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From: pete@utgpu.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: IBM high dense (ity) drives
Message-ID: <1987Jun27.013207.9477@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu>
Date: Sat, 27-Jun-87 01:32:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: gpu.1987Jun27.013207.9477
Posted: Sat Jun 27 01:32:07 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Jun-87 12:39:48 EDT
References: <12901@topaz.rutgers.edu> <1612@oliveb.UUCP>
Reply-To: pete@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Peter Santangeli)
Organization: University of Toronto Computing Services
Lines: 46
Checksum: 60580

In article <1612@oliveb.UUCP> dragon@oliveb.UUCP (Give me a quarter or I'll touch you) writes:
>in article <12901@topaz.rutgers.edu>, lachac@topaz.rutgers.edu (Gerard Lachac) says:
>> In article <1502@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> braner@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (braner) writes:
>>>Question: will Atari convert the STs to a 1.4-Megabyte disk format compatible
>>>with the new IBM PS/2 machines?
>>>
>>>- Moshe Braner
>> 
>> If I'm not mistaken, aren't the drives on the PS/2 series using some kind of
>> propriatory drive/controller combo that makes them ultra expensive?? (and also
>> not compatible with the drives in the current ST's)
>But is it so important?  The going price for 2 mb 3.5" floppies is about $6
>a piece.  I prefer taking more room with the smaller disks :-)

	I've never been a big IBM fan, but there latest move with the
PS/2 line strikes me as being unbelievable unfair to users.

1. IBM machines are used mostly in business environments.
2. probably 60% of all PC in business environments have hard drives. This
   figure is rising extrordinarily fast as the price of hard drives come
   down, and managers become aware of the floppies limitations.

Where does this leave the floppy? It becomes (or will become) a medium
simply for the EXCHANGE and distribution of data. (Sort of like in a
tape in a unix environment, only it is pretty ugly to back up an Hdrive
to floppy).
	Thus the obvious question becomes WHY introduce a machine with
an order of 2 or 4 storage increase on FLOPPIES, at the expense of
making all older machines incompatible.

	Simple. Sales. (No Guff!). IBM saw a great oportunity to 
introduce some planned obsolesence into there line. Now all managers
will have to have AT LEAST one PS/2 in there department, if ANY
manager has one. Simply in order to read disks.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE atari. DON'T introduce another disk format (1 vs.
2 sides is *MORE* than enough!). Instead, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE work on
introducing a cheaper 20meg drive. There is really no reason that they
shouldn't be selling for less than $700 CANADIAN.
	I can handle buggy software, and poor (if any?) documentation,
but if Atari were to become like IBM, I would shrink into a dark corner
and cry until the age of the micro was over!!!


Pete Santangeli
pete@utgpu