Did anyone else see this?

[Charles Martin]

> From: Gerhard Kuhn <suspice at hay.net>
>
> I saw this but it really means very little to Apple users since you
> would need the software to take advantage of the DVD+RW format and
> Apple seems to be supporting the -R format.  It will give PC users
> greater flexibility because when they buy a drive they are not marrying
> to one format.  A couple of months ago Sony had already come out with a
> drive that could use both formats.

And in fact Apple uses that drive in some models, though the "+" 
functionality is not accessible.

> Unless authoring programs for +RW are available to Apple users the
> drives new abilities will be lost to us and in reality the
> compatibility for video DVDs with current set top players is about
> equal for either format.  There may be advantages in particular
> circumstances (if your current set top player plays +RW better than _R)
> for one format over the other but over all it makes little difference.

Once Apple becomes convinced that "+" is going to actually take off as 
an accepted format (far from certain yet), I imagine it will 
incorporate the functionality into future releases of DVDSP (first) and 
perhaps iDVD later. Though acceptance for "+" is growing, I also hear a 
lot of consumer dissatisfaction with "+" as a VIDEO format, though it 
seems to have found favour as a DATA format just fine.

_Chas_

"Microsoft has innovated nothing. The thing I find most contemptible is 
Bill's lying , this thing about innovating. It makes me want to puke. 
That's innovation a la Rockefeller, not innovation a la Edison."
— Larry Elisson, Oracle CEO, 1998 interview with PC Week Online.