Drexon Laser Card

The Drexon Laser Card, or Drexon Optical Laser Card, was a physical data format from the 1980s. It was a credit-card-sized card with a data stripe on it, but unlike the stripes on magnetic stripe cards, this was an optical medium (like a CD or DVD). Up to 2 megabytes of data could be stored on it, and it was anticipated for a variety of uses from identification cards to computer operating-system booting. US patents 4,284,716; 4,542,288; and 4,544,835 were related to this format. While it had some specialized uses, it never caught on as a mainstream format.

Links

 * Info at Computer History Museum
 * Info on the Drexon Laser Card from its time; perhaps from a press release
 * The Potential Role of Drexon LaserCards in Optical Publishing (info on journal article, but full text doesn't seem to be online)
 * Article on invention of Laser Card