I bought the SH203 to replace an NEC burner.  The SH203 is quicker, much quieter and came with more features.  I know the cost of electronics decreases, but this was about half the price of the NEC (and only 18 months later) This burner works flawlessly in linux but over the last 5 years or so this is to be expected. The lightscribe feature is very nice but it's hard to justify the extra cost of the CDs when I usually just make throwaway discs for the car. After a number of great experiences with phones, mp3 players and other consumer electronics I nearly always buy Samsung now.  They've never let me down and I hope they can keep up their great work. The only complaint is that the firmware isn't updated as much as I would like.  However, there are third-party firmware builds out there on the web so you can get as much out of the burner as possible.  Be aware though that using something not from Samsung will invalidate your warranty.

oliver

Winston, GA