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Tiny, Secure Music/Data CDs Due in the Fall

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the isn't-that-cute dept.

An anonymous reader submitted a story about a new recordable disc the size of a quarter, that holds about the same amount of data as a CD. Of course its an intermediate step before we simply stream all audio from the net, but the RIAA sure is making that obvious last step a royal pain.

4 of 283 comments (clear)

  1. Confusion is imminent... by tewwetruggur · · Score: 5
    ...damn, I think I just put Aerosmith in the Coke machine...

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  2. Speak for yourself by BillyGoatThree · · Score: 5

    Ummm...I don't want to "simply stream all audio data off the net". I want my audio data here in my hands (or in my drawer, or on my harddisk). That's the whole point of this whole Napster thing (which I'm pretty sure you've heard about, since it's all we talk about anymore). It isn't about "We want to be able to download"--it's about "We want to be able to do what we want with the stuff we own (which includes downloading)".

    I mean, what if www.riaa.com started offering downloadable SDMI (or similarly encrypted) music files tomorrow provided that you could only listen to the stream, not save it or time-shift it or anything. Thanks but no thanks. I don't want a specific medium, I want a choice of mediums.
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  3. Is there any demand for this? by Taliesin · · Score: 5

    Mini-discs died a pretty miserable death, and the continued failure of people to adopt any of the other recordable mediums suggest that we're pretty content with CD's for the time being. I think that there is a sort of law of diminishing returns with size, and anything smaller than a CD doesn't appeal to many people.

    Any new medium must offer something substantial for it to be adopted. In the case of CD's it was quality of music. For MP3's it was transferability and effective HD storage. What new quality is offered by these disks that doesn't already exist in another form? Are CD's at 4.75 inches in diameter and negligable thickness really that inconvenient?

    The next wave in media will most likely be based not on size but on durability. This is the one area where all current forms of storage are severly lacking.

  4. No new format in 20 years??? by Asikaa · · Score: 5
    'Music "hasn't had a new format in 20 years," says DataPlay CEO Steve Volk.'

    Uh, MiniDisc?

    '"It's time to do something new, something smaller, better and more versatile."'

    Uh, MiniDisc again?

    Nothing quite like conveniently forgetting something for marketing purposes.

    Asikaa

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    Asikaa
    Come in, twenty-seventy-seventy, your time is up.