WMartin@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL (William G. Martin) (07/12/89)
Please forgive what is probably a rather dumb and obvious query. I am a UNIX type, and not too familiar with micros yet. I know there are differences in various brands of diskettes, based on looking at sales literature and seeing price variations. Do any of the micro-oriented magazines run articles containing comparative ratings of diskettes by brand, the way other consumer magazines compare audio and video tape at times? Have there been any such articles published recently? I am contemplating the purchase of a word processor for my wife that uses SS/DD 3.5 inch diskettes. I have a bunch of the standard mail-order micro accessory catalogs (Inmac, Misco, Global, etc.) and local discount office- supply dealers. In those, this type of diskette sells in the $1-$2 each range, depending on brand and quantity. However, I ran across a comment on the net recently in which the poster mentioned that "he can buy 3.5" diskettes for 59 cents each these days." Should I be looking at ads in the back or classified sections of PC magazines, or Computer Shopper, to get such a much-lower price, or are the diskettes being sold at that price "white-box" unbranded varieties that are not reliable and which I should avoid? I certainly don't want to indulge in false economy, saving a few cents each on 50 or so diskettes, only to find later on that they are unreadable and the data on them is lost. But, also, I don't want to foolishly throw away money by spending twice as much as necessary for supplies. Advice in this area will be appreciated. Thanks for any responses! Regards, Will Martin -------