Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!batcomputer!cornell!uw-beaver!mit-eddie!wuarchive!emory!gatech!taco!hobbes.catt.ncsu.edu!kdarling
From: kdarling@hobbes.catt.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
Subject: Re: What the heck IS "Interactive TV"?
Message-ID: <1991Apr19.190904.22846@ncsu.edu>
Date: 19 Apr 91 19:09:04 GMT
References: <1991Apr11.143222.13728@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <1991Apr17.135214.12413@ncsu.edu> <398@tcr.UUCP>
Sender: news@ncsu.edu (USENET News System)
Distribution: usa
Organization: North Carolina State University
Lines: 26

tcr@tcr.UUCP (John B. Sobernheim) writes:
>In article <1991Apr17.135214.12413@ncsu.edu>, kdarling@hobbes.catt.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling) writes:
>> cimshop!davidm@uunet.UU.NET (David S. Masterson) writes:
>> 
>> > Wouldn't CDTV be even more attractive to the education market if it could
>> > learn from its environment and adjust itself to the quirks of its user over
>> > time?  (As a for instance, as a history quiz system that keeps track of how
>> > the particular user does over time.)  This, though, requires some amount of
>> > floppy/hard disk space for memory.
>> Sounds like a good idea; we'll have to wait and see if someone does this.
>> And as you suggested, a floppy disk is a good idea for storing the info,
>> as a personal RAM card for each student probably would be cost prohibitive.
>
>It looks to me like CDTV does have some built-in battery backed RAM that
>developers can write to and read from.  What I don't know is if this is
>a _legal_, Commodore supported thing or just a _feature_.  (Actually, I'm
>not even sure if it's battery backed up,... I haven't tried the below test
>after pulling the plug on the unit). 

Yes, according to published specs (could have changed), CD-I has 8K, and
CDTV has 2K, of nonvolatile RAM.  Storing preferences such as language there
seems an ideal use.  Doesn't sound enough for storing student quirks, tho <g>.
For that, you'd use external storage in the form of a disk, or the personal
RAM cards (up to 64K each, I believe).  - kev <kdarling@catt.ncsu.edu>