Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ucla-cs!kona.cs.ucla.edu!tj From: tj@kona.cs.ucla.edu (Tom Johnson) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware Subject: Re: Reviews of Non-Apple CD-ROM drives (Summary) Message-ID: <1991Apr9.203150.12032@cs.ucla.edu> Date: 9 Apr 91 20:31:50 GMT References: <7188@mace.cc.purdue.edu> <1991Apr8.205628.28550@cs.ucla.edu> <50@goblin.ntg.uucp> Sender: usenet@cs.ucla.edu (Mr. News Himself) Distribution: usa Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department Lines: 63 Nntp-Posting-Host: kona.cs.ucla.edu In article <50@goblin.ntg.uucp> dplatt@ntg.UUCP (Dave Platt) writes: >In article <1991Apr8.205628.28550@cs.ucla.edu> tj@kona.cs.ucla.edu (Tom Johnson) writes: > >>If you are using it purely for data, it's works fine. The drive is indeed >>faster than the Apple, and we have had no compatibility problems >>with it whatsoever. >> >>All in all, I would never buy another Toshiba drive. I don't think that >>the overall hassle (and the lack of confidence I now have in the companies >>Macintosh products) would offset the small performance increases and the >>very slight monetary savings. >Well, I've come to a different conclusion... which perhaps reflects the >different use I make of the drive. My XM-3201 has been completely >reliable in the 18 months I've owned it. It's a _very_ effective CD-ROM >drive, and it works quite adequately on the occasions that I use it to >play audio discs. It has been able to play, without the slightest >hiccough, a couple of off-spec discs that my primary CD audio player had >difficulty handling. I don't think that we have any disagreement about the data storage aspects of the XM-3201. You'll notice that we have had no compatibility problems with it in the last year or so we've been working with it. It has functioned beautifully in that respect. It is the audio section that has given us so much trouble. I know that the "real" reason we have a CD rom is to make use of all that neat stuff on the developer disks and so we don't have to fool around with dozens of floppies to install A/UX 2.0, but when the drive isn't busy working on "serious" stuff, it's entertaining us (or frustrating us). I wouldn't have been disappointed if I'd known of the deficiencies in the Toshiba drive. But the company certainly didn't mention anything in it's product descriptions and none of the review magazines seemed to notice any problems at all. My biggest complaint is with Toshiba itself. The Tech support people (and I have spoken to several) were unable to be of any help whatsoever--all they were able to do was refer me to OMI, and they couldn't help at all either. I faxed them a huge list of questions. Since they couldn't answer them they were going to forward them to the developer. But I still haven't heard anything back. I'll give them yet another call today. This whole ridiculous thing has just completely shaken my confidence in the product. Dave gave a lot of good explanations as to why the Toshiba drives audio is inferior to the Apple's (or a few others), but there aren't any solutions forthcoming. I'll stand by my conclusion. > >-- >Dave Platt VOICE: (415) 813-8917 > UUCP: ...apple!ntg!dplatt > USNAIL: New Technologies Group Inc. 2468 Embarcardero Way, Palo Alto CA 94303 -- Tom Johnson "I put this moment.............................here tj@cs.ucla.edu I put this moment......................here I put this moment-- Over here!" (Kate)