Q: Would you all be interested in buying/using a MiniDisc drive?

[Howard]

e.g. MD replaces the floppy disk

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Why not use those mini-cdrw's? They're compatible with most cd-roms...

 

[GnomeCop]

that would be cool, but MO drives are expensive as hell aren they? At least for the big ones

 

[PYROTAK]

they make mini disc drives!?

LINKAGE?

 

[LordMorpheus]

I'm pretty sure I've seen them. I know I saw a friend accessing his MD player/recorder like an ext. HD . .

sorry, can't remember model or manufacturer. But MD drives probably exist, and they are probably really, really cool. I want one now.

 

[corkyg]

Like SpiceDaddy said - mini disks will play in most any currenmt tray loaded CD or DVD drive.

I have replaced floppies with flash memory drives - they are very easy for moving large files and data between computers that are not networked.

Special purpose drives would not be a good money maker - the sales volume would not justify the investment.

 

[Firus]

Mini disks won't play in any tray loading drive. The disk is encased in a plastic shell. I think what you are thinking about is a mini cd-r.
I don't see why they would not have MD drives, a mini disk play is basically like one, just need to make software that allows for data transfer as well as music...its like a USB external drive

 

[psy44]

It sounds like a good idea...but it would take a while to make the change esp the price change, a MD goes for about .50-1.00 while a floppy is like .05-.25. How many megabytes fits on a MD anyway?

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: PYROTAK
they make mini disc drives!?

LINKAGE?

Ive seen a few Sony Vaio Desktop computers come with Mini Disc Drives.

Neat little extra if you ask me

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: psy44
It sounds like a good idea...but it would take a while to make the change esp the price change, a MD goes for about .50-1.00 while a floppy is like .05-.25. How many megabytes fits on a MD anyway?

If an MD can fit 74 mins of music then surely I would of thought it holds the same capacity of a normal cd

Im not sure though, different formats and all.

 

[GnomeCop]

MD DATA discs can hold only 140mb.

they also make larger cd-sized ones I think, based on the same magneto-optical technology that hold A LOT more. Those MO drives are expensive I think.

I saw a MD data deck from sony that could be hooked up to a computer before, I think it was almost 600 bucks but that was years ago.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: GnomeCop
MD DATA discs can hold only 140mb.

they also make larger cd-sized ones I think, based on the same magneto-optical technology that hold A LOT more. Those MO drives are expensive I think.

I saw a MD data deck from sony that could be hooked up to a computer before, I think it was almost 600 bucks but that was years ago.

Yea the MD drive I saw was in a Desktop Vaio in the Sony Section of Harrods in London.

I think the total of the machine itself was about 3k.

Ouch, it wasnt even that brilliant a system, P4 2.8, 1gig o'ram.

Oh wait I think it was actually a reasonable system

Still you pay a premium for sony's products - then again I cant complain, ive NEVER has a sony product break on me, and there support is great

Dan

 

[0roo0roo]

another proprietary format forced on consumers by sony?

no thanks.

 

[0roo0roo]

i've had 2 sony monitors break on me, so i'm not all that happy with the quality either

 

[crypticlogin]

If Sony made a major push at getting the major system integrators and OEMs to include native "MD Drive" support into BIOSes, and the drives were bootable, cost $50 or less, and the media $5 max, I'd be all for it. MD media is fairly competitive with the current floppy alternatives in terms of capacity, read/write performance, price, and size. Unfortunately, they've let MD Data sit around and do nothing for so long, I wonder if any Sony management still take it seriously? I'm angry with them for that.

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
another proprietary format forced on consumers by sony?

If you remember, Iomega ZIP and Imation LS120s were both considered proprietary at one time and now they're well integrated as supported drives. And besides Memory Stick, what else did you have in mind?

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Here's a drive, so far the only one I've seen...


MD drive

Do you people remember how Neo, in "The Matrix", is distributing software (virii? hacks?) on MDs ?

Or the fact that the media used for the neural recorder in "Strange Days" was clearly MD ?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: tenchim
If Sony made a major push at getting the major system integrators and OEMs to include native "MD Drive" support into BIOSes, I'd be all for it. MD media is smaller than any other current floppy alternatives and would be competitive in terms of capacity, read/write performance, price, and size. Unfortunately, they've let MD Data sit around and do nothing for so long, I wonder if any Sony management still take it seriously? I'm angry with them for that.

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
another proprietary format forced on consumers by sony?

If you remember, Iomega ZIP and Imation LS120s were both considered proprietary at one time and now they're well integrated as supported drives.

iomega zip was a brilliant product in its time. LS120 never really caught on and there were quite a few manufacturers supporting it. not like MD which is almost completely sony. MD isn't quite as bad as memory stick though.

 

[everman]

Minidiscs can hole 74mins + of music, but that's in ATRAC Format, also LP2 and LP4 can be used to store more. They only hold around 120 or 140 megs or so. I have a minidisc player and love the thing mainly for being extremely small and CD quality music and an extra drive would be cool

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
Here's a drive, so far the only one I've seen...


MD drive

Do you people remember how Neo, in "The Matrix", is distributing software (virii? hacks?) on MDs ?

Or the fact that the media used for the neural recorder in "Strange Days" was clearly MD ?

The one I saw fit snuggly into a 3 and half inch drive on the front of the case.

It might of been just a housing for the drive that was designed with a special face ?!

Still a kewl idea

Would be great flashing your bios from your Mini Disc Drive

Kinda has a nice sound to it

 

[GoSharks]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
another proprietary format forced on consumers by sony?

no thanks.

md is no more proprietary than cd. just not as common

 

[EeyoreX]

I believe the MiniDisc was popular for PCs in Japan. At least for a while.

Also, A couple things I Googled...

Can I use my MiniDisc to store computer data?
No. Audio MDs cannot store computer data. Some years ago MD Data discs were produced for computer use but these are difficult to find now.

From here

Also, the MiniDisc is strictly for music as standard computer data cannot be stored on the disks.

From here

[EDIT] Forgot to answer the question. No. I don't feel the need for a new format to use.

\Dan

 

[nortexoid]

i'd be more interested in using high capacity flash memory - i.e. 512+ CF cards. yeah, they're more expensive, but yes, they're more like a floppy disk (that u can also use in cameras, mp3 players, PDAs, etc.)

 

[Looney]

Minidiscs would be too slow i would think. Besides, we have zip drives that hold almost the same amount anyways.