CD-R backup made easier

Recordable CD-ROM drives could become more commonly used as a means of mass data storage as manufacturers ship drives bundled with new software, which claims to make recording to a CD as easy as writing to a floppy disk.

Adaptec (ADPT) says that its DirectCD software makes recording CD-ROMs easier to do, allowing a recordable CD-ROM (CD-R) disc to store as much as 680MB of information.

"The basic issues with recording a CD-ROM is that once you select information to record, [the recording session can't] be interrupted. If something interrupted a session recording, it could ruin the CD," a company spokesperson said. DirectCD changes the way the system talks to the drive so that data is recording in small increments rather than in large, continuous streams. This "significantly lowers" the chance of interruptions to almost nil, making CD-R more practical for everyday use.

Adaptec says the software also simplifies the recording process by letting users save as many files as needed by dragging and dropping folders or documents onto the drive icon.

The software is being bundled with CD-R drives from Philips, Ricoh, and Yamaha, according to Adaptec.