bill@hao.UUCP (Bill Roberts) (10/14/86)
Since asking people about the quality of the DataFrame20 hard disk I've been
inundated with responses and requests to pass on what I hear. Hence I'm giving
a compiled review of the responses I've received.
PROBLEMS WITH THE DATAFRAME20:
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1) I had a number or problems with the first one I bought (about two weeks
ago) related to occasional system crashes and a serious crash in which I
icons begain to be corrupted before the entire drive slowed down to a
snails pace. I eventually gave up trying to replace systems,etc. and
instead backed everything up (10 800K floppies) and reinited the the whole
thing. I was still not convinced that everything was working again, so I
took it back to the store (ComputerWare, in Palo Alto, CA) where they gave
me a new one with no arguements.
For the record, despite the fact that I'm a very experienced Mac owner,
I'm still not sure what cause the problem. I had been adding fonts/DAs
and had been messing around with FEDIT+ (which I've used before with no
problem). At this point, I wouldn't state under oath that the DF was the
source of the problem and not something I did.
Incidentally, ComputerWare indicated that they had had a number of
problems with the DF recently, related to software (a new initializer/
driver supposedly corrected the problem) and occasional hardware problems
(i.e. some people who bought the DF at ComputerWare have left it on for
months without a problem. Others have had to exchange it four times
before they got one that worked).
The second one I got seems to be working fine. I have left it on for four
days straight (burn that sucker in) and it always boots and I've had no
crashes yet.
2) The only problem I have seen reported and acted on is that the washer
which is supposed to remove static electricity tends to start making
noises. But you can simply bend it back and disable it - supposedly new
DFs don't even have it anymore ....
4) Has anyone had any substantial problems with the DataFrame20?
The first one I picked up had some soft errors in the catalog
area. I took it back and exchanged it with SuperMac's blessing.
They have great service, will send you a replacement that crosses
in shipment with your return.
SOFTWARE FOR THE DATAFRAME20:
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1) Spooler software (works well with text and graphics. Bombs on Shift-
Command-4, despite it's claim to the contrary. Of course, running it is
optional), Init software, Backup software (see #3 below), Parker software
("parks" the head for transport) and a few sharewar programs.
4) Currently the driver type stuff is included. They are just
starting to ship a backup program and print spooler.
QUALITY OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE:
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1) As I said, the spooler is fine on text/graphics but bombs on screen dumps.
The backup software (which looks potentially good, similar to HFS backup)
is version 0.81 beta. Although it ran ok (and made me shuffle in 10
disks) the first time I tried it, it bombed on the last disk (it may have
been related to the HD crash). The unfortunate thing, however, is that
after I reinited the drive, the backup program refused to recognize its
own backup files (Grrrr!). I know it's beta, but you've got to be
kidding! I haven't contacted the company yet to find out if they have a
newer version of the backup program.
2) From the lack of problem reports and personal experience I conclude that
it is great.
4) I've had lot's of trouble with the print spooler and inevitably wind up
going back to MaxPrint after trying a beta release. The driver stuff is
pretty standard. I haven't seen the backup stuff yet.
BEST PRICE:
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1) My best price was $830 at...
ComputerWare
109 California, Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(415) 323-7557
2) Developers can get it for $700.00
4) I think I paid $840. At ComuterWare in Palo Alto...
MISC:
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1) As a final opinion, the DF still seem like a pretty good drive, although
with the problems that seem to be occuring, it might be a good idea to
wait a couple of weeks/monthes to see if the problems are taken care of or
reoccur. I still like the looks/feel and quiet (!) of the DF better than
any other drive. A couple of others that I liked also were the HD20 by
MDIdeas, and the 20Meg by either Mirror Tech or Warp Tech (as I
understand, they're the same drive in a slightly different box.
3) I've had mine for 3 months now, and if i was going to get another hard
drive it would be another DataFrame. I've had no problems except with
their backup program, but then no other manufacturer provides a backup
program. It comes with enough cabling to go to a Mac+. Best price
around here is $830 at ComputerWare in Palo Alto (they do mail orders).
REFERENCES:
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ref. # Name e-mail address
1) Andy West ...!bnrmtv!west
2) Werner Uhrig ...!ut-ngp!werner
3) Julian Gomez {...decvax!decwrl!julian@icarus.riacs.edu}
4) David Berry ...!well!dwb
I hope this helps and is reasonably accurate.
--Bill