How fast is fast?

Abstract

Manufacturers are not really satisfied with simply being fast. In most cases, they continuously develop faster drives, as such marketers imply that every CD-ROM user should upgrade his or her equipment for the latest and best products. Librarians who are considered to be the earliest adopters of the technology, may consider their equipment obsolete and just like any other whose use of CD-ROM has been ongoing may be tempted to toss older CD-ROM drives onto the trash heap. However, such an action could be an expensive mistake if those old drives still function properly. This study explores this fact and also demonstrates how fast really are the CD-ROMs.