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Environmental DVD Wrecks Apple Drives

Posted by Zonk on from the look-before-you-leap dept.

FST777 writes "The British Mail on Sunday published its latest DVD giveaway on the EcoDisc, a thin and bendable DVD format that is supposed to be more environmentally-friendly than regular DVDs. Despite the clear warning against using them in Apple slot drives, some Mac users decided to give it a go. The result? A brisk trade for repair shops in the UK. 'The EcoDisc's manufacturer, ODS, insists the disc won't break drives. "We've produced over ten million of these discs — we've had less than a dozen phone calls," says managing director, Ray Wheeler. "There are ways to get the discs out." Wheeler says the problem stems from Apple's slot-loading drives. "It uses an ejection system that doesn't get approval from the DVD Forum." He claims the EcoDisc should work in other types of slot-loading drive, although admits that it hasn't been tested in the PlayStation 3.'"

4 of 459 comments (clear)

  1. Who is out of specs again? by Stormwatch · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wheeler says the problem stems from Apple's slot-loading drives. "It uses an ejection system that doesn't get approval from the DVD Forum."
    So the drives are out of specs. Yet the DVD Forum's specs allow for thin and bendable discs? Doubt it.
    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
    1. Re:Who is out of specs again? by timster · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think it's more like this: Product A isn't compliant to standard X, but works with all products conforming to standard X. Product B also works with all products conforming to standard X, but is also noncompliant itself. And now it so happens that Product A and Product B don't work together, and the makers of Product B are blaming the makers of Product A.

      --
      I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
  2. environmental friendliness by fred+fleenblat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The environmentally friendly thing to do would be to have NO disc at all. Just point people at a download site and let them get the disk image from the tubes using zero plastics, chemicals, landfill, or other resources in the process.

  3. Re:environmental friendliness by pclminion · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because the Internet doesn't use any electrical power?

    I agree that it's probably more efficient to download data instead of burning it on DVD and distributing it that way, but by how much?