Regarding  the  History  of  data CDs...   I  did  some  research.   OCLC
Online Computer  Library Center, Inc.   was  adapting  this  technology
back  in 1985-86.  Specifically  we  were  interested  in  multiple  player
stacks  or  jukeboxes  for  collections  of  database  disks.
Phillips, Hitachi, and  Sony,  were  the  first  drives  out. @ $900 - $1000
each
Phillips  had  a proprietary  interface card for  the PC  bus  that  could
support  two  external  drives.  Hitachi  had a  card  out  that  supported
multiple configurable   I/O Bus  Addresses and a  parallel  bus  structure
that  could  support up to 4 external  drives off  a  single  interface
card. (OCLC selected  Hitachi)
Each  manufacturer also  had  SCSI cards  that  could  support  multiple
drives.
The  big  thing  was  the  MSCDEX  extensions supporting manufacturer
dependent device drivers with  their  "switches" enabling  multiple  drives.
Once  the  High Sierra Data  format  was  adopted  in 1985, and  the  MSCDEX
extensions  were widely  distributed,  CD Drives  became more common. Price
fell to  $550-$600 ( Later  MSCDEX distribution  was tied  to  DOS  Version
/ upgrade distribution )
After Windows 3.X software  distribution consumed  the  worlds diskette
production capacity,  AT  class machines  began shipping with  CD Drives
installed.($110 price point)
Here is  a (google  recovered) link  that  shows  a partial  reconstructed
history of  CD data adaptation:
http://www.itc.nl/~bakker/info/rs-data/cd-family.html
Sincerely
Larry Truthan