May 23, 2005
Stakka brings order to disc chaos
Imation's stackable disc management system keeps large software collections under control
Recommend ThisHow often do you waste precious time looking for a misplaced CD? Do you even know where all your software is? Disc Stakka, a new organizer for CDs and DVDs from Imation, combines a carousel with room for 100 discs and a slick application, OpdiTracker, which allows you to index and search all of your disc media. It's both easy and effective.
The Stakka connects to any recent Windows or Mac OS X machine via USB cable. After a quick installation, OpdiTracker began intercepting every disc I loaded into my PC, offering to add it to a local database. In addition to the volume name, OpdiTracker stores a snapshot of the content of each medium.
Next I began to feed each disc through a narrow opening in the front of the Stakka. Every time Stakka encountered an unfamiliar disc, OpdiTracker brought up a window asking to associate the disc with a database entry or to create a new record.
Retrieving media was also a snap. Providing a Windows Explorer-like GUI, OpdiTracker allowed me to browse or search for my disc and then eject it from the Stakka with a click.
You can put four more Stakkas on top of the first and manage as many as 100 of these stacks from one machine (my tests were limited to a stack of two). If you subscribe to the Microsoft Developer Network, an easy import feature will automatically load the database with your subscriptions, without your having to feed each disc to your PC.
It's hard not to like the Stakka. It has a friendly interface, good reports, and password protection, allowing you to manage large disc collections easily and securely. Your boss doesn't need to know that it works equally well with music and movie discs.
Disc Stakka
Imation
Cost: $149 per unit
Available: Now
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