info-mac@uw-beaver (info-mac) (07/20/84)
From: Kevin <Mackey.PA@XEROX.ARPA> At the NCC, without any fanfare, Corvus was showing a hard disk for the Mac. The big difference between it and other hard disks is the ability to configure the disk with multiple volumes, 2 of which can be mounted at a time (they are displayed on the desktop as floppies). Access to the volumes to mount is through the mount manager icon (looks like a system file). You're given a pop-up menu listing the volumes, and you select the ones to mount. Also, it was said to be significantly faster than others. The V.P. of Corvus, Mr. Hahn, said that this allowed >125 files to be available, since the Finder's 125 file limit will limit single volume hard disks. (Has an updated version of the Finder been released which corrects this problem, or is it a question of available memory to describe files?) Anyway, a guy at Tecmar's booth said that was not the case, that his disk could handle > 125 files, but I didn't wait around long enough for him to make them all (it was taking a long time, partly since he wasn't familiar with the Mac). Specs (note that Davong's "peak transfer rate" is 100 KB/sec; and Tecmar's "communication speed" is listed as 720KB/sec (max) and 230KB (Applebus)): Height: 5", Width: 10", Depth: 14.25", Weight: 11-13 lbs. Storage Capacities (Megabytes) and pricing: 5.5 $1,795 11.1 $2,495 16.6 $3,195 45.1 $4,995 Transfer rate: 730 kilobytes/sec, Disk rotation speed: 3,600 RPM Operating temp: 50 to 104 deg F, Humidity: 20 to 80% non condensing Altitude: -1,000 to 10,000 feet ~Kevin
info-mac@uw-beaver.UUCP (07/21/84)
From: Piersol.pasa@XEROX.ARPA My friends at Corvus told me much the same thing, but added that the Corvus drive works through the external drive port rather than the RS-422. They also tell me that the system can be booted from the hard disk directly on the prototype versions. Does anyone else know whether these assertions are true? (If they are, this would seem to make the Corvus drive a big winner! These are the things I'd most want in a Mac hard disk.).