Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen at Adobe's San Fransisco offices "recently".

The two had supposedly talked about Apple's dominance in mobile phones and discussed various options to attack that, with the inclusion of Microsoft purchasing Adobe.

One of the things that I hate to do is go to the bank and deposit checks. Luckily most of my pay doesn't come on checks so I can skip this hassle for most of the month. If you use PayPal a lot and have lots of checks to deposit the company has announced a new update to its iPhone app that will save you a trip to the bank to deposit the check. The update is version 2.7.

With version 2.7 of the app PayPal now allows you to take an image of a check front and back and then submit the check for deposit without having to actually go anywhere. PayPal isn't the only bank who does this; there are some other major banks that have a similar service. PayPal does say the user needs to hang onto the check for 15 days.

It is supposed to take about six days for the money to actually hit your PayPal account using this method. That means PayPal gets an extra few days before you can toss the check into the trashcan. The check capture service is powered by BankServ. The update also brings various bug fixes to the app for better performance. The app can be downloaded right now from the App Store.

Of all the complaints about the iPhone in all its various models, one of the most common is that the smartphone has a short battery life. The battery life each user gets varies a lot depending on how they use the device and sometimes even humidity can affect the run time of batteries. Whatever the reason the battery life for users is shorter than they like, many people turn to cases with batteries inside to get more use from their iPhone.

There are already several cases on the market today that offer a battery inside for the iPhone 4 and older models. None of them has the same sort of name recognition as Energizer does though. The battery giant has announced a new case specifically for the iPhone 4 called the AP1201. The case has a battery inside that claims to "almost double" the battery life of the iPhone 4 while protecting the device from drops and bumps.

The battery inside the case is charged via USB. The case battery and the battery inside the iPhone can both be charged at the same time thanks to pass through charging design. Energizer claims that the case is good for as many as 500 charges in its lifetime. That sounds a bit short to me, charging it each day will get you only around a year and a half use out of the thing. The AP1201 is in stores right now around the country for $69.99.