evans@mhuxt.UUCP (crandall) (08/06/85)
We have just received our MacBottom and I have had a few hours to fool around with it. These are initial comments, a more complete review will follow.. The unit is quite compact and light - it serves as a plinth that the Mac sits on top of. You can connect it to either the printer or communications port. If connected to the printer port it serves as a print spooler. Power comes from a separate cable, but the off/on signal comes from the Mac itself. The thing is reasonably quiet as hard disks go -- I'm sensitive to noise and don't find the unit as objectionable as the IBM PC fan. It also seems fast for a Macdrive -- I haven't timed anything, but it seems much faster than a Tecmar unit I used several months ago (it doesn't "feel" as fast as the Hyperdrive -- I can't see how it could compete considering its serial port connection). You have to use a startup disk to boot the thing, but you do get variable sized volumes, disk backup and everyathing else that the early first generation drives lacked. The fact that I got my unit should be great news for all of you people waiting for Apple's 20 Meg drive. I have a history of buying things just as something is introduced with a much better price/performance ratio. more later as I shake it down Steve Crandall ihnp4!mhuxt!evans the opinions above are entirely my own and lack any coupling with the opinions of my employeer, wife, or ferrets