Matt Lauer Reportedly Getting Yelled At Over Ann Curry

Iowa Caucus Coverage

Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show" (center), moderated coverage of the 2012 Iowa caucus with her fellow network hosts.

Comparing GOP Candidates From 2008 And 2012

Mocking Herman Cain

On Cover Of The Hollywood Reporter

Interviewing Joe Miller Supporter

At New Yorker Festival

On 'Meet The Press'

On 'Meet The Press'

At The State Department

Rachel Maddow attends a luncheon hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in honor of British Prime Minister David Cameron on March 14, 2012, at the State Department in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)

At The State Department

Rachel Maddow arrives for a lunch in honor of Prime Minister David Cameron at the State Department on March 14, 2012, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

In Conversation With David Letterman

Rachel Maddow and David Letterman discuss the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, Letterman's alma mater, on Dec. 2, 2011, in Muncie, Ind. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

In Conversation With David Letterman

Rachel Maddow discusses the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, David Letterman's alma mater, on Dec. 2, 2011, in Muncie, Ind. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

In Conversation With David Letterman

Rachel Maddow and David Letterman discuss the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, Letterman's alma mater, on Dec. 2, 2011, in Muncie, Ind. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

2011 Summer TCA Tour

MSNBC President Phil Griffin and MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell (left to right) speak during the NBC Universal portion of the Television Critics Association's 2011 summer tour, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

2011 Summer TCA Press Tour

At The White House

MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow (left) and Keith Olbermann (second from left) talk with White House Communications Director Anita Dunn (second from right) and Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton (right) outside the White House on Oct. 19, 2009, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

At The White House

MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow (left) and Keith Olbermann (second from left) talk with White House Communications Director Anita Dunn (second from right) and Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton (right) outside the White House on Oct. 19, 2009, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nancy Pelosi, Rachel Maddow

House Minority Leader Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. accompanied by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, participates in a conversation moderated by Maddow, in Washington, Wednesday, June 6, 2012, to talk about her experiences and achievements over 25 years in Congress. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

NAACP-Holder

Jo Ann Wright, of Southfield, left, gets her photo taken with political commentator Rachel Maddow who was the recipient of the Ida B. Wells Freedom and Justice Award at the 57th annual NAACP Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner at Cobo Hall in Detroit Sunday May 6, 2012. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was the keynote speaker. (AP Photos/David Guralnick / The Detroit News)

David Brooks, George Stephanopoulos, Rahm Emanuel, Rachel Maddow, Alex Castellanos

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, second from left, shares a stage with George Stephanopoulos, left, David Brooks, center, Rachel Maddow and Alex Castellanos, right, during a panel discussion, "2012: The Path to the Presidency", at the University of Chicago in Chicago on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow, host of "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC, shares a stage with pundits during a panel discussion, "2012: The Path to the Presidency", at the University of Chicago in Chicago on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Matthews

MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow, left, Lawrence O'Donnell, center, and Chris Matthews take part in a panel discussion at the NBC Universal summer press tour, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow

Lawrence O'Donnell, right, host of the MSNBC show "The Last Word," answers a question as Rachel Maddow, host of "The Rachel Maddow Show," look on at the NBC Universal summer press tour, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

David Letterman In Conversation With Rachel Maddow

MUNCIE, IN - DECEMBER 02: Rachel Maddow and David Letterman (R) discuss the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, Letterman's alma mater, on December 2, 2011 in Muncie, Indiana. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

David Letterman In Conversation With Rachel Maddow

MUNCIE, IN - DECEMBER 02: Rachel Maddow and David Letterman (R) discuss the headlines of the day in Emens Auditorium at Ball State University, Letterman's alma mater, on December 2, 2011 in Muncie, Indiana. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/Getty Images)

Alaska's Three Senate Candidates Debate In Anchorage

ANCHORAGE - OCTOBER 26: Television and radio personality Rachel Maddow (R) speaks with supporters of Republican candidate Joe Miller prior to his debate with write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Democratic candidate Scott McAdams hosted by The Alaska World Affairs Council and Rotary Clubs of Anchorage at the Dena'ina Convention Center October 26, 2010 in Anchorage, Alaska. Voters will go to the polls on November 2, 2010. (Photo by Clark James Mishler/Getty Images)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/27/matt-lauer-ann-curry-abuse_n_2371476.html

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Egypt's ex-dictator moved to military hospital

By Taha Belal and Ayman Mohyeldin, NBC News

CAIRO ? Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is to be transferred from prison to a military hospital for medical treatment on the orders of?Egypt's public prosecutor, NBC News has confirmed.

Counselor Hassan Yassin, official spokesman for prosecutor Counselor Talaat Ibrahim,?told NBC News?that the decision was taken based on the former leader's medical reports.

Philippe Bouchon / AFP - Getty Images

The President of Egypt for nearly 30 years, Mubarak was an advocate for peace in the Middle East and a major U.S. ally, but Egyptians eventually grew tired of his corrupt regime and he was ousted in a popular revolt in February 2011.

He will be taken to a military hospital in Maadi, a suburb of Cairo.

Egypt's ex-dictator slips into coma

Mubarak was forced from power as part of the Arab Spring uprisings in February 2011, ending three decades of increasingly totalitarian rule.

He is serving a life sentence in prison for his role in killing protesters during the uprising, and has been in prison hospital for most of his time in jail.?

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16188852-egypts-ex-dictator-mubarak-to-be-moved-to-military-hospital?lite

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wise self improvement | self improvement made easy: Leaders Must ...

If you want to serve as a leader, then actually act like one, and be a leader. That means a leader must step forward while others stand on the sideline. Judge someone as a leader not by what they do regarding popular programs and ideas. Rather they must be judged by whether or not they stand up for what they believe, and take what are often difficult or challenging positions. Certainly it is challenging and even stressful at times to stand alone on principle, if you really believe in something. Leadership is about inner strength and fortitude, and doing and saying what needs to be do e, even if it may at times be unpopular or out of fashion.

1. I recall serving for nearly a decade, many years ago, as the Treasurer of a non profit. it seemed obvious to me that this particular organization, if it did not take steps to address putting their financial house in order, would soon be facing the prospect of insolvency. Although I was often overwhelmingly opposed, I continued to chastise, coerce, and demand that the Board acted responsibly. Years later, almost every one of my proposals was enacted, and although waiting as long as they did had a negative overall compacted fiscal and financial impact, the fact that they eventually did what was needed guaranteed the road to solvency and relevance. The interesting aspect, however, is that the very same people who openly bad mouthed me, and derided my point of view, eventually championed the battle, and were more than glad to take full credit for the accomplishment. However, the important thing is not who got the credit, but that what needed to get done, did.

2. Leadership must never be about one's ego or popularity. Rather, it is about webbing effectively, and bringing an organization to achieve and perform to its potential, and to accomplish worthwhile missions. Great leaders always begin with a vital vision, and that vision always acts to motivate them to commit to a greater extent, try harder, care more, and make more efforts to include others in the quest. The true mark of a great leader is not only getting followers to care, but developing the ones with the most potential, to become future true leaders.

It all begins with a leader's adherence to a basic principle or tenet, and using that to bring himself to bravely take a stand, when others resist. All organizations benefit from great leadership.

Source: http://wiseselfimprovement.blogspot.com/2012/12/leaders-must-take-stand.html

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Ga. communities opt to keep sales tax on energy

ATLANTA (AP) -- Some Georgia communities are keeping their share of a tax on the energy used in manufacturing even as the state government gradually eliminates its share of that tax.

Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, signed a tax package this year gradually phasing out a 4 percent state tax on the energy that manufacturers use to produce their goods. Manufacturers typically pay another 2 or 3 percent in taxes on that energy to local governments. The Republican lawmakers who backed the bill allowed local officials to create a new tax that phases in as their share of the energy tax disappears.

While no one officially tracks how many counties have imposed the tax, several counties have taken that step before the beginning of the four-year phase-out.

"I just didn't see the county could take that kind of hit," said Clarence Brown, the sole commissioner for Bartow County, which imposed a tax. "That was just too much."

He noted that local manufacturers will still benefit from reduced state taxes, even if their local taxes stay the same. Brown said no firms have complained to him.

"I think they realize how bad the shape Bartow County is in," he said. "They want the fire trucks and the ambulances to keep rolling."

Bill supporters have urged local communities to get rid of the manufacturing tax altogether. Lawmakers opted to give the locals a choice to keep the tax revenue as a political compromise when local governments objected to losing it, said Rep. Mickey Channell, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Channell said cutting the tax will encourage energy-intensive manufacturers to stay or expand their operations in a community.

"What you're going to have is industry looking at one county rather than another," he said. "I think there will be times when industry locates in a county that does not have a tax verse one that does."

Manufacturers are more cost conscious now that the economy is weak and facilities are producing less than their actual capacity, said Roy Bowen, president of the Georgia Association of Manufacturers. As a result, firms are looking for opportunities to consolidate manufacturing operations and save costs. Costs, including local taxes, are a factor when firms decide which plants to shutter.

"The county that imposes the tax is going to be the first to have layoffs and curtailments," Bowen said. "And they're going to be the last county to ramp up."

Of course, giving a tax break to one group can mean less money for other purposes. Troup County officials voted unanimously in October to impose a new tax to keep money that would otherwise be lost to the new tax break. County officials estimated the tax break would have cost $700,000 to $900,000 once it totally vanished, or up to 2 percent of the general budget, said Troup County CFO Scott Turk. Money generated by the tax is used to pave and resurface roads and build bridges.

The local government has already cut 30 jobs in the last year.

Crisp County has also opted to keep its share of the tax, said Commissioner Wallace Mathis, who described himself as an anti-tax Republican.

In addition to financial losses caused by the Great Recession, Mathis said his community lost money when a construction project on Interstate 75 reduced the number of travelers stopping in Cordele, driving down sales tax collections. While businesses have to pay the tax, they also get public benefits, he said. For example, local tax money has been used to extend roads and sewer lines to plants. Mathis said abruptly taking away the money would endanger the ability of local governments to pay back loans for already approved infrastructure projects.

"When you just come in and knock out a tax like that, the revenue's got to come from somewhere," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ga-communities-opt-keep-sales-154502674.html

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Lakers beat Knicks 100-94 to get to .500

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, right, shoots against New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler, left, during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. The Lakers won 100-94. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, right, shoots against New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler, left, during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. The Lakers won 100-94. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, left, is fouled by New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith, right, as forward Carmelo Anthony, center, watches during the first half of their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash (10) drives between New York Knicks guards Jason Kidd (5) and Raymond Felton (2) during the first half of their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) shoots a reverse lay up between New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler, left, and forward Carmelo Anthony, right, during the first half of their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) battles Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol (16), of Spain, for a rebound during the first half of their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The pieces of the puzzle that have been the Lakers' confounding season so far are starting to fall into place.

Kobe Bryant engineered a second-half comeback, the defense stepped up, and Los Angeles beat the New York Knicks 100-94 on Tuesday, extending its winning streak to five games.

"We're .500," a smiling Dwight Howard said. "We did it on Christmas, too. I knew this day would come."

Bryant scored 34 points in his NBA-record 15th Christmas Day game and Metta World Peace added 20 points and seven rebounds while defending Carmelo Anthony, whose 34 points led the Knicks. Anthony said he hyperextended his left knee, but expects to play on Wednesday in Phoenix.

Bryant, the league's leading scorer, has topped 30 or more points in nine straight games.

"If you're going to play on Christmas, it's always better to win. Makes it all worthwhile," said Bryant, who would soon hop a flight to Denver, getting there ahead of the Nuggets, who played the Clippers in the other half of the holiday doubleheader at Staples Center.

The Lakers improved to 14-14 ? 9-9 under new coach Mike D'Antoni ? and upped their holiday record to 21-18, including 13-9 at home. They returned to .500 for the first time since they were 8-8 on Nov. 30.

"It's so early in the season to have turned a corner," Bryant said. "We have everybody in the lineup and we're starting to see how we want to play."

The Knicks controlled most of the game behind Anthony and J.R. Smith, who had 24 points. But they struggled offensively in the fourth, when Anthony was limited to seven points and Smith had five as the Lakers' defense clamped down. World Peace fouled out with 1:58 to play and the Lakers ahead by four.

World Peace credited his defense on Anthony to "old-school basketball."

"I'm back in shape and it's a little tough to guard me," he said.

Steve Nash said: "This is what he's been doing all year. He gets his hands on a lot of balls, pounds on the other team's best guy. You can't win without that type of effort."

Smith's 3-pointer pulled New York to 96-94. After Pau Gasol made one of two free throws, Smith missed another 3 that would have tied the game at 97 with 32 seconds left.

"We missed a lot of easy shots, a lot of little chippers around the basket, shots that we normally make," Anthony said. "There were some plays that we thought should have went our way down the stretch, but for the most part, we fought. I'll take this effort any night. If we continue to play with this effort, we'll win a lot of games."

With Bryant double-teamed, Nash passed to Gasol, who dunked with 12 seconds to go, punctuating a win that sent Lakers fans, frustrated by the team's struggles and coaching change, home happy. The Lakers avenged a 116-107 loss in New York on Dec. 13.

A smiling Howard called Gasol's driving slam "a submarine dunk because he was very low to the ground."

Gasol responded, "I don't dunk as often as I used to so it felt good. I took it right down the lane and finished strong."

Nash had 16 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in his second game in nearly two months. He missed 24 straight games while recovering from a small fracture in his lower left leg. Howard had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Gasol had 13 points and eight rebounds.

"It was an important win for us as we were a little bit desperate," Nash said. "We've gone through a lot since Mike Brown ? new coach, new offense. It's been a difficult transition."

Bryant had eight of the Lakers' first 10 points to open the fourth during a run that provided their first lead since the opening quarter in a game matching the two teams that have played the most on Christmas Day.

They took the lead for good on Bryant's basket with 7:38 remaining. Anthony and Tyson Chandler were in foul trouble in the fourth, with Chandler fouling out late.

"They just were a little bit more aggressive," Anthony said. "Kobe got it going and Steve Nash hit some big shots down the stretch. When you have a guy like Nash doing that, it's kind of tough. Those guys know how to play. They've been waiting for Steve Nash to get back, so it's just a matter of then sticking it out until he did."

The Knicks opened the third on a 15-5 run, with Anthony setting up on the perimeter and hitting two 3-pointers as part of his 10 points that stretched their lead to 61-53. His jumper provided the Knicks' largest lead of the game, 69-60.

Bryant and Nash ignited the quiet atmosphere by leading a 17-9 run that drew the Lakers to 78-77 going into the fourth. They combined to score 15 points, although Bryant missed two free throws to end the third that would have given the Lakers their first lead since early in the game.

The Knicks' earlier roll dissolved in missed shots and a technical on Chandler for arguing a call.

"We were more determined, fought for everything," Nash said about the second half.

World Peace scored 16 points in the second quarter, including eight in a row, when the Lakers played catch-up most of the way. His 3-pointer gave the Lakers their first lead of the period with 1:10 remaining. Smith tied it up with a free throw before Nash's jumper sent the Lakers into halftime leading 51-49.

"We're playing really well together," World Peace said. "Kobe is really playing excellent now. He's still being aggressive on the offensive end, but he's giving everybody a chance to be aggressive. Pau is making strong, aggressive moves."

Bryant scored the Lakers' final nine points of the first quarter to give them a 25-23 lead. D'Antoni's plan of having Darius Morris guard Anthony didn't last long after he scored five of the Knicks' first seven points.

"I thought he'd get warmed up before he started firing," World Peace said.

NOTES: Bryant surpassed Oscar Robertson as the league's all-time Christmas Day scorer with 383 points. Robertson had 377. ... Knicks F/C Amare Stoudemire shot some before the game. He's been out all season after left knee surgery. "I'm not quite there yet, but I'm making progress," he said. "I've just got to stay patient and stay ready. We've been doing extremely intense work, as far as cardio." ... Knicks C Marcus Camby had four points and four rebounds in 8 minutes. He's been sidelined by a sore left foot and barely played this season. ... Asked about Bryant as an MVP candidate, D'Antoni said, "You can't put anybody MVP if you're below .500." ... In their only other Christmas Day meeting in 1963, the Lakers beat the Knicks 134-126 behind 47 points by Jerry West and 27 from Elgin Baylor. ... Nash said the gift bags in their lockers with the tag, "From Kobe Merry Xmas 2012" contained headphones. "Can't ever have enough," he said. ... The Lakers were all in white, while the Knicks were all in orange down to their socks in a color similar to Syracuse. ... Among the celebs holidaying at Staples Center were Rihanna and Chris Brown, Adam Levine, Samuel L. Jackson, George Lopez and Richard Lewis. Vanessa Bryant and her two young daughters sat courtside opposite the Lakers bench.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-25-Knicks-Lakers/id-644c5e2e40ee4337beabbc10cc45dad9

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Merry Christmas Everyone (OliverWillisLikeKryptoniteToStupid)

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Rosewill USB 3.0 External Slim Aluminum 6x Blu-ray Writer Model RDED-12001

As laptops continue to shed excess weight in the pursuit of ever slimmer form-factors, the internal optical drive has undergone a dramatic role reversal from unimpeachable mainstay to card-carrying member of the endangered species club. For many users, the tide of change poses the worrying possibility that everything ranging from their older CDs and DVDs to their newer Blu-rays may one day become irrelevant. Thanks to the growth of external optical drives, however, this dire outcome can easily be avoided. Few drives come to the rescue with as much swagger as the Rosewill RDED-12001 ($149.99 list) USB 3.0 External Slim Aluminum 6x Blu-ray Writer. It's a sleek, portable drive that packs slew of nifty tricks of its sleeve, like read and write support for all optical formats from the ubiquitous (CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays) to the esoteric (triple- and quad- later Blu-ray XL). For anyone looking to save their discs from extinction it comes very close to being the perfect solution.

Design and Features
Measuring 0.79 by 5.36 by 5.87 inches (HWD) and weighing 0.84 pound, the RDED-12001 is marginally wider than the Samsung SE-506AB External Slim Blu-ray Re-Writer and weighs several ounces more since the latter has a plastic chassis. On the other hand, the RDED-12001 is encased in an aluminum chassis, and it's well worth the extra ounces for several reasons. First, the brushed aluminum finish gives it that elusive touch of class that ultimately makes it more pleasurable to look at and touch. Second, the aluminum construction allows any heat generated by the drive to dissipate more easily, which results in cooler operating temperatures. Lastly, the aluminum chassis makes for an overall sturdier drive that's better able to withstand bumps and bruises when you take it on the go, an obvious benefit for a drive designed to be tossed into your laptop bag or backpack. Unlike the top-loading clamshell design seen on the Pioneer BDR-XD04, the RDED-12001sports a tray-loading design. It's intended for horizontal orientation, and four rubber feet on the underside helps absorb vibrations.

The RDED-12001 is bus-powered, which conveniently eliminates the need for an extra AC adapter. Accordingly, it connects to you system via a USB 3.0 Y-cable. This element stands alone as the Rosewill RDED-12001's only design flaw. Simply put, we've always had a preference for external drives that eschew the Y-cable altogether because they're not as easy to replace as standard USB cables and occupy two USB ports, which can be problematic when one strand is shorter than the other and can't reach an available USB port on the other side of your laptop. Fortunately, both strands in the RDED-12001's cable measure 18 inches in length. That said, we'd prefer to avoid the issue entirely and see a standard USB cable, which is why we were such fans of the Samsung SE-218BB Ultrathin Optical Disc Drive.

The RDED-12001 is compatible with both Windows (Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP) and Mac (OS X 10.6 or higher). It comes with the Cyberlink PowerDVD 10 suite, which is fine in itself except for the fact that it's not compatible with Mac. Consequently, Mac users must install a multi-boot utility or simply opt for another burning program. Windows users don't escape entirely unscathed, either, since CyberLink PowerDVD 10 can't play 3D Blu-rays, which is unfortunate since the Rosewill RDED-12001 supports 3D playback. The RDED-12001 is covered by a one-year limited warranty.

Performance
Since it's a plug and play device, setting up the RDED-12001 requires little setup beyond plugging it into your system. During testing, it emitted a minimal amount of noise aside from the soft whirring sound of spinning discs. This stealthy silence, coupled with the fact that the drive's rubber feet adequately absorbed most of the accompanying vibrations, makes the RDED-12001 a fairly inconspicuous presence that also stayed cool to the touch thanks to its aluminum build.

Unlike HP bd530s, the RDED-12001 can read and write to a wide breadth of formats, including Blu-rays and double- and quad- layer BDXL discs, which can hold up to 128GB of data, putting it on par with the Samsung SE-506AB. Although BDXL compatibility sounds great in theory, its usefulness is questionable, though, since it's an uncommon medium that isn't widely available, which also explains why it's not compatible with most standard Blu-ray players.

One of the points of distinction between the RDED-12001 and the Samsung SE-506AB is that the former does not feature AV connectivity options or built-in 2D to 3D conversion. While neither are of massive consequence, they do place something of a glass ceiling on an otherwise highly versatile drive.

The RDED-12001 is the first external optical drive with USB 3.0 compatibility that we've seen. Although anything with USB 3.0 sounds promising, the RDED-12001 ultimately didn't exhibit greater agility than the USB 2.0-only Samsung SE-506AB (which has the same exact read and write speeds) when reading or writing media. On the plus side, both strands of its USB Y-cable were rarely needed, and in the event that one needs the extra juice (particularly when writing media), only one strand needs to be plugged into a USB 3.0 port. The RDED-12001 didn't present any problems when reading Blu-rays, DVDs, or CDs. Read speeds range depending on the format, from BD-ROM (6x), DVD-ROM (8x) and CD-ROM (24x) and write speeds Write speeds, meanwhile, range between single- and doble-layer BD-R (6x), triple- and quad-layer BD-R (4x), and all BD-RE formats (2x). Outside of Blu-rays, the Rosewill RDED-12001 can also burn DVD+R and DVD-R (8x) as well as single- and dual-layer DVD+/-RW (6x), and both CD-R and CD-RW (both at 24x).

All said, the Rosewill RDED-12001 USB 3.0 External Slim Aluminum 6x Blu-ray Writer is a great external optical drive. Its support of all major optical formats, coupled with its superior aluminum construction and USB 3.0 connectivity all add up to a product worth checking out. That said, however, it falls inches short of toppling our current Editors' Choice for portable optical drives, the Samsung SE-506AB; notwithstanding the RDED-12001's elegant aesthetic and the fact that both sport the same price tag and support the same optical formats, the Samsung SE-506AB manages to cling to its crown by virtue of its added versatility stemming from its AV connectivity as well as its built-in 2D to 3D conversion. If neither of those rank too highly on your list of priorities, though, the RDED-12001 is definitely worth a spin.

More DVD burner reviews:
??? Rosewill USB 3.0 External Slim Aluminum 6x Blu-ray Writer Model RDED-12001
??? Samsung SE-218BB Ultrathin Optical Disc Drive
??? Plextor PlexEasy DVD
??? Lite-On eNAU708
??? Plextor External Blu-ray PX-LB950UE
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/3Z2NZ-THVcw/0,2817,2413567,00.asp

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