You know that once LiteOn starts shipping these drives, it means that the consumer will be able to pick one up for ~$30, & the rest of the industry will have to follow suit to keep up. Gotta love the competition....

"There is no real substantial technological barrier for ODD makers to shift from PATA to SATA, and the adoption of the latter actually hinges on market demand, said the sources. SATA will replace PATA as the mainstream interface in DVD burners by 2007 at the earliest, the sources added."