Optical disc advancement

Software Architects Inc., Bothell, Wash., has introduced what it claims to be the first Blu-Ray disc file system tool kit for personal computers.

Blu-Ray is a set of specifications for formatting discs, which are read by blue-light lasers. This tool kit allows developers to use their chosen applications to format, read and write Blu-Ray discs. Developer licensing starts at $15,000.

The optical storage media industry is positioning blue laser optical discs as the successor to digital versatile discs and compact discs. The first generation of these discs, due by the end of the year,

are expected to hold up to 27 gigabytes

of data.