Absolutely.
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.
Good Luck!.