Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!bbn!rochester!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!hal!nic.MR.NET!tank!mimsy!eneevax!haven!purdue!decwrl!hplabs!hpda!hpcuhb!hpcllla!hpclisp!hpclkms!ken
From: ken@hpclkms.HP.COM (Kenneth Sumrall)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: Re: Was: Re: Need a cassette tape drive.
Message-ID: <1270012@hpclkms.HP.COM>
Date: 2 Nov 88 22:48:43 GMT
References: <31302@bbn.COM>
Organization: HP NSG/ISD California Language Lab
Lines: 29

/ hpclkms:comp.sys.atari.8bit / charles@c3sw.uucp (Charles Green) /  5:56 pm  Nov  1, 1988 /
In article <4408@bsu-cs.UUCP> cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (Christopher Chiesa) writes:

>> I HAVE heard, however, from a friend who got the new XM551 drive and does NOT
>>   like it...
>
>I have the Atari 1050 disk drive, and DO like it, although I wish it did "true"
>double density, with twice the data storage of single-density, rather than
>half again.  And imagine what 512-byte sector support could do for program
>interchange: "Sure, I can read that PC-DOS diskette!" (Happy Computers Inc,
>are you listening?).^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yes, they have listened.  If you format an IBM PC disk single sided, 9 sector
double density, you can convert files back and forth between the atari and the
IBM PC.  Unfortunately, you cannot format IBM disks on the Atari since the
1050 ignores the sector hole, and the IBM doesn't.

BTW, on MS-DOS 3.x, to format a disk single sided with 9 sector tracks, type:
   format /1 a:

It works quite nicely.  I use it to move lots of software from usenet to
my atari.  (Save the file to my workstation, walk over to the vectra, and FTP
the file to the vectra.  Take disk home, and convert file to Atari disk.  No
more fighting with Xmodem, Kermit and other stuff!)

Kenneth Sumrall
ken%hpclkms@hplabs.hp.com
...!hplabs!hpclkms!ken