bob@imsvax.UUCP (09/25/87)
Aside from the 800x600 graphics boards which are now showing up for $200-
$300 in Computer-Shopper ads, obviously intended to work with the NEC
Multisync, there is another new piece of technology hitting the market about
now which represents a revolutionary capability. Kodak is marketing a new kind
of floppy technology, with the mid-priced product, a 6 meg floppy, being sold
by most dealers for around $350, the controller board for about $130. Boxes
of the 6 meg floppies are going for about $100 (5/box), and will come down as
sales increase. Disk speeds are comparable to a slow hard disk. This is
essentially cheap and limitless storage; major software systems along with
data files could be kept on such floppies, simplifying organization tremendous-
ly. And, unlike the Bernoulli Box, the prices seem believeable and in line
with the realities of micro usage.
As usual, the only people left out of all this will be PS2 owners. When I
think of the myriad ways in which PS2s will lock their owners into yesterday
and out of the bright future I see evolving in micro systems, I am reminded
of the famous words of Judge Roy Bean, spoken to a Mexican who had been
apprehended stealing a sheep. As best I can recollect, the sentence which
the judge pronounced went as follows:
"Time shall pass; the seasons shall come and go. Spring with it's
waving green grass and flowers, and the sultry summer, and Autumn with
it's myriads of colors, and Winter, when all the land lies blanketed
in snow.... But you won't be here to see any of those things, cause
it's the order of this court that you be took to the nearest tree,
and hanged by the neck until you're DEAD, you foul-smellin, chille-eatin,
sheep-stealin son of a bitch!"
Ted Holden
HT Enterprises
burton@parcvax.Xerox.COM (Philip M. Burton) (09/26/87)
In article <769@imsvax.UUCP> bob@imsvax.UUCP (Bob Burch) writes: >by most dealers for around $350, the controller board for about $130. Boxes >of the 6 meg floppies are going for about $100 (5/box), and will come down as >sales increase. Disk speeds are comparable to a slow hard disk. This is >essentially cheap and limitless storage; major software systems along with >data files could be kept on such floppies, simplifying organization tremendous- >As usual, the only people left out of all this will be PS2 owners. When I > >Ted Holden Forgive my astonishment. Now that I've stopped laughing, I have to ask you to back up that statement about PS/2 owners not geting access to the new Kodak floppies. When I first read your posting, I thought that you were going to post a warning about the new floppies. I'm an old disk drive guy (I worked at Shugart during its heyday), and there have been lots of schemes for high capacity floppies. So far, the only commercial success has been IOmega, but that may soon be over, judging by their recent sales plunge. At one time, Shugart advanced engineering thought it could do a 10 MB floppy. (One of our customers called that an "unnatural act"). Then there was Amlyn, anyone remember them? Five megabytes, I think, using several floppies in a "jukebox". And then there was Drivetec, with about 3.2 MB on a 5 inch floppy. Both Amlyn and Drivetec have gone to /company/null. However, these are old stories. For every recent development in storage technology, there has been an instant implementation for the IBM PC family. Cause if you don't, you ain`t in the PC storage market. Why should this Kodak floppy be any different? Fundamentally, all floppies use the same interface, and someone, somewhere, will figure out a way to either tie the Kodak floppy to the PS/2's (and the PC's and the AT's) controlle or will build a controller. Probably Kodak themselves, using their subsidiary Data Technology Corporation. No big deal. Just real important for any chance for its market success. Guys, there seems to be an epidemic of IBM-bashing these days in this group. Feels great. Just remember how many people got rich betting against them, as opposed to the folks who got rich "helping" them with third party products. Sorry to go on so much, but I usually feel that I get good ideas from the net. I had to raise a stink about OS/2 and UNIX because I felt it was time to give back good ideas. Same about this floppy. -- Philip Burton burton@parcvax.COM ...!hplabs!parcvax!burton Xerox Corp. preferred path: burton.osbunorth@xerox.COM 408 737 4635 ... usual disclaimers apply ...
emv@pepe.cc.umich.edu (Ed Vielmetti) (09/26/87)
In article <537@parcvax.Xerox.COM> burton@parcvax.xerox.com.UUCP (Philip M. Burton) writes: % In article <769@imsvax.UUCP> bob@imsvax.UUCP (Bob Burch) writes: % >by most dealers for around $350, the controller board for about $130. Boxes % >of the 6 meg floppies are going for about $100 (5/box), and will come down as % >sales increase. Disk speeds are comparable to a slow hard disk. This is % > % >Ted Holden % % Forgive my astonishment. Now that I've stopped laughing, I have to ask you % to back up that statement about PS/2 owners not geting access to the new % Kodak floppies. If I remember right, PS/2 owners are going to want to stay away from the "new" Kodak floppies. These mutants have been around for a while; there was a machine from Kaypro called the "Robie" (huh?), a cp/m machine, that used them a couple years ago. Word was they were slow, unreliable, and media was expensive and hard to find. ($20 for a 6 meg floppy? I'm not going to pay $20 for any magnetic medium unless it's got a metal shell around it. No way.) PS/2 (and real ms-dos machines hopefully soon) already have access to 1.4 meg 3 1/2" media using normal technology. If anyone from Kodak is on the net, please prove me wrong; it would be real great to back up my 20 meg hard disk with 4 floppies. But what do I back up the floppies with?! Edward Vielmetti, U-Michigan Workstation Group, Ann Arbor MI 48109 emv@umix.cc.umich.edu ; {uunet,rutgers}!umix!emv ; (313) 747-3744