REWRITABLE MAGNETOOPTICAL DISK TECHNOLOGY - THE BEST IS YET TO COME

A long-time manufacturer of optical storage media, 3M maintains that rewritable optical disk will be the product of choice in fulfilling the needs of the DASS (Direct Access Secondary Storage) market. Optical disk technology is finally beginning to erode the market for fixed Winchester disk drives in specific application areas. While rewritable M-O drives are unlikely to match the price of fixed magnetic drives, its removability, superior data security and transportability mitigate any pricing differences. Anderson outlines the three main issues in drive optics affecting the future requirements for optical disk performance: laser wavelength, laser power, and numerical aperture. He concludes his article by forecasting that rewritable M-0 optical disks with capacities of over 100GB and data transfer rates and access times comparable to fixed disk drives will be available by mid-decade.