[conspire] Help- DVD HW for writing, & Emprex $60 16x Dual +-R/+-RW Double Layer @ Frys

[Hereon]

Is the Emprex drive on sale at Frys suitable for Linux uses?

I want to use a DVD for backup storage - both of my data files, and for
videos (mpg, or DVD encoding) of length up to GBs.

I don't currently care much about playing video DVDs, but I guess I'd
like to ensure that whatever DVD HW I get has that ability.  

(Should I also be looking for the ability of the DVD HW to back up DVDs
I purchase?)

Frys has the Emprex $60 16x Dual +-R/+-RW Double Layer on sale this
weekend.
(Note this brand isn't listed on the HW compatibility list below.)

Is that known to be appropriate or not? (for linux, of course.)

This will be to take data off my Sony Vaio laptop, which has a firewire
IEEE1394 port, and USB 1.

I'm thinking I might like to get an external box w/ power supply, which
can hold both a DVD write capable unit, with two drive spaces, so later
on I can add a n*100 GB hard disk.

What kind of electrical interface will the DVD drive have?
What kind of electrical interfaces should I have in the external box for
the DVD & HD?

Thx!  :)

=====
Links I've found so far.  (I haven't found an extensive HW compatibility
list)

DVD+RW/+R/-R[W] for Linux
http://fy.chalmers.se/~appro/linux/DVD+RW/

dvd+rw-tools: Hardware Compatibility Notes
http://fy.chalmers.se/~appro/linux/DVD+RW/hcn.html

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/

MultiMedia Command Set - 5 (MMC-5)
http://www.t10.org/drafts.htm#mmc3
-- 
  Hereon
  hereon1 at fastmail.us