HP makeS some very fine CD writers and the 9600se is probably the best to date.

Fast, reliable and seriously cool, this slick bit of kit could be the most efficient back-up solution around.

This new generation of highspeed drives can write 650MB of data or 74 minutes of audio in less than seven minutes and rewrites in less than ten minutes.

To make CD creation even easier, all HP CD writers now include new CD creation software, HP MyCD, which allows users to write CDs with a simple click of the mouse.

Adaptec Direct CD provides the easy-to-use drag-and-drop functionality to move and arrange files.

Also provided in the bundle is HP's own back-up software, which helps to safeguard data, but the very best bit for me just has to be the incredibly clever freebie soft-ware/hardware gadget that comes with the HP CD-writer 9600se that let me create my own CD labels and stick them on the CD without wrinkles and creases.

Made by a company called Neato (www. neato.com), this wonderful widget was a design masterpiece and really worked well.

Sadly, HP only sent me three blank labels to play with but the results were brilliant and I was really sorry to give it back!

Price: £249
Contact: 0870 5474747
Feelgood factor: 9 out of 10