ajq@mace.cc.purdue.edu (John O'Malley) (07/25/89)
Microtech International, makers of the Nova line of hard disk drives for the Mac, says that they'll give you up to $200 towards the purchase of one of their products if you send in your old disk drive. Their ad on page 37 of this week's MacWEEK (25 July) says that they'll take anyone's drive ... working or not. With all the talk lately (from Chuq et al) about dead Jasmine hard disks ... maybe this could be a solution. So ... what's our consensus about Microtech products and service? Good? Bad? Fast? Slow? Quiet? Anyone tried the trade-in? (I'm not looking to buy a hard drive, so please _post_ your replies.) John O'Malley / Macintosh / Purdue University / (317) mace.cc.purdue.edu!ajq / Specialist / Computing Center / 494-1787
ericsc@microsoft.UUCP (Eric Schlegel) (07/25/89)
In article <2774@mace.cc.purdue.edu> ajq@mace.cc.purdue.edu (John O'Malley) writes: >Microtech International, makers of the Nova line of hard disk drives >for the Mac, says that they'll give you up to $200 towards the purchase >...of one of their products if you send in your old disk drive. > >So ... what's our consensus about Microtech products and service? Good? >Bad? Fast? Slow? Quiet? Anyone tried the trade-in? > I strongly recommend against Nova drives. Microtech has a contract with Dartmouth College to supply Nova drives to the computing center there. I've seen the drives of two of my friends die (one of those drives, after being fixed and failing a second time, was eventually replaced) and the repair shop at Dartmouth runs a full-time business fixing Novas. Eric Schlegel ---- These opinions are my own. Neither Microsoft, where I'm working, nor Dartmouth College, where I'm a student, is responsible for these opinions.
isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Ken Hancock) (07/26/89)
In article <7075@microsoft.UUCP> ericsc@microsoft.UUCP (Eric Schlegel) writes: > >I strongly recommend against Nova drives. Microtech has a contract with >Dartmouth College to supply Nova drives to the computing center there. >I've seen the drives of two of my friends die (one of those drives, after >being fixed and failing a second time, was eventually replaced) and the >repair shop at Dartmouth runs a full-time business fixing Novas. While what Eric says is true (actually we -had- a contract with them, it's currently with Everex who is going down the tubes...), I'll point out that I've had a Nova 30 (Microtech) for two years which has performed flawlessly. In addition, they do have a five year warranty. Since I haven't had any problems, I can't say how reliable their service department is. On a side note, seeing how Jasmine is having huge problems, if something happens to your Jasmine, I doubt you'll get much out of them. For those MacWeek enthusiasts who are looking to buy a hard disk at a good price, check out this week's issue, page 28 -- GCC Technologies has just announced a new line of hard disks with good prices and zero-footprint design. Disclaimer: Although I'm working for GCC Technologies this summer, I'm not going to make anything off of your buying a drive... Ken Ken Hancock '90 | BITNET/UUCP/ Personal Computing Ctr Consultant | INTERNET: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu -----------------------------------+---------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER? I don't get paid enough to worry about disclaimers.
siritzky@mfci.UUCP (Brian Siritzky) (07/26/89)
In article <2774@mace.cc.purdue.edu> ajq@mace.cc.purdue.edu (John O'Malley) writes: >Microtech International, makers of the Nova line of hard disk drives >for the Mac, says that they'll give you up to $200 towards the purchase >of one of their products if you send in your old disk drive. > >Their ad on page 37 of this week's MacWEEK (25 July) says that they'll >take anyone's drive ... working or not. > >So ... what's our consensus about Microtech products and service? Good? >Bad? Fast? Slow? Quiet? Anyone tried the trade-in? > I called them to see what they would offer for a working 20Mb LoDown Drive. (Remember Lo-Down -- very apt name!) At the time they didn't have a price schedule, even though the ad had been in MacWeek for two weeks. Anyway, when the did come up with a price they offered me $20!! Forget it! What do I need to do to get the $200? It really wasn't worth it for me, but they may make good deals for people with dead Jasmines. By strange coincidence, Microtech's offices are directly across the road from mine. A couple of times I have gone over there to ask for info. They are always friendly, but they have never let me in the office. They always send a salesman out to talk to me in the hallway. Most of their sales are done by mail/phone, and they are not equipped to talk face to face with customers. I had wanted to look at their 45 Meg Removable cartridge drive. They could not show me one, I had to go to a nearby dealer to see it. Also, one of my collegues has bought a tape drive and memory from them. He was happy with their service and product. =============================================================================== Brian Siritzky siritzky@Multiflow.com Multiflow Computer, Inc., ...!yale!mcfi!siritzky 31 Business Park Drive, Branford, CT 06405 (203) 488-6090 ================================================================================
cramer@sun.com (Sam Cramer) (07/26/89)
In article <14646@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU>, isle@eleazar (Ken Hancock) writes: >For those MacWeek enthusiasts who are looking to buy >a hard disk at a good price, check out this week's issue, >page 28 -- GCC Technologies has just announced a new line >of hard disks with good prices and zero-footprint design. I seem to recall that in the dim, dark hyperdrive past, GCC had a pretty lousy reputation. Haven't heard anything about them in the past few years, though. Sam
mjkobb@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Michael J Kobb) (07/26/89)
In article <117752@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> cramer@sun.com (Sam Cramer) writes: >I seem to recall that in the dim, dark hyperdrive past, GCC had a pretty >lousy reputation. Haven't heard anything about them in the past few years, >though. Well, if I recall correctly, GCC's lousy reputation came primarily from their internal hyperdrive series, which was in fact not really very robust. I've seen many a Mac with their insignia stuck to the case, but with a dead drive inside, or an empty space where the drive used to be before it died. However, I own a GCC Hyperdrive FX/20. The X in the designation stands for eXternal (it sits beside the Mac, not under). It's 2.5 years old now, and has never crashed or had any difficulties whatever. It's also quite fast. My only gripe is that it sometimes must be power-cycled before it will mount (1 in every 25 starts or so). I really don't mind that. If the new drives are "zero-footprint" in the sense that they are external, but sit under the Mac, then I would seriously consider one. I've been looking to expand my storage, anyway... --Mike Kobb Disclaimer: I don't work for them, I'm just a happy customer. The opinions expressed are mine.
edg@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (edwin.g.green) (07/26/89)
In article <117752@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> cramer@sun.com (Sam Cramer) writes: >In article <14646@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU>, isle@eleazar (Ken Hancock) writes: >>page 28 -- GCC Technologies has just announced a new line >>of hard disks with good prices and zero-footprint design. > >I seem to recall that in the dim, dark hyperdrive past, GCC had a pretty >lousy reputation. Haven't heard anything about them in the past few years, >though. I just performed a lobotomy on my Plus to remove a HyperDrive 20. It worked pretty well with the 512, but when I upgraded, it would trash sectors any time you powered down. It was also very noisy (GCC adds a fan).
rob@cbnewsk.ATT.COM (rob) (07/27/89)
From article <2774@mace.cc.purdue.edu>, by ajq@mace.cc.purdue.edu (John O'Malley): > Microtech International, makers of the Nova line of hard disk drives > for the Mac, says that they'll give you up to $200 towards the purchase ^^^^^ BE CAREFULL! > of one of their products if you send in your old disk drive. I called them up regarding this. I asked HOW MUCH I would get for my dead SuperMac XP20, and was told $50. I asked what I would have to trade in to get the maximum $200, and was told it was depended on the size of the disk being traded in *AND* on the size of the disk you were purchasing. If you trade in a 300MB drive on *their* 300MB drive, you get the $200 off. Anything smaller gets you less off..... .....rob