geoffs@brl-smoke.ARPA (Geoffrey Sauerborn ) (01/19/86)
Review: HIPPO RAMDISK for the Atari ST Price $29.95 Manufacturer Hippopotamus Software Inc. 985 University Ave, Suite 12 Los Gatos, CA 95030 (408) 395-3190 Version 1.0 Documentation -little- Copy Protection YES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: The Hippo RAMdisk has a nice GEM-driven menu/installation program used to create RAMdisks from 1k to 4 MegaBytes. However with TOS in RAM, an active workbench (open windows, reconfigured Control Panel), let alone an application program running, one quickly finds the practical limit to the RAMdisk is rather small for a "disk". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Description: A RAMdisk is created by running the program and chosing options from the menu. The program uses a GEM environment so options are chosen by selecting the desired pop down menu with the mouse. With a RAMdisk installed, a new disk drive token appears on the GEM desk top labeled "H". This is the RAMdisk and it is accessed just as any other disk in GEM. The installation program creates 3 files which are used at boot-up time to create a RAMdisk. I have found that I can make RAMdisks of various sizes saving these 3 files in sub directorys [Folders] on the boot-up disk. To change the RAMdisk's size I only need copy these files to the main directory and reboot the system. RAMdisk size limitations: With GEM loaded the largest RAM disk that can be created on a 512k ST is only 72k. Attempts at making larger size RAMdisks either crash the RAMdisk installation program or crash the ST upon booting up. You may find that other programs will not run with too large a disk. ST WRITER runs OK with a 72k RAMdisk installed, but only 16K of space is available for your text. MEGAROIDS and BOING will not run with an installed RAMdisk larger than 2k bytes! (This may not be the case with an expanded ST or TOS in ROM. With my single drive and a RAMdisk and I am able to copy numerous files to and fro avoiding the usual 4-swaps-per-file. But without more RAM, I don't think it will be big enough for things like compile-linking without the disk swaps of a single drive system. Without memory-hungry GEM there may be enough room, but I do not know whether the RAMdisk will run apart from GEM. And the largest RAMdisk that can be created using the GEM-driven menu is 72K! I guess I just have to invest $50 for a 1-Meg upgrade or wait for the ROMs. Little Help from Documentation: It is a good thing that the GEM menu of the installation program is so intuitive, because programming instructions are minimal at best. No "hard-copy" instructions come with the disk. The only instructions is from a one page (<=66lines) direction sheet (I don't dare call it a manual!). This direction sheet is read by selecting a "help" menu from the RAM disk program and clicking the mouse on the only help option called "show manual". The directions are then printed on your monitor screen. These instructions say to adjust the size of the RAMdisk until you have no problems running other programs. If the RAMdisk is too large, then trying to run a program will result in an immediate return to GEM (if you're lucky), "mushrooms" appearing and/or a crashed ST (if your are not so lucky. Other than this there are NO instructions. I guess I have grown accustom to the "idiot proof" 400 page manuals (ah-la WordStar and other MSDOS/CMP products). These big manuals usually start off by telling what a smart person you are for buying this wonderful product, and that you will now become more organized, spell correctly, be admired by friends and colleagues, and have fewer cavities. It then will cover in minute detail how to make a backup copy of your program using the <drum roll please> OPERATING SYSTEM commands like "copy". It then takes you step by step into running the program..."now place disk into dive A:"...etc. I certainly am no worse for the wear by not having another 3-inch manual lying around. But what of someone who does not know a byte from a snack? Well, perhaps Hippo thought that such a person would not know (or care) what a RAMdisk is, much less want to use one.