Hi, the 3" CD-R isn't really new in Japan. I believe it's been around for some time - I've seen Japanese personal web pages on burning 3" CD-Rs from last year. Put it in an CD-single adaptor, and (at least) some CD-R drives will burn just as usual. The MD disc was originally going to be the size of the 3" CD, but shrunk further to bring it close to the dimensions of a cassette. Like with the CD, Sony's size decision was made with regards to existing "spaces" (CD fits in the "1DIN" European size dashboard stereo space). On the other hand, Sony is involved in a 5cm (about 2"?) diameter MO disc: http://www.world.sony.com/News/Press/200003/00-0323/ One way to see this is that Sony doesn't see MD/MDdata as adequate for a storage medium. It could really be the format's specifications that's limiting progress. Or you can say Sony's just doing what they've always done. They're also being indecisive between large LCD panels and plasma display. ;) Leon > I just checked out the Dataplay web page (www.dataplay.com). They are > pushing a new write-once, US $5.00-10.00 disc that looks like a 2/3 > size MD (to be available early 2001). They say it'll be used in > cameras, mp3 players, computers, game devices, phones, etc. > > It looks great, but I have a basic question: Why hasn't this been done > already with MD's? There is a high-capacity version, right? Is the > write speed to slow? > > And why did SONY make their new Mavica use an entirely new 3-inch CD-R? > The capacity is approximately the same as a standard MD -- and the CD-R > is even a little larger, I think. The write speed can't be faster than > an MD (both generally go up to 4X (600kpbs). What's the advantage of > the CD-R? MD's are re-writable so many times, and can be made > un-eraseable simply by moving the write-protect tab. > > I really hope to see these portable storage options expand from the > current very expensive flash memory, but I'm left wondering about > MD-sized MO discs. ----------------------------------------------------------------- To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
