The programs You use to rip and burn will recognize a removable DVD/CDRW drive just as well as they do one inside the actual system case.
I also plan to buy an Aspire One but will be installing a program called "MagicDisc" that I will use to rip CD/DVD images with to iso files, and then mount the iso files from the 160/250 Gig hard drive in the Aspire One.
I'll only need to rip a disc once, then it's with me wherever I go, and if I bring along a couple flashdrives or SDCards too I can carry as many iso files as I need.
Yes, it would be same as internal drive, you can rip burn write whatever you want to do, the only difference is that you can take this drive anywhere with you want.. Hope this Helps.