We should all be aware of the upcoming format(s) to replace the Audio CD, namely DVD-Audio and Sony's Super Audio CD. These formats introduce some much-needed improvements, including higher resolution (192 kHz/24 bit), multi-channel sound (Dolby Digital, DTS, etc), as well as other features such as included music videos. These will be on higher-capacity DVD media. After compression, this new format allows DAYS of music on a disk, far surpassing the previous 75-minute limit.

But one thing won't change. Artists still will only write about an hour's worth of music for an album. So what's the point of placing this on a 5-inch disk when only a centimeter is used for data?

I propose, before DVD-Audio hardware hits the masses, to decide to move it to 3-inch media. You know, those hard-to-find but neat-looking little CDs. Actually, almost any CD and DVD player can read them without modification, as data starts on the inside and spirals out.

What's the advantage of this? I'm not worried about wasted plastic. And yes, storage would be a bit easier. But the big one is portability.

MiniDisc, Sony's magneto-optical format that has finally started to gain popularity in the past two years, will help me illustrate. Many of us picked up a portable minidisk player recently, mainly because they are so damn small. The 3-inch disk allows for some very tiny players to be produced. And hey, the smaller mass to spin saves batteries too.

So, if all DVD-Audio disks were 3-inch disks from the getgo, companies could produce minidisc player-sized portabe DVD-Audio players instead of the clumsy old portable CD players that don't even fit in your pocket. Batteries would last longer. And our music collection would take up a quarter of the storage space. And I think we still have some time for this to happen, if only the right people were introduced to the idea and convinced.

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