Phlog.1 _________________________ / \ | | | M MM [] [] | | M M M MM ii nnnnn ii | | M M MM ii n n ii | | M M MM ii n n ii | | | | DDDDD [] [] [] [] [] | | D DD ii ssss ccccc | | D DD ii s c | | D DD ii ss s c | | DDDDD ii ssss ccccc | | | \_________________________/ MiniDiscs are fascinating little pieces of media from the early 90's. Unfortunately, Sony wasn't in the business of winning format wars quite yet so it quickly became an also-ran. Obscurity aside, a robust magneto-optical format that plays and records digitally is most definitely an interesting concept. If rolling your own MiniDiscs wasn't enough, there were also a fairly sizeable number of commercial releases available. The advent of MP3s definitely accelerated the demise of MiniDisc (That, and Sony's inability at the time to support a successful audio format). Having to record in realtime was certainly a disadvantage, but there's a very nostalgic "cassette" feel to recording individual tracks like that. I still occasionally put together a mix "tape" on my dad's old MiniDisk walkman I adopted (Sony MZ-R30). It's a fun way to pick music for a car trip or long 'heads down' work day. Obsolete, yet still fascinating.