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From: brian@umbc4.umbc.edu (Brian Cuthie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: CD-ROM Drives
Message-ID: <1991Jun21.133715.29072@umbc3.umbc.edu>
Date: 21 Jun 91 13:37:15 GMT
References: <1991Jun20.231036.24324@macc.wisc.edu> <1991Jun21.002247.15086@leland.Stanford.EDU> <1769@toaster.SFSU.EDU>
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In article <1769@toaster.SFSU.EDU> eps@cs.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott) writes:
>I think the recent postings in the thread really miss the mark.
>First of all, there's tremendous resentment among early adopters
>of NeXT's "future software will only be available on floppy"
>policy, and being forced to purchase floppy drives for their
>ODful systems in order to continue using them--drives that often
>don't work well and are fairly expensive--and not even being
>given the option to use the FD controller on the '040 upgrades
>they were all but "forced" to buy.  The *last* thing in the
>world they want to see is NeXT commit to yet-another-incompatible
>storage medium.

Well, I totally disagree.  I have been a Registered Mac developer for many 
years now and it was nothing less than great when apple finally decided to 
stop inundating me with floppies and put everything on CD.

It's not true that everyone *has* to get a CD drive.  For one thing, if
only one in ten owners and the support centers (I assume that such things exist
although their existence is mearly unsubstantiated rumor) had them, then it
would be *much* easier for almost everyone to get updates.

CD's cost a wopping $1.50 to manufacture and the mastering cost is< $2000. On
this one, 600 mbyte, $1.50 piece of media you can cram a lot of -stuff-. 
Perhaps NeXT has all kinds of other goodies they'd like to ship us but don't
have an acceptable mechanism.  One thing apple does that is great, is they
put alpha and beta copies of interesting, up-and-coming, software on 
developer distributions CDs because it's essentially a free ride.  May be
NeXT would do the same, given the opportunity.

>
>Very few people in the Bay Area seem terribly interested in
>CD-ROM for a variety of reasons (in no particular order):
>+ bad experiences with Apple and Sun CD products
>+ slow

Who cares !? It's faster than a floopy, and it's cheap.

>+ not user-writable

BFD.  We are only suggesting it as a mechanism for software distribution,
so cheap, that NeXT would be encouraged to send all kinds of "goodies".

>+ relatively expensive hardware

If you think $400 is expensive for 600 mbyte removable media (albeit 
write protected) then you haven't priced tape backup systems lately :-)

>+ large disparity between CD manufacturing cost and "fair market
>  price" compared with just about any other storage media

This argument doesn't even belong here.  We buy things everyday that have
large differences between manufacturing cost and "fair market value" as
you put it.  Software is a good example.  Telephones are another. Shall I go
on ?

>+ most "interesting" CD-ROMs "out there" are tied to software
>  that only runs on MSDOS or Mac OS

Oh, and I suppose that simply not having it available at all on the NeXT will
certainly save us from this.  I must admit, not having that CD-ROM drive
on my NeXT makes me feel good that there aren't all those CDs out there 
that I can't read.  Of course, I can't read *any* of them because there's
no drive support.

>+ unattractive licensing terms have become the norm with CD-ROM
>  products

WHAT !?

>
>Now if NeXT wants to offer software on Exabyte 8200 cartridges,
>I'm listening.  :-)

YUCK!  Geez, if anything, make it DAT.  8mm drives are going to go the way of
78RPM records within a few years.  DAT is *so* much nicer.  For one thing,
it's intrinsically digital.  For another, it can be searched at >200 times
normal record/play speeds and supports start stop operation.

>
>					-=EPS=-


There.  Now I feel better.  Really.

-brian