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CD burner protocol

 A way to control CD burners from other computers without wasting CDs
  (+2, -3)
(+2, -3) 		  [vote for,
against]

I have three machines, one of which has a CD burner -- and a blown COM port from a lightning storm, so I can't really control the burning software (some things can't be done with the keyboard, damn Windows programmers ;-).

But I have CD players and high-speed access to the Internet from both the other computers, and the internal network is 100 MB (plug for the LinkSys Etherfast Cable/DSL Router, no affiliation just a happy customer -- except that it can't manage the specific ADSL modem I have, so when my computer has to be rebooted the others lose their connection ;-( ).

I don't know whether 100 MB is fast enough to write to a CD, especially now that they're burning at 8x and faster. So what I envision is a driver on the machine with the burner which calculates the speed that data is coming in, and then waits until it has, say, an extra minute's worth of transfer time, to weather interruptions.

Then client software can be written so that I can control my CD burner from either of my two other computers, whose mice work.

Alternately, could someone point me at free Windows software to burn CDs that doesn't require a mouse?

(Yeah, I should call support and have them swap out the COM port, but I'm lazy -- I'd rather let my brain work than the rest of my body. ;-)

Thing 1

—Thing 1, Aug 13 2000

VNC http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/
easy way to control one computer's desktop from another [egnor, Aug 13 2000, last modified Oct 17 2004]

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       1x CD speed is a bit over 1.4mbps, so 100mbps ought to be enough to handle any CD burner I've ever seen. You'd still want a buffer to deal with net lag, though.   

       A, ahem, more flexible operating system that doesn't tie you to a specific GUI would never have this problem, of course.   

       VNC might offer a "low-tech" solution to your problem, allowing you to remotely control the Windows desktop on the CD-burning machine from another machine (one with a working mouse). I'll add a link.   

       In any case, the last thing the world needs is yet another application-specific protocol for a problem that really doesn't deserve it. CDs are really just another form of rotating storage, they shouldn't need all this messy special-purpose goo to manipulate.
—egnor, Aug 15 2000
   

       I'm using VNC to control the CD Burner here. Just stick it on the network and share some space on the Hard drive for putting files to be burnt onto CD.   

       The way you propose to do it will only save your about 10 minutes (maybe 20 minutes or so on a full CD). Which is hardly worth it for the effort your putting in, might as well just copy the files and use VNC to control the software.
—HoTWire, Aug 15 2000
   

       http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/4439/1/   

       Here is a program that could do it.
—truck0321, Mar 19 2004
   


 

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