Skip to my loo Darling!
by Gary Woods

Did you ever have an audio CD start skipping on you? It if hasn't happened yet, it will sooner or later. So what are you going to do? Well you can start by taking the disc out of the machine and cleaning it with a soft lint-free cloth. If that doesn't work you can even wash the disk with soap and water and then dry it off. If that still doesn't work you might give the SkipDr Disc Repair System a look.

SkipDr looks like some sort of power tool and comes both in a manual version and one that is powered by an electric motor. To bring your disc back to life, you place the scratched disc onto a special cog-wheeled plastic holder, spray the disc with the special supplied cleaning fluid, and then insert the assembly into the SkipDr. Then you turn it on and its cleaning wheel will go to work slowly and methodically. After cleaning most, though not all, of the scratches will be gone.

The surface will seem duller, but chances are the drive will now recognize the disc without any problems at all. There are two versions of SkipDr, the muscle-powered original goes for $29.99 and the motorized version goes for $49.99. The only annoying thing is that you need to keep stocked up on consumables. Resurfacing fluid goes for $6.99 and two replacements wheels go for $12.99. Check out SkipDr at www.digitalinnovations.com.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910