snoopy@ixos.UUCP (Snoopy Schmitz) (12/19/89)
Dear Net, we are a small software company in W. Germany and we have just completed a NFS compatible server for CD-ROMs (that is the CD-ROM file system looks like a UNIX one to the rest of the world). I hope these groups are right for posting: its a bit difficult with these interdisciplinary things... We have some questions regarding CD-ROMs: 1- Who makes CD-ROM mastering software ? Is there any under UNIX ? 1a - What format do CD-makers want as input for the mastering of the CD-ROMs ? Can I give them a tar/cpio tape and they will make High Sierra out of it ? Which are the relevant standards ? Do the de facto standards differ ? 2- where can we find a list of *all* currently available CD-ROMS ? (i.e. is there something analogous to "Books in Print" ?) 3- A lot of the CD-ROMs come out of the MS-DOS world...consequently a lot of files are kept in the ARC format. Is there any PD implementation of a program able to understand the .arc files and unpack them under UNIX ? 4- Which are good CD-ROM readers ? We have heard the Toshiba one is meant to be the fastest (whatever that means). Is this true ? Can you recommend one ? 4a- Are there any CD-ROM jukeboxes ? (We need a SCSI interface for all devices). Please mail me - I will gladly summarise to the net if there is enough interest...but I will be away over Christmas (Dec. 21st until 8th January 90), so please a) don't fret if I do not reply by e-mail in the interim b) be patient with the summary. c) please don't post your reply to the net - I will surely miss it... Thank you in advance for all your help. Have a merry X-mas and a phenomenal new Year, Love, Snoopy -- uunet!unido!ixos!snoopy -or- snoopy@ixos.uucp "Every passing hour brings the solar system 43,000 miles closer to globular cluster M13 in Hercules - and still there are some misfits who insist that there is no such thing as progress." - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.