Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!bunker!hcap!hnews!396!5.7!Fred.Hatfield From: Fred.Hatfield@p7.f5.n396.z1.fidonet.org (Fred Hatfield) Newsgroups: misc.handicap Subject: CD Roms Message-ID: <16277@bunker.UUCP> Date: 6 Dec 90 04:14:55 GMT Sender: wtm@bunker.UUCP Reply-To: Fred.Hatfield@p7.f5.n396.z1.fidonet.org Distribution: misc Organization: FidoNet node 1:396/5.7 - Pontchippi, New Orleans LA Lines: 45 Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP Index Number: 12358 [This is from the Blink Talk Conference] In a message of <01 Dec 90 09:10:14>, Rick Alfaro (1:369/8) writes: RA>> I have ordered one of those packages, Rick, and I will give RA>> a full report on it when I receive it if you are interested. RA> RA>Fred, please, by all means give us the report. I would be most RA>interested in knowing how everything works with speech. I'de also be RA>interested in knowing how the access time is compared to a normal hard RA>drive. Much to my surprise, I have heard that access time is actually RA>much slower than that of a regular hard disk. The amount of RA>information that could be accessable to a blind computer user through RA>cd rom packages is terrific. Please keep me informed as to your RA>findings... The access time will be slower, Rick, since you are working with such huge amounts of information that the index itself is sometimes almost as big as all of the text stored on the disc. But once you have accessed the start point of what you want, continued accessing would probably not be noticeable. RA>> BTW, since ordering the package, I have become interested in RA>> the characteristics of CD ROMS and I am currently reading RA>> two excellent books on how they access such large amounts of RA>> information -- "Optical Publishing" and "The New Papyrus" -- RA>> both published by Microsoft. RA> RA>What is papyrus? I understand it is a software pakcage, but is it a RA>colection of refference books? Or possibly a collection of old RA>classics? Keep in touch... Papyrus was the first ancient paper that was originally created by the Egyptians -- made from the pith of reeds that grew in lakes and rivers. The title is symbolic of how important an innovation the CD ROM is considered, that is, as important as the invention of paper. Fred Hatfield K8VDU @ NN5F.LA.USA.NA ...from the digital cottage... -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!396!5.7!Fred.Hatfield Internet: Fred.Hatfield@p7.f5.n396.z1.fidonet.org Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com