info-mac@uw-beaver (info-mac) (07/16/84)
From: Edward.Tecot@CMU-CS-H I recently got to see both the Davong and Tecmar hard disk systems. Here's the scoop: They both use the RS422 port, as far as the Mac is concerned, they are AppleBus devices. Neither can be booted directly, you must insert a 'master' disk first. Once they are up, however, the hard disk supports the system, so the master can be put aside (until you get a system error). Both of the systems are slow as far as hard disks go, however, the Davong is faster than the Tecmar, which is a noticable improvement over the internal floppy. The Tecmar supports removable 5-meg cartriges, the Davong supports larger storage sizes (10, 15, 21, 32, 40 meg). The Davong also seems to be more reliable, but it does have its drawbacks. For one, the Tecmar sports an additional 9-pin connector on its back, unlike the Davong. In addition, the Davong is quite a bit wider than the Mac, the Tecmar being slightly higher, but matching the Mac's footprint. Finally, the Davong is more expensive, a ballpark figure showed the Davong to be about $400 more for units of the same size. I prefer the Davong, however, I am hoping for a unit that will be able to go onto the external drive connector. As a side note, it is rumored that Haba Systems will be producing a 1meg version of the external disk drive. _emt