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From: unknown@ucscb.ucsc.edu (The Unknown User)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: New 2.4 meg drive
Message-ID: <6553@darkstar.ucsc.edu>
Date: 3 Sep 90 22:42:50 GMT
Sender: usenet@darkstar.ucsc.edu
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz; Open Access Computing
Lines: 45


In response to Lynda Botez:
>I recently picked up a copy of Computer Shopper and noticed an article in
>the Mac section discussing some new 3rd party drives can put 2.4 megs worth
>of data on a 3.5 inch drive.  It claims any Macintosh can handle it (even a
>Mac Plus); so I assuming that since it works with a Mac Plus, it could also
>work with an Apple IIGS.
	If it's a SmartPort drive, it won't work since we don't have the 
updated SWIM chip. If it's a SCSI device it should work. BUT read on 
further.
>The price was even reasonable (I can't remember, but it was something like
>$400-500).

	Well, if you think that's a reasonable price for 2.4 meg drive,
then I'll give you an ASTOUNDING price for a 20 meg drive! (Astounding
by using a megs/$ ratio you seemed to use when comparing 800K/1.4M/2.4M
drives)
	There's a new type of drive out.  This is a trademarked term, but
it seems to have been taken as the generic like Xerox and Kleenex.
	The drives are referred to as floptical drives. They are 20 meg
FLOPPY drives. They use special floppies that cost $10-$20 apiece and the 
drive itself costs $700-$800 from what I was told the suggested retail
would be by the two major manufacturers of the product. The manufacturers
are Insite Technology and Brier Peripherals [Or Insite Peripherals and Brier
Tech.. I forget!] both of San Jose Ca.
	I know all of this because I got 100 people together so we could
buy these drives at OEM prices.. But neither company would let us do it.
This was before they were released to the public too but were released to
OEM companies to make products to sell to the  the public.

	Now that I think about these drives again, I'll probably look into
them some more (i.e. try to find them in mail order ads) before I get a 
Syquest based 45 meg removable. I was going to get one of those to spite
Brier and Insite since they wouldn't sell to us, but now I realize the
$/meg is much better with these drives than with Syquest drives.
	By the way, these drives aren't the fastest in the world but I 
believe they have about average millisecond times. I have some literature
from the companies around here somewhere.

	Enough rambling..  Just basically wanted to say that -I- personally
don't think that that $500/2.4 meg drive is a good price and that it won't
work on the GS if it's not SCSI.
-- 
        /  Apple II(GS) Forever!     unknown@ucscb.ucsc.edu  \
        \    Computer engineering student seeking a job.     /