The compact disk ROM: Applications software: It optimizes access time, is compatible with various operating systems, and has the potential for multimedia use

Given the specialty of the compact-disk, read-only memory - putting massive databases on a user's desk inexpensively - many engineers will likely find themselves perfecting the technology and expanding its uses for years to come. A spinoff of compact-disk audio technology, the optically read CD-ROM presents various challenges to computer software and systems engineers: