old optical storage

Hi all,

I received a call yesterday from a company that has a model 400 using an
old optical writer for backup archive purposes.

They tell me it's a panasonic 940 and they are using Recall 2000
software that, I believe, runs on a PS/2 attached between their /400 and
the optical reader.

Well, their panasonic 940 broke and when they called their vendor, guess
what, they no longer are in that line of business and do not have a
replacement, nor an upgrade of any kind.

They tell me that at a trade show they looked at replacements and were
recommended Laser Vault but it is outside of their price range. (They
are a small water utility)

Any recommendations out there?  My first question to them was why
optical for backup? And I got the usual answer, don't know.  That's the
way it was set up.

I'm leaning towards using FTP to copy their files in binary mode to a PC
and using the PC's CD burner for archive purposes.  Any thoughts on
that?  I believe that they run their billing once per month and what to
have this backup archive as the last step in the month end closing.

TIA,
J. Kilgore