Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!microsoft!brianw
From: brianw@microsoft.UUCP (Brian Willoughby)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: I*M M*-D*S disks and AMI*A disks
Message-ID: <8079@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 17 Oct 89 04:25:49 GMT
References: <8910142320.AA12132@trout.nosc.mil>
Reply-To: brianw@microsoft.UUCP (Brian Willoughby)
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 41

In article <8910142320.AA12132@trout.nosc.mil> jeffn@pro-houston.cts.com (Jeff Noxon) writes:
>Network Comment: to #1257 by munnari.oz.au!csc!ccadfa!usage!basser!metro!ipso!fawlty!johnmac@uunet.uu.net
>
>The Apple 3.5" drive can be read/written at the low level more or less like we
>used to have to treat the Apple 5.25" drives.

True. More or less.

>It's just very uncommon,
>because the smartport takes care of everything.

Careful how you throw around them words... SamrtPort software handles that.
SmartPort hardware, a.k.a. the SmartPort Bus, is used to talk to UniDisks.

>It is possible, with work,
>to make the drive read 720k IBM disks.

Is this statement based on logical derivation or actual experience?  If
actual experience, then can you also WRITE to 720K IBM disks?

>As for those 880k Amiga disks, I have
>no idea...

Well, my EPS disk drive has the same format as the Atari.  In fact, I've
used an Atari-based fast disk copy program to copy EPS disks at the music
store.  Since it copies the data verbatim without attempting to interpret
the file system, the disks work just the same as if I made them with the
EPS.

Now, if I could access these disks with my Apple 3.5", I'd be a happy
camper.  But since CPS makes thier Copy II Plus 3.5 disk utilities run
in 80 columns, I cannot do any (easy) kind of track dump to see what
the Apple makes of the Atari/EPS low level disk format.

>Jeff

Brian Willoughby
UUCP:           ...!{tikal, sun, uunet, elwood}!microsoft!brianw
InterNet:       microsoft!brianw@uunet.UU.NET
  or:           microsoft!brianw@Sun.COM
Bitnet          brianw@microsoft.UUCP