The WORM (Write Once Read Many) drive and the Magneto Optical drive are similar in operation. Both have the ability to store masses of computer data in digital form similar to a CD ROM. The main difference between these two drives is that the WORM drive only allows information to be written once making it ideal for archival storage. The Magneto Optical drive, on the other hand, has the ability to re-write information many times making it much more useful as an on-line storage medium. The drives write their data by using a highly accurate laser which melts the surface of the disc, the surface is then magnetically aligned while in this state to represent the digital 0's and 1's required. This combination of magnetism (Magneto) and laser (Optical) is where the Magneto Optical drive derives its name.
Although these drives are becoming more and more popular they suffer one major drawback over their magnetic hard disk counterparts, that of data access and transfer speed.
These drives and their discs are not compatible with standard compact discs, therefore, we may see the rewritable compact disc technology all but kill the WORM and Magneto Optical drives of today if they can match the price performance ratio on or shortly after their availability.
