CD-ROM Last modified: Friday, October 10, 2003
Pronounced see-dee-rom. Short for Compact Disc-Read-Only Memory, a type of optical disk capable of storing large amounts of data -- up to 1GB, although the most common size is 650MB (megabytes). A single CD-ROM has the storage capacity of 700 floppy disks, enough memory to store about 300,000 text pages. CD-ROMs are stamped by the vendor, and once stamped, they cannot be erased and filled with new data. To read a CD, you need a CD-ROM player. All CD-ROMs conform to a standard size and format, so you can load any type of CD-ROM into any CD-ROM player. In addition, CD-ROM players are capable of playing audio CDs, which share the same technology. CD-ROMs are particularly well-suited to information that requires large storage capacity. This includes large software applications that support color, graphics, sound, and especially video. Also see Understanding CD Burner Speeds in the Did You Know . . . ? section of Webopedia.
•E-mail this definition to a colleague• For internet.com pages about CD-ROM . Also check out the following links! Optical Technologies Overview  Outlines the optical technologies used by a CD-ROM drive and the various associated CD standards. Includes graphics, diagrams and an integrated glossary. This page is from "The PC Technology Guide." CD-ROM LAN FAQ Provides answers to questions on CD-ROM networking solutions and links to related newsgroups, publications, and FTP sites. PC Guide's CD-ROM reference Extensive coverage of CD-ROM drives and technology. Describes how the CD-ROM drive works. Covers CD media and the different formats, CD-recordable and CD-rewriteable technology, performance and reliability, and interface and configuration issues.	CD-ROMs Lasers Peripheral Devices burn caddy CAV CD-I (Compact Disc-Interactive) CD-R drive CD-ROM player CD-ROM/XA CD-RW disk CLV compact disc disk erasable optical disk FMD-ROM mass storage multimedia new media optical disk S/PDIF sheepdip UDF worm Yellow_Book Give Us Your Feedback Shopping CD ROM Products Compare Products,Prices and Stores Shop by Category: Software 759 Store Offers Computer Games 2170 Model Matches Magazine and Newspaper Subscriptions 281 Model Matches CD ROM Drives 125 Model Matches CD and DVD Burners 395 Model Matches