This DVD will self-destruct in three minutes

Good news for software firms...

No it's not Mission Impossible. An American company is developing limited-play CDs and DVDs with built-in self-destruction. Spectradisc, a spin-off from Brown University Division of Engineering, says it can programme the products to expire within three days or three minutes, by applying a chemical coating in varying degrees of thickness to the discs. Once the laser in a CD/DVD player touches the surface, a chemical reaction is started and the disc becomes unreadable. Spectradisc reckons it will find it customers from the video and games rental markets, as well as companies touting trial software. Other products from the company include commercial laundry sorters and drug discovery products. ®