@Otter: DVD players as add-ons for computers have become pretty cheap. You ought to be able to find one with a USB-3 connection for around 25 quid, incl. shipping (there are
literally dozens on Amazon at that price and they all look to be the same hardware). They should be plug+play with almost all operating systems, including Windows MacOS and Linux.
It's well worth having one around, especially if it's a writer too (the writing bit may well need software - depends on what operating system you're running (version of Windows, etc.). You can backup important stuff to it, and that can be really important, especially if you're a small business.
Workwise, I have spent a couple of decades trying to persuade small business people to do regular, effective backups, as part of marketing backup storage. They still don't, and then
we get things like this happening. It's fresh in my mind as I read it only this morning. DVDs are a far from perfect choice for this, but they have the huge advantage that, once the backup is made and the DVD is "closed", nothing can change the data.
And you get to watch (a much more svelte and younger) Mr. Maskery strutting his stuff into the bargain, and possibly even a really nifty tablesaw tenon jig. What's not to like?
;-)
E.
PS: The USB-3 thing probably doesn't matter for reading data or copying files from a DVD, but it might for writing and watching BluRay (HD) disks etc. Most of the time you'll probably never notice any difference, so getting a really cheap USB2 one wouldn't be a disaster. Worst case: copy videos to hard disk and watch them from that.
PPS: apologies if I'm telling granny to suck eggs on the backup thing, but I've seen the consequences of not protecting data: some small businesses simply fold as a consequence, and it's so easily preventable.
