Discmans only spin the disc a little above 1x speed (so they can buffer), where the disc is doing a pretty low RPM and doesn't really have any angular momentum...
By comparison, our computers and gaming consoles are over 52x, and most of the increase in read speed comes from spinning the disc, well, 52x faster. The massively increased angular momentum of the disc makes it want to keep spinning in one plane, like a gyroscope.
Not much we can do about that, sadly. Except make the discs out of a much stiffer material perhaps, so they don't touch the laser lens when you start waving the console around like a wiimote. :)
The PS2 was infamous for scratching discs (as Sly just did with his Xbox) because the PS2 was arguably the first console to be designed to operate normally in either vertical or horizonal configuration. Lots of people were (mid game, apparently) deciding they would prefer the console in the other orientation and scratching the hell out of their discs.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-01-10 12:25 am (UTC)Discmans only spin the disc a little above 1x speed (so they can buffer), where the disc is doing a pretty low RPM and doesn't really have any angular momentum...
By comparison, our computers and gaming consoles are over 52x, and most of the increase in read speed comes from spinning the disc, well, 52x faster. The massively increased angular momentum of the disc makes it want to keep spinning in one plane, like a gyroscope.
Not much we can do about that, sadly. Except make the discs out of a much stiffer material perhaps, so they don't touch the laser lens when you start waving the console around like a wiimote. :)
The PS2 was infamous for scratching discs (as Sly just did with his Xbox) because the PS2 was arguably the first console to be designed to operate normally in either vertical or horizonal configuration. Lots of people were (mid game, apparently) deciding they would prefer the console in the other orientation and scratching the hell out of their discs.