Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ukma!rutgers!netsys!attctc!tomk
From: tomk@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (Tom Karches)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Floptical drives
Summary: info about Floptical drives
Message-ID: <11056@attctc.Dallas.TX.US>
Date: 19 Jan 90 06:01:01 GMT
References: <3860@mace.cc.purdue.edu>
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection, Dallas, Texas
Lines: 52

In article <3860@mace.cc.purdue.edu>, ar4@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Piper Keairnes) writes:
> In reference to the message posted to comp.sys.mac about Floptical drives
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> The prospect of purchasing a 20+ meg SCSI Floptical drive thats mechanism is
> the same size as a regular 3.5" drive intrigues me. I have a few questions:
> 
> Do the disks look very similar to the standard 3.5" ??

  They look exactly like standard 3 1/2 floppies. The only difference is
  that they have had servo tracks burned into the surface of the disk 
  with a laser. The read/write head has both a laser read assembly and
  a magnetic read/write assembly.  The laser uses the embedded servo tracks
  to align the magnetic read/write head more precisely, allowing more 
  concentric tracks and consequently higher storage capacity.

> What would you imagine the cost would be??
 
  I have understood that the cost is planned to be about the same as the 
  cost of a 20MB Seagate drive (to OEM's)

> Has anyone heard more info about the drive systems??

  See my response to your first question

> Reliability, availability, etc?

  Not available now, probably later this year.
> 
> Please respond with any info or even rumors that you have heard...

  Glad to have obliged. As you may have noticed, I have been following
  this for quite some time.  This stuff was announced over a year ago.
  If I was the least bit cynical, I would start wondering if this drive
  really exists.
> 
> Thanks!

  You're welcome.
> 
> +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
> | Piper    | ar4@mace.cc.purdue.edu |      General Consultant       |
> | Keairnes |  Macintosh Specialist  | Purdue Univ. Computing Center |
> +-------------------------------------------------------------------+



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# Tom Karches                               Disclaimer : I didn't say it.     #
# tomk@attctc.Dallas.TX.US                  If I said it, I didn't mean it.   #
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