sho@tybalt.caltech.edu (Sho Kuwamoto) (01/22/88)
In article <4708@watdragon.waterloo.edu> gjditchfield@violet.waterloo.edu (Glen Ditchfield) writes: > >(I think IBM sells machines with 1.44 megabyte 3.5" drives. Will such >higher-density drives be available for Macs? "Newer ROM upgrades", anyone?) > wasn't there a rumor about a 1.6M 3.5" drive? -Sho (sho@tybalt.caltech.edu, sho@caltech.bitnet, ...!cit-vax!tybalt!sho)
mcb@oddjob.UChicago.EDU (He Who Passes Through Locked Doors) (01/23/88)
Yes, I've heard a number of rumors about 1.6 Meg 3.5" drives. As you probably know, the Mac uses double sided, double density disk drives yielding .8M of storage. The rumor was that new drives will be coming out which will use quadruple density formatting for 1.6M. This is credible because 1) Some PC machines use quad density (I believe) to get about 1.2-1.4 Megs per disk. Since the Mac uses variable drive speed to get more storage on each disk, you would expect it to get a little more than the PCs. 2) The Integrated Woz Machine (the IC that controls the disk drives) is socketed in the MacII (and maybe in the SE). Apple doesn't normally socket chips, so they likely plan on upgrading the IWM. I wouldn't hold my breath, but I expect to see 1.6M drives eventually. -Matt -- Matt Bamberger "You think that because you understand _one_, 1005 E. 60th St., #346 you understand _two_, because one and one Chicago, IL 60637 makes two. But you must also understand 312-753-2261 _and_." -Sufi Master
lriggins@afit-ab.arpa (L. Maurice Riggins) (01/23/88)
In article <14268@oddjob.UChicago.EDU> mcb@oddjob.uchicago.edu.UUCP (He Who Passes Through Locked Doors) writes: <deleted text> > 2) The Integrated Woz Machine (the IC that controls the disk drives) > is socketed in the MacII (and maybe in the SE). Apple doesn't > normally socket chips, so they likely plan on upgrading the IWM. >I wouldn't hold my breath, but I expect to see 1.6M drives eventually. > -Matt From what I read in initial reports about the SE, it's IMZ was different and was clocked at 16 MHz to support the new 1.6 M drives. Don't know if the latter is mandatory, but the articles implied the former machines were clocked at the 8 MHz processor speed on the IMZ. -- Maurice lriggins@afit-ab.ARPA
t-jacobs@utah-cs.UUCP (Tony Jacobs) (01/24/88)
I heard from a reliable source that a few developers have been seeded with the 1.6 Meg. floppy drives. -- Tony Jacobs * Center for Engineering Design * U of U * t-jacobs@ced.utah.edu
gillies@uiucdcsp.cs.uiuc.edu (01/25/88)
I sure hope they go with 3.2Mb disks, even though the cost will
probably be much higher. I feel this way because:
(a) it has always been ridiculous to sell machines with a main memory
larger than the main disks. In the near future, multifinder will make
2Mb machines "standard" -- which would make 1.6Mb disks ridiculous.
(b) Once again it will be comfortable to run a floppy-only machine
with no disk-swap polka. This will make low-end macintoshes much more
competitive.
(c) The cost in software distribution is horrendous. Many companies
today must distribute 2,3,4, or 5 disks with their product. This
costs money because:
(1) The floppies themselves cost money, so does the extra duplication.
(2) developers have to hassle with packing everything tightly on the disks.
Are you listening Apple?
Don Gillies {ihnp4!uiucdcs!gillies} U of Illinois
{gillies@p.cs.uiuc.edu}