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MiniDisc Drives for the PC?
scHarvey asks: "I recently purchased a portable MD player so that I can take mp3s with me where ever I go. I know that the MD format had almost died out until the popularity of MP3s and the cheapness of MD discs brought it back pretty strong. My curiousity was sparked though by the thought of having an internal MD-RW1 in a 3.5 drive on my PC. Has anyone else ever thought of this, and is there a product out there that one can buy off the shelf? I know the discs are a little more expensive than standard CD-RWs, but they are also smaller and in a permanent protective case, and I thought this might be a cool idea."
I haven't seen any MD drives for computers, at least not ones compatible with the audio format. However, you can get smaller CD-R media in 3-inch and business-card sizes. The looming problem there is that slot-loading CD drives have started to catch on.
When Minidisc first came out, there was a data version. However (get this) the audio and data disks were different and not interoperable. You can still go buy a MD Data disk, if you want, at Minidisco. However, they're $13.49 each!
I remember seeing MD data drives a LONG time ago. But I haven't seen one marketed in years. There is still no really easy way to title audio disks without buying one of the expensive decks. Bah humbug.