BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : SEPTEMBER 4, 2000 ISSUE
TECHNOLOGY & YOU Help Desk Q: A reader asks whether erasable CD-RW disks written on one brand of drive can read on another, and wonders about the prospects for drives that will both write CDs and read DVDs. A: In the early days of writable CDs, there were lots of compatibility problems, but these have mostly disappeared. In general, write-once CD-RS and reusable CD-RWs can be read by any computer's CD or DVD drive. In addition, most audio CD players do fine with CD-Rs, but cannot read CD-RWs. For the time being, if you want to be able both to play DVDs and write CDs, you will need two drives. This isn't a huge problem with desktops, because they have room and the extra drive doesn't add too much cost. But it's a much bigger issue for laptops, since you will either have to swap drives, if your computer permits, or use an external drive. Combination drives that can do both are being developed, but they won't hit the market until sometime next year, and they will be expensive. By that time, DVD recorders may also be on the market. Their introduction has been delayed by the movie industry's concerns about piracy and a fight over standards. An industry working group has been established to hash out compatibility problems, and negotiations are under way to assuage Hollywood's fears. DVD writers should begin to show up on desktops around the middle of next year. Intitially, they are likely to be very expensive, probably around $700. But prices will drop as production rises. Questions? Comments? E-mail tech&you@businessweek.com or fax (202) 383-2125 Want to express your own views on a tech&you column or other technology topic? Join the Technology & You online forum. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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