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From: hakanson@mist.cs.orst.edu (Marion Hakanson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: 10 MB floppies
Message-ID: <449@orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU>
Date: Thu, 8-Oct-87 19:00:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: orstcs.449
Posted: Thu Oct  8 19:00:17 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 11-Oct-87 09:45:55 EDT
References: <8710080142.AA20551@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Sender: netnews@orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU
Reply-To: hakanson@mist.UUCP (Marion Hakanson)
Organization: Oregon State Universtiy - CS - Corvallis, Oregon
Lines: 34

In article <8710080142.AA20551@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> FXDDR@ALASKA.BITNET writes:
>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)?

The floppies look "normal" except for the sticker that gives an
outrageously large tracks per inch figure.

>Given the costs, the advantage over hard disk sounds kind of marginal,

I asked them "why" too (esp. regarding the wear), and was told that
they were intended mostly as an inexpensive backup device (compared to
cartridge tapes, or 50 normal floppies, etc.).  Supposedly, the access
time is pretty fast, even on a par with some old slow 10M hard drives.

>Has anybody actually seen the Supra drive (or the similar devices coming
>out for other machines)?  Or do any of them actually exist yet?
> . . .
>Don
>FXDDR@ALASKA.bitnet

Yes, I saw a prototype from Supra at an ST Users Club meeting here
last month (Corvallis is about 10 miles from Albany, OR, where Supra
is located).  This was prior to the release notice, so an engineer
from Supra was there showing stuff off.  Most people were busy playing
with the Mega ST-4, so not much attention was given to the 10M floppy.
If I had a 60M hard drive to back up, then I might consider it.

Marion Hakanson         Domain: hakanson@cs.orst.edu
                        CSNET : hakanson%cs.orst.edu@relay.cs.net
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