First 3 Generation-Compatible HD DVD Drive

fenimor writes "NEC has developed world's first half height size optical drive capable of playing back HD DVDs, DVDs, and CDs with a single optical head. Although the lasers required to read each type of disk vary, NEC said it had successfully created a miniature drive with a single lens that could read all three. The drive was designed for laptop computers and will be released commercially later next year."

Manufacturers may not dump CDs.

[suso]

It's reassuring to see that manufacturers are not trying to ditch CD formats in any way with the newer formats that come out. I always figured that if any medium uses a simular technique for reading/writing as another medium, then the two mediums should support each other. I was afraid that as time goes on, manufacturers would try to ditch CD mediums to try to get people to upgrade. Maybe that will still happen. Hopefully it won't.

Looks like a desktop drive

[maharg]

.. smells like a desktop drive..

laptop ??

Re:Manufacturers may not dump CDs.

[Laurentiu]

If you want to have a prayer of success on the "home user" market, you must be able to read CDs. Even for the simple fact that most of the music on the planet is (still) sold on a CD support. So I don't think you need to worry. Yet ;)

Press releases

[Anonymous Coward]

Last 3 items are just press releases. Can we get some news?

Re:Manufacturers may not dump CDs.

[suso]

Yes, but the record player was still in heavy use when they decided to heavily push CDs. I'm sure there were a lot of people back in the 80s who were thinking the same way that you are (ie. if a record company wants to make money, they need to release everything on LP).

Half-height?

[adolf]

Half-height? Bah. I think that's more properly dubbed a "laptop drive."

Half-height drives, rather, are of course about half the height of a full-height drive. See here [google.com].

HTH.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Manufacturers may not dump CDs.

[Stephen R Hall]

There was previous backward compatibility in the record market - the original 78rpm 10 inch record was replaced by the 45rpm 7 inch and the 33rpm 12 inch, but newer players would still play the old 78s. It was only when there was a huge leap in technology that backwards compatibility was broken.

you know it's Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

when the editor doesn't RTFA.