Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!UIAMVS.BITNET!AWCTTYPA
From: AWCTTYPA@UIAMVS.BITNET ("David A. Lyons")
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: polling Unidisk 3.5s in GS Finder
Message-ID: <8903081721.aa22776@SMOKE.BRL.MIL>
Date: 8 Mar 89 22:11:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 28

>Date:         Tue, 7 Mar 89 06:33:42 GMT
>From:         Richard Sherman Payne
>              <imagen!atari!portal!cup.portal.com!-Rich-@UCBVAX.BERKELEY.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: GS/OS and programming standard
>
>After all this discussion, I'm amazed that nobody has figured out
>what was meant by "polling the drives," under GS/OS with a Unidisk. I
>*had* my old unidisk with my system at first. When I used GS/OS, it
>would check the drive every half second or so. I guess that the
>Unidisk cannot tell if there is a disk inserted, so the OS just keeps
>checking.  [...]
>
>  Rich
>  -Rich-@cup.portal.com

Why do you think nobody has "figured out" what polling the drives
is?

The Finder (_not_ GS/OS) polls all the 3.5 drives, not just Unidisks,
about twice a second.  The Unidisk 3.5s make much more noise,
though--more than under ProDOS 16, since the UNIDISK3.5 driver under
GS/OS reads more information from the drive during a status call.
I've been told that not a lot can be done about it.

 --David A. Lyons              bitnet: awcttypa@uiamvs
   DAL Systems                 CompuServe:  72177,3233
   P.O. Box 287                GEnie mail:    D.LYONS2
   North Liberty, IA 52317     AppleLinkPE: Dave Lyons