chuck@UMBC1.UMBC.EDU ("Chuck Rickard; ", PC) (07/07/89)
Did you here about the new removable hard disk drive from Toad Computers?
It's called the ToadFILE! It comes in many configurations, with it's basic
configuration being identical to the MEGAFILE 44. The big differences are
price and expandability. The basic ToadFILE 44 comes with the 44 meg
removable drive, one cartridge, metal case, and room for one more 5.25
drive (hard or floppy) for only $899!!!! That's $300 less than Atari's
drive, but with alot more possibilities. Other configurations include extra
hard drives ranging from 20 to 85 meg. The ToadFILE 129x gives you 85 megs
fixed and 44 megs removable for a total of, you guessed it, 129 megs! The
ToadFILE 129x only costs $1399!!!! And, the drives use ICD's formatting
software for reliable, trouble-free usage...
If you are interested, constact them at....
Toad Computers
556 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd.
Severna Park, MD 21146
(301) 544-6943
Chuck Rickard
UMBC Academic Computing
CHUCK@UMBCXorg@cup.portal.com (Peter Ted Szymonik) (07/08/89)
Toad's new drives sound great and I'll probably be picking one up, but I've been hearing that the drives aren't quite finished ye, so beware if you're put on a waiting list! Peter Szymonik Xorg@cup.portal.com
logic@wet.UUCP (Henry Kwan) (07/09/89)
In article <20228@cup.portal.com> Xorg@cup.portal.com (Peter Ted Szymonik) writes: > >Toad's new drives sound great and I'll probably be picking one up, >but I've been hearing that the drives aren't quite finished ye, >so beware if you're put on a waiting list! > Please report on the ToadFile44. I was really surprised to see it advertised for $899. This is by far the cheapest price I've seen for a SyQuest drive for *any* computer. Other drives are plain SCSI drives, Toad has to include an ICD host adapter also! I really don't see how they could be making much money with such a small margin unless they are selling direct to end users only and have great prices on their parts. -- Henry Kwan - "Bill & Opus '92" | What The ST Needs: claris!wet!logic@ames.arc.nasa.gov | A) 50 Mhz 68030/68882 cca.ucsf.edu!wet!logic@cgl.ucsf.edu | B) 1280x960x32 graphics {claris,ucsfcca,hoptoad,lamc}!wet!logic | C) 32-voice, stereo sound
stowe@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (Fox in Sox) (07/11/89)
[A lot of stuff about the ToadFile deleted...] Did anyone else out there besides me want to see a disclaimer on that thing? Yeah? I thought so... stowe@silver.indiana.bacs.edu At night the Ice Weasels come.
chuck@UMBC1.UMBC.EDU ("Chuck Rickard; ", PC) (07/18/89)
Well, as of 7/12/89, they had the drives in and were shipping! They did have
a bit of trouble with the ToadFILE 129x, but quickly solved the problem.
It seems as though ICD's host adapter didn't like having these two specific
SCSI devices running at the same time unless they were ID's 0 and 7. ICD
is now shipping new Host adapters that correct this problem. It's funny that
at the present time, Toad Computers are the only people in the country with
ICD Host Adapters and they will also be the first with the new version.
Chuck Rickard
UMBC Academic Computing
CHUCK@UMBCchuck@UMBC1.UMBC.EDU ("Chuck Rickard; ", PC) (07/19/89)
>Please report on the ToadFile44. I was really surprised to see it >advertised for $899. This is by far the cheapest price I've seen for a >SyQuest drive for *any* computer. Other drives are plain SCSI drives, Toad >has to include an ICD host adapter also! I really don't see how they could >be making much money with such a small margin unless they are selling direct >to end users only and have great prices on their parts. >-- > Henry Kwan - "Bill & Opus '92" | What The ST Needs: > claris!wet!logic@ames.arc.nasa.gov | A) 50 Mhz 68030/68882 > cca.ucsf.edu!wet!logic@cgl.ucsf.edu | B) 1280x960x32 graphics > {claris,ucsfcca,hoptoad,lamc}!wet!logic | C) 32-voice, stereo sound Well, from what I hear, Toad made a deal with some distributer for getting the SyQuest units at a great price. This enables him to sell the complete unit for a decent profit. This makes you think how much Atari will be making off their drive when they sell it. BTW, they are also selling the SCSI units by themselves for $699. Chuck Rickard UMBC Academic Computing CHUCK@UMBC Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Toad Computers officially. I am just a satisfied customer and an ST enthusiast.
covertr@gtephx.UUCP (Richard E. Covert) (07/24/89)
In article <8907181719.AA20870@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>, chuck@UMBC1.UMBC.EDU ("Chuck Rickard; ", PC) writes: > > > >Please report on the ToadFile44. I was really surprised to see it > making off their drive when they sell it. BTW, they are also selling the > SCSI units by themselves for $699. > I heard about Toad Computers from some files that Dave@Toad uploaded to GEnie. One file was a discussion of hard disk drive myths. another was the price list of their products. I needed to replace a Atari SH204 hd with a newer,faster, larger drive. TC had the best mail order prices around. I ordered my 85 meg drive on Thursday. I was told, since the following weekend was the Fourth of July weekend that TC wouldn't be able to ship before the next Wednesday. TC shipped on Friday, and I received it Tuesday morning. What I got was a Seagate 296N (85 meg with builtin SCSI controller), the ICD Host adapter, an old ICD boot disk, the ICD manual. The drive is in a shoe box dual drive cabinet and I can add a second drive at any time. I d/led the newest ICD software (3.21) from Genie, and reformatted and repartioned the new drive. I even set it up to auto-boot from the hard drive. The 3.21 ICD software included a program to rate the data transfer rate, and the average track-to-track access time. Here are the times from different drives: Seagate 65 meg drive Seagate 85 meg drive Xfer Rate 323 K/s 407 K/s Acc. 34 ms 28 ms So, the new Seagate drives are faster then my older Seagate drives. Anyway, the only faults I can find with my new TC drive is that the ICD software (which came with the ICD Host Adapter anyway) was outdated, and there was a loose screw on one the connectors in the back. Neither of which was necessarially TC's fault. All in all, I am happy with the quickness of my order with ToadComputers. I am happy with the drive and the contruction of the cabinet. Everything looks good. Oh one more thing. I ordered the dual drive shoebox cabinet because I can add the 44 meg removable drive mechanism at any time in the same cabinet. So, for an extra $699 I can have a backup system as well!! richard (gtephx!covertr) covert