What's the difference between CDRs and CDRWs?

At some point, you may wish to make a physical copy of something you have on your computer. Maybe you want to make a backup of some of your photos, or burn a playlist of music for a special occasion. Whatever your reason, it's easy to get overwhelmed by all the different options given to you by your local electronic store's disc section.

Quick side note: I've already made reference to the phrase "burning a disc", and will continue to do so. "Burning" simply means the process of putting information on the disc from the computer.

You'll see discs in electronic departments separated three ways. DVDs vs. CDs, CD+ vs. CD- vs.CS+/-, and CDRs vs. CDRWs. I'll be taking each of these factors into it's own seperate article, so be sure to stick around and read the subsequent articles on the following Tuesday/Thursday. First to tackle CDRs vs. CDRWs.

CD stands for "compact disc". CDR means "compact disc readable". This means that once you burn the disc with your information it can't be altered. Think of the kind of CDs that you get from the store either for music or programs. You can't write over the disc to put your family photos, you can only read the information put on the disc by the manufacturer. These are CDRs. These are ideal for instances where you don't want the disc to be altered like for business or school presentations.
CDRWs stand for "compact disc re-writable". These discs can be burned, and reburned, and reburned. These are more like flash drives or your computer's hard drive. These are ideal for making backups as you can use part of the disc now, and then add more information to it later. You should be careful though. CDRs, just like your hard drive, do get worn down from being written and rewritten on, and thus do have a "lifespan". (Click here if you're not familiar with this concept on hard drives.)
So which one should you use? That's entirely up to you and what you want to use the disc for. Next time we'll discuss what all the plus and minus signs on CDs are about, and which one to use. Once you have that, you'll be able to pick your compact discs like a pro!
Practical Tip of the Day:

Discs often come on what's known as a spindle, one right on top of the other. Once a disc is burned, it should go in a type of case. This can either be a small plastic case or a paper sleeve. The reason for this is that the disc has tiny grooves on it that is read, much like a record player, and if it gets scratched it may not be able to be read and you've lost the information on that disc. When handling a disc, I recommend holding it by it's edges, putting a finger in the hole for added balance if need be. This helps prevent finger print smudges and scratches from ruining your disc.