The promise of enormously increased capacity promised by erasable optical drives has not been fulfilled – advances in magnetic storage have simply raced ahead far faster than anyone forecast, so that Sony Corp, which now plans to market its MD Data drives and media, based on the MiniDisc digital audio standard, through US computer resellers and consumer retailers by the end of the year, is only able to store 140Mb on a 2.5 optical platter, which compares poorly with the best 1.8 drive we’ve come across, which manages 420Mb and is no doubt much much faster: Sony Electronics describes the MDH-10 as the first battery-operated portable MD Data drive; it has an SCSI-2 interface, is powered by a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery pack, an AC power adaptor, or three optional AA alkaline batteries and costs $700 for the drive, $30 for MMD-140 disks.
