Introduction

Have you ever ruined an important CD because you left it in a drawer full of other junk or had one go missing only to turn up behind your desk or other office furniture? If you answered no then you're a rare bird indeed! I've lost count of the number of times I've sat looking forlornly at a wrecked or barely readable disk wishing I'd stuck with all those good intentions I set out with when I bought my latest storage box or soft wallet or other long since defunct home for my sprawling disk collection. Oh yeah, it all starts well. Labels are lovingly, if untidily filled in, disks are methodically removed from and replaced in their allotted slots and so this goes on, sometimes for as long as a day or two, before the shear hassle of trying to locate the correct slots becomes too much for me and they end up being tossed on the desk or in the nearest promising receptacle.
Don't preach! I know I shouldn't, it's just that when my mind's occupied with thoughts of frantic gaming, that next must-have MP3 or those clothing challenged ladies I just can't break my train of thought long enough to decipher my own writing and stick the disk back where I decided it should live.

Don't get me wrong, if you're one of these very organised people there's nothing wrong with the typical CD/DVD storage box. Granted they get a bit messy when you need to change a label unless you've written it in pencil but apart from this they're perfectly adequate once you get a routine, but even with a good box and a religious filing routine things can get strained when your regularly accessed disk collection starts to climb into triple figures. When this happens you need something like the item I'm reviewing today, a storage system that in just a few days has revolutionised the way I work, the DACAL DC300 CD Library.

So What Is It?

The Dacal 300 is an automated storage unit for regular 12cm optical disks (CDs and DVDs). It can be loaded with up to 150 disks which are then accessed either by keying in the required CD slot number on the built in keybad or alternatively, if it's connected to your PC or Mac you can use the supplied database software to select or search for the required disk which, once found, can be ejected using a simple double-click of the mouse. Too good to be true? I thought so at first.

Let's run through the specs:

Product Features:

• Easy & Simple operation
• Get CDs fast and accurately
• Database management software included
• Key pad featured
• USB Port
• Can be linked up to 127 units for large library's via USB
• Store and retrieve over 19,000 disc's from one database
• CD Library II are stackable for multi-units
• Prevent dust and scratches
• Lock and key included for security
• Standalone is an option ( by your TV, Play station, HiFi etc)

Specification:

• Capacity: 150 CDs of 12cm size
• Dimension: 370 x 390 x 180mm
• Port: USB Port

System requirements for software installation:

• PC running on Windows 98/ ME/ 2000/ XP,
• MAC OS 10.2 or higher
• CPU: Pentium 166 Mhz or higher
• HD space required for installation: 16Mb
• CD-ROM Drive

The Packaging

The box that arrived here from Bruce over at The CD Manager was colourful, professionally designed and unnervingly light. I'm not sure why I expected it to be heavier, I just did! Inside everything was held snug in the usual expanded polystyrene cradle and on top sat (left) the wall wart type power converter, (right) a good quality USB cable and (center) a software CD, a well written hardware user's manual, an impressively detailed software user's manual and a management form, or more accurately a management booklet, to manually log the location of your disks if you're using the library independent of a PC.

A Closer Look