WoW! I sure didn't expect that my one line of sarcasam about UK's GOG not taking my card would illicent such a response! I have a Visa as well and never had any problems with foreign companies in the past, but after being turned down by them as well as at least 10 more other outlets whose charges p...
FFOman, what sort of card were you trying to use on GOG? I have a basic Visa debit card tied to my checking account, and GOG accepts it just fine. I don't think I've heard of many instances of people in the US having issues with payment there.
It's funny, but I'm the exact opposite when it comes to working...I need absolute silence to get things done, otherwise I wind up concentrating more on the music/audio/whatever than what I'm supposed to be doing. :P The same thing happens in reverse, too: if I'm listening to something like a podcast...
LEDs will eventually burn out, though they generally take a very long time to do so. Maybe your drive just had a bum LED, or it wiggled loose of its connection or something. I don't think I'd necessarily take it as a sign that the drive itself is going bad.
Titan A.E. was a fun animated sci-fi movie by Don Bluth that unfortunately didn't do all that well. It's not exactly hard sci-fi, but it's an entertaining ride, and the visuals are pretty spectacular.
I'm still running the Student/Teacher copy of Office 2003 I got with this rig, so I've never had a real reason to try Open Office, but I'd definitely go with it for any future machines.