Suggestions to MiniDisc Webmasters
Eric WoudenbergOct 17, 1999
I am quite delighted by the growth of MiniDisc information on the Web. Today an Altavista search on the word "minidisc" finds nearly 100,000 matching pages! This is quite a change from those days in 1995 when one person, alone, had the possibility of visiting nearly every MD page on the Web.
Offer to Host Retired Content
I would like to make two suggestions to webmasters who are maintaining MD information on the Web. One springs from the disappointing observation that MD pages with good and helpful content are occasionally disappearing. This is to be expected afterall, the Web is underpinned by a plethora of running computers. Web sites go down, people move on, the Net is constantly in flux. For this reason, I would like to offer a final resting place under Minidisc.org for those who wish to retire their MD related Web pages. I ask that pages placed here be ``finished'', i.e. not in a state of update, since taking in updates from outside could quickly become overwhelming. My hope in doing this is to prevent the loss of hard won information. Please feel free to contact me about MD pages you are no longer able to host.
Need for Diversification
My other suggestion relates to an avenue of approach for new MD webmasters. It seems every few weeks a new ``MiniDisc Page'' pops up on the Web, appearing to be a general purpose page for the format. While I applaud the MD enthusiasm that this reveals, I feel that as a community of webmasters, we could make more effective use of our effort. My recommendation for those wishing to make a frequently visited MD site is to focus on a specific area of MiniDiscdom. If you can do this well, and update it consistently over the long haul, you will be providing a valuable and helpful service to the MD community.There are several areas that the MDCP does not cover well, and I think anyone doing a good job covering them would earn a prominent link on the MDCP. Some of the topics I would love to see someone ``own'' are:
- Links to MD Manufacturers How about a site (or page) devoted just to links to the main MD pages for all the MD manufacturers (including their non-English pages)?
- Recording Mp3 (and other net audio) to MD It would be wonderful to have one site devoted to detailed coverage of this important topic, including soundcards, player software, tips and techniques and a FAQ. I know this is an arduous task, due to the constant evolution of player software and soundcard hardware, but it is a topic that will grow in importance with the rise of Internet audio.
- Car MD Players As any car audio freak will tell you, car_table.html is woefully incomplete. Car audio is somehow not an area of Minidiscdom that I find particularly fascinating. As far as I am concerned (cost and reliability questions aside) Sony's MDX-U1, their initial, basic, ATRAC-1 car MD player, essentially solved the car MD problem. As you can judge by this comment, a page maintained by a car audio fan would be a welcome addition. My suggestion would be to host and update car_table.html on your own server, whilst a batch job on the MDCP integrates your changes into the equipment browser.
- The Repair Page Wouldn't it be great to have a listing of the MD repair centers for every manufacturer? This is a low maintenance site that MD users in need would love to have.
- MD for use in Journalism A reporter writes: May I suggest that another needed MiniDisc site/page is for the use of MiniDisc by journalists. I'm a radio reporter who has used MD for a couple of years, and I gag at the thought of ever going back to cassette. But journalists have special needs that the usual music user doesn't need be concerned about, e.g. date/time stamp is highly desireable, so is high-speed playback. A page or site devoted to the use of MD in journalism would be welcome!
- Other Cool Pages There are plenty of MD niches I haven't even considered. Discover one and detail it well and I'll be happy to add a prominent link to it!
Please bear in mind that these are only my suggestions, if you have bigger plans and want to create the next, major, MiniDisc Page, please do not let these ideas stand in your way.