I can't answer you laser burn question, but I bought a Lighscribe burner and I am very happy with it.  While my shaprie does the majority of my CD/DVD labeing, there are a few things where Lightscribe has come in handy. 

You can find some good deals on the media usually in the Sunday newspaper ads.

If I'm burning backups or other data for me or for business I use my sharpie like ID.
If I'm burning photo compilations to give to family/friends or making a custom music CD then I like using the LightScribe. I have found that to get a good "pic" on one you need to choose something with a lot of contrast. I also tend to "stock up" when Office Max has them on sale.

I use Lightscribe. It takes about 15min to burn the label on, but it looks a lot better than a sharpie.

The image quality is very good. For special ues it is certainly good to have some blank media on hand. But I would never switch entirely to lightscribe disks because of the cost. I'd say get some disks to use now and then but use regular disks for most thing. The technology has now b een out long enough I suspect the lasers can handle it. Its not like you are likely to get burned by the "first generation" curse.

Thanks guys!

Tomorrow Im off for some new media, theres bound to be a good price someplace out there this weekend.

Try Wal-mart they usually have the best prices for media.

For the DVD's, I can usually find them for .30 to .50 cents each. Not a bad deal. The CD's are even cheaper.

Personally, LightScribe is just a bit slow for my tastes. It does put out some dang good image quality however. My slimline has a LS drive on it but mostly if I dont have 45 minutes to put a really fancy label on a DVD, I just grab a sharpy.

Canon Pixma 3000 printing directly onto Verbatim 'metal' label CDs....looks pretty spiffy...

I dont have 45 minutes to put a really fancy label on a DVD, I just grab a sharpy.

Got gear to do snazzy labels, but felt a marker usually does the trick for me.... identifies the disc and adds that more personal, hand written touch. And it's cheap!

****saving on consumables right now to put the cash towards a nice new copy of Vista Ultimate, sooner rather than later in '07.....oh, and moving intestate Feb 07****

I just bought a ligh scribe writer the other day. I love it. The media is a little more expensiver, but, here in Canada, it looks like you can buy a 30 packs for about 25 bucks. Verbatim brand, so, not so bad..

As to it burning the laser out faster? I got my hands on a LG one for like 45 bucks. So, if the laser burns out in a year or two, well, guess I'll buy a other one if there still out there. I like it. Obviously, it's eye candy, but, I got tired of seeing Sharpie all over my cd's..

I also you Print-able CD/DVD's as well..

Me

I personally like it. The burn has no effect on the longevity of the disc, so you can relax there.

In one area major area it beats a Sharpie... a dark Sharpie can end up being "seen" by your DVD player and read as an error. Over time the ink can actually penetrate the media. The lightscribe burn is exempt from that problem.

I get mine off ebay. The price there is great.

As far as time... unless I am giving it as a gift... I just title it with simple text.

Don't go the cheap route - I don't know if it was the cheap hardware, software, or media, but the ones from the work PC were crap (blurry and no contrast). I haven't tried it on decent gear; it might help.

I have been using a Benq lightscribe burner since they came on the market. I use to use the lightscribe technology alot when I first bought it, but now I don't bother, especially when the lightscribe media is a little more than normal media. At the time, the media was also a lot harder to come by. I also noticed a HUGE difference in quality between the DVD's and the CD's when I have used the lightscribe to label it. On the CD's the text and photo is sharp and clear, while on the DVD, everything seems dull and a little harder to read. So, I just use paper labels for my DVD's now.