The CD is 25

The CD has just turned 25. Its contribution to the audio world is well known, the logical predecessor of the mp3world, and to a large extent the first digital data exchange mechanism. You can even argue that it led to the easy disassembly of the album, in favour of the audio track.

The CD also led to the disassembly of data. Early players like SilverPlatter rapidly adopted the search and distribution capacity of the CD to change the market and model for information access. Using CD fixed price subscription models began to replace the pay as you use and connect fee models that were prevalent in the old online world.

This began to place electronic information resources on end user, researcher and student desktops for the very first time and through the evolution of networks, through to DVD provided a pre-internet explosion in access to information.

So let’s hear it for the humble CD.