Dazzle DM22000 Hi-Speed Universal 8 in 1 Digital Media Reader/Writer

i've used these for years with both tiger and now leopard, works great on both os. i've never had a problem on any mac.

I have two of these that I use on my Macintosh systems and they work great. They appear to be better built than similar priced devices that I have previously purchased.

I've had this for a couple of years now, and it's worked reliably for me with a 2gb microdrive, and a CF card.

I wish it was a little faster at reading, but it could be the microdrive itself - 2gb is a lot of data, and I tend to download hundreds of pictures at a time.

The included stand is worthless.

I've used it on two XP Pro machines, and haven't had to do any installation other than plugging the cable into a usb port. It's easy to work with. The memory cards show up under "my computer" as extra hard drives.

I note people have reported problems using it with smart media cards, and wouldn't advise using this reader with them.

This card reader has worked perfectly for me from the time I first plugged it into my computer.

Some may not be aware that WinXP and Win2000 (with Service Pack 4) already have Microsoft's USB drivers included in them. So if you are running either of these systems, do NOT install the supplied drivers as they may actually reduce the performance of the device. Try it BEFORE you install any drivers, if it works, then DON'T install them. I have read that you may limit the speed to USB 1 or cause other problems if you install unnecessary drivers; probably you should use the supplied CD only if you are running Win98.

I have used the reader/writer with CF cards up to 512 MB and SD cards up to 1 GB and have had no problems whatsoever; I cannot speak for other media types. Make sure you are inserting the card the right way which is not so obvious: CF cards go in with the label side up, same as in your camera, but SD cards with the label down, and of course with the electrical contacts on the leading edge. This model does not have any indicator lights that show when a card is inserted properly, but I got such a good deal on it I can't really complain about that.

Re some of the complaints in other reviews: the guy who says he put a CF card in sideways and couldn't get it out must be talking about SD cards which are much smaller; I tried and it is impossible to insert a CF card to the point of losing it. Another guy complained about an issue with an unsupported card type. These complaints are totally unfair. If your garden hose got chewed up because you ran over it with your new lawnmower, would you blame the lawnmower manufacturer because they didn't tell you not to do that? If you do something dumb, take responsibility for it yourself, don't blame the manufacturer.

I unknowingly inserted an unsupported SM card and Dazzle deleted all photos/movies.