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From: FXDDR@ALASKA.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: 10 MB floppies
Message-ID: <8710080142.AA20551@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Wed, 7-Oct-87 16:02:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8710080142.AA20551
Posted: Wed Oct  7 16:02:00 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Oct-87 16:39:54 EDT
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I see in ST Applications that Supra is announcing a 10 MB floppy disk
drive for $899.  The subject came up in some of the other forums...
they claim 5.25" disks that cost about $20 each will be used.  Do
the disks use the same mechanically inferior packaging as regular
5.25" disks (ie, flexible sleeves, exposed disk surface, and poorly
(if at all) re-inforced holes)?
Given the costs, the advantage over hard disk sounds kind of marginal,
especially if they use the same self-destructing disk construction that
I came to know and loathe in the old days.  (Actually, I just lost a
couple of PC disks because I took them home in my pack sack.  I've
carried ST disks around in the pack for weeks with no ill effect.)
Surely with 10 MB at stake they would design a casing that is a bit
more robust.  No?
Has anybody actually seen the Supra drive (or the similar devices coming
out for other machines)?  Or do any of them actually exist yet?
The next question is whether all the 10 meg drives will use a compatible
format.  I think the Supra announcement said that it would read PC and
AT disks as well as the 10 meg variety.  If the 10 meg disks are
interchangeable among brands, that would be a major selling point.
I heard that a Mac version is in the works.  Could it be (gasp) that
Mac users will finally have something akin to a standard disk format
at their disposal?  Egad.  No, I'm sure they'll think of some way to
make sure nobody can read their disks...maybe DES encryption.
Don
FXDDR@ALASKA.bitnet