🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1ir5f6INN8ql@darkstar.UCSC.EDU> paladin@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Robin Yang) writes:
>
>     Sony recently introduced a new generation of music compact disks--2.5"
>in diameter with the same playing time as a normal CD.  The key differences
>other than size are its caddy (it looks like a smaller version of a 3.5"
>floppy disk) and re-writability--more than one million times per bit.  The
>technology is still new so they go for $750, with prerecorded disks $16 and
>recordable ones $20 or so. 

Sony may have recently introduced some MD hardware, but let's get some
facts straightened out:

 1. CDs were a *joint* development of Philips and Sony.
    Sony did a good job convincing a lot of people it
    was all their own.
 2. MDs are a joint development of Philips and Panasonic.
    Other than indirect work done on CDs, earlier Sony had
    nothing to do with MD development.

Those are the facts you got wrong. Here's an important one you left
out:

  - MDs solve the skipping problem that CDs had by using a three
    second buffer to read in music and then make sure that every-
    thing in that buffer gets read out properly. Three seconds
    gives enough time for recovery if necessary.

> I'm curious how adaptable MD's will be to pc's.  On the surface it
> sounds like they could replace current CD-ROM technology.  Certianly
> the rewritability will be greatly appreciated.  Then again flopticals
> are only 21 mb on a 3.5" optical disks.  Hmm...

Smaller, writable and represent the same storage. Obviously these
things are going to become very common, very fast especially as prices
start to drop.

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Tad Perry      Internet:    tvp@gibdo.engr.washington.edu
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