Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!osu-cis!att!att-ih!ihnp4!cord!nsw
From: nsw@cord.UUCP (N Weinstock)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: 2090A questions for C-A
Message-ID: <566@cord.UUCP>
Date: 20 Apr 88 14:11:48 GMT
References: <565@cord.UUCP> <50052@sun.uucp>
Reply-To: nsw@cord.UUCP (59455-N Weinstock)
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Liberty Corner
Lines: 53

In article <50052@sun.uucp> cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis) writes:
>In article <565@cord.UUCP> nsw@cord.UUCP (N Weinstock) writes:
>> I have two very simple questions for Commodore concerning the 2090A hard
>> disk controller.  
>
>"Simple" is a matter of opinion. Both your questions ask "Would Commodore
>please cut it's leg off by telling us when they think the 2090a will be
>out so that we won't have to worry about buying 2090s."

Perhaps I should've put a smiley after "simple."  I didn't know if the
availability date of the 2090A was common knowledge or not.  Apparently not.

>To wit :
>> 1)  Roughly when will it be available?  Next week?  Next month?  Next year?
>> If it's going to be a while then I won't wait for it, and will get a 2090.
>
>If they give you a date and miss it what happens? You are pissed off because
>you want a controller *now*, and their sales of 2090's dry up because they
>claim to have a 2090a on the way. Fact of the matter is C= doesn't know to
>much about hardware schedules, and inevitably their early guesses are wrong.
>They seem to recognize the problem and are choosing to keep silent until
>they have a high degree of confidence that such a thing would actually 
>ship. Even worse, if *you* tell someone else that the 2090a will be out at
>some such date and C= misses it *you* look bad. So it isn't a simple question
>at all. The answer is, and continues to be 
>"The 2090 hard disk controller is available now for those who want a C=
> hard disk controller."

I was curious because I have seen just about every other future product 
discussed to death here, but only very slight mention of the 2090A.  I 
understand the problems with announcing future product dates.  If you tell me
(and I guess you have) that the only possible answer to when the 2090A will be 
coming out is "at some unspecified time in the future," then I am satisfied 
with that, and will go out and get a 2090.  I just like to know the story
before I plunk down my money.

>Now there may be an alternative specifically :
>
>	Consider the following scenario, if the mythical 1.3 really does
>	have an autobooting recoverable RAM disk like Amiga Sentry claimed
>	Then you can have the startup sequence on the RAM disk start up a
>	2090 controller. Also rumor has it that if you auto boot you need
>	to have a slow file system partition, with the ram disk approach
>	your hard disk could be 100% fast file system.

An interesting scenario; I was unaware of this capability.

>--Chuck McManis

.- -- .. --. .- .-. ..- .-.. . ... .- -- .. --. .- .-. ..- .-.. . ...
|  Neil Weinstock | ihnp4!cord!nsw   | "I think my cerebellum just  |
|  AT&T Bell Labs | nsw@cord.att.com |      fused." - Calvin        |
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