History (1999): CD-RW Drive Integrated Into PC

Hewlett-Packard is, to our knowledge, the first PC manufacturer to offer a computer with an internal CD-RW drive, not as an option, but as a standard feature.

The new Pavilion PC is a high-end configuration (500MHz, 19GB HDD) which lists at $2,499.

HP did not forget to include a floppy drive, along with a 4X DVD-ROM device.

HP’s CD-RW drives now come from Sony and no longer from Philips.

We’re still waiting for the first PC with a CD-RW drive instead of a floppy.

Micron Electronics is also offering Sony’s CD-RW unit (4X, 24X) on its Millennia and Client Pro desktop PCs, but only as an option for the upgrade price of $199 over the standard 40X CD-ROM drive.

This article is an abstract of news published on issue 134 on March 1999 from the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter.