
Computer
peripherals
and
applications
Several types of compact disc systems are available for
computers. These are:
•
CD-ROM.
Like music CDs, these are 'pressed' by manufactur-
ers with whatever data they wish to supply. Large databases of
information can be supplied in this way, as can software.
• CD-WO. This is the WORM drive ('Write Once, Read Many
Times'), which the user can write to, but can't erase. WORM
drives are an excellent medium for archiving data.
• CD-I. This is interactive CD, under development by Phillips for
multimedia applications. This is described on page 125.
Φ Erasable optical
discs.
These use magneto-optical (MO) technology ...