Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!mit-eddie!mit-amt!mjkobb
From: mjkobb@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Michael J Kobb)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Erasable optical drives
Summary: More questions
Keywords: Erasable optical disk storage
Message-ID: <821@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 11 Oct 89 23:17:07 GMT
References: <819@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Reply-To: mjkobb@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Michael J Kobb)
Distribution: usa
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA
Lines: 28

Well, this is a new one...  I've never responded to one of my own posts before.

I've received responses that said, in four words or less "your friend is right"
(The original question was whether the erasable optical drives read
magnetically w/the help of a laser, or if it's strict laser.  My friend
maintained that it was strict laser, which is apparently correct.)

Okay, so next question.  On the news the other morning, I heard that Sony had
announced that they will soon (?) be marketing a CD recorder that would have
>10 million rewrite capability, and would be compatible with existing CD's for
playback (though you'd need special disks to record).  Okay, so does anyone
have any further info on this?  What technology do they use?  NeXT disks appear
to be hard-sectored, but CD's aren't.  Other than this difference, could they
conceivably be read by the same technology (in other words, could a drive using
EO technology write to a soft-sectored disk in a way that could be read by
a normal disc player)?  Otherwise what did they do?  Also, they claimed that
price would be comparable to a normal CD player, which I read as meaning
<$700 at most.  How is this possible considering the expense of EO drives.
Finally, if they're using a different technology, could Sony market it as an
inexpensive alternative to current EO (of which they are apparently a prime 
manufacturer)?

Aigh!!!!

Thanks in advance for any info.  If you have a really definitive answer, go
on and post it.  Otherwise, email me and I'll summarize...

--Mike