Eight Japanese storage drive and media manufacturers have established MO Forum, a trade body charged with promoting the use of magneto-optical products in Japan. The Forum, hosted by media maker Hitachi Maxwell Ltd, is building a web-site featuring help hints on tips on what to do with MO products, and news about MO technology.
Quite why the Forum members feel the need to do this in Japan isn’t clear, however. MO is already the best-selling large-capacity removable drive technology in the country, and ranks second only to floppy disks in terms of standard media. Indeed, Japanese affection for MO is means of storing everything from spreadsheets to family snapshots is such that MO disks are not commonly available in local convenience stores.
As well as Hitachi Maxwell, the MO Forum is supported by drive manufacturers Fujitsu Ltd, Konica Corp and Olympus Optical Co Ltd, and media makers Mitsubishi Chemical Corp, Sony Corp, Teijin Ltd and Tosoh Corp.
