spenton@ssl.berkeley.edu (Steve Penton) (03/08/91)
I was about to order a Quantum 105 (12ms) from Warehouse 54
for $399 as an external for my 105 slab, and I was thinking
about whether to use BuildDOS-SCSI or Format it in NeXT Format.
When faced with the same question for 1.44 floppies, I always
choose the DOS because of compatability with the Sparcstations
and such of the world. So, realizing that if you format it DOS
and something happens to your NeXT you could always read off those
important files wouldn`t you use the DOS option?
Of course, a number of important questions remain
1) Does formatting the disk in NeXT's format yield better performance or what ?
I assume that they had some tricks in mind by formatting hard drives
in their own way.?
2) Considering the recent " what happened to X% of my HD when I formatted
the sucker"'; IS DOS Format any better/worse in this respect?
3) Are their any compatibility problems doing the DOS thang ?
4) Will formating the disk in DOS format force me to do stupid things
like use the \ for directories (which is even FURTHER away than the |)
Whatcha think ?
Steve Penton
spenton@ssl.berkeley.edu
/_____________ /| Steve Penton
| | | spenton@ssl.berkeley.edu
| Figliano! | | Center For EUV Astrophysics
| | | University Of California @ Berkeley
|_____________ |/ 2150 Kittredge St., Berkeley CA,94720mikec@wam.umd.edu (Michael D. Callaghan) (03/08/91)
In article <1991Mar8.083953.11933@agate.berkeley.edu> spenton@ssl.berkeley.edu (Steve Penton) writes: >When faced with the same question for 1.44 floppies, I always >choose the DOS because of compatability with the Sparcstations >and such of the world. So, realizing that if you format it DOS >and something happens to your NeXT you could always read off those >important files wouldn`t you use the DOS option? I spoke with someone yesterday at Insignia Solutions, and was told that SoftPC ships on 1.44meg DOS-format floppies. The reason, he said, was so that folks like me, who don't have a NeXT floppy, can use my IBM compatible to load the software onto my Cube (via ftp/nfs/whatever). He also said that Lotus will be shipping Improv on DOS-floppies, but I cannot verify that. It makes sense to me. -- MikeC _________________________________________________________ Michael D. Callaghan, MDC Designs, University of Maryland mikec@wam.umd.edu
smb@data.com (Steven M. Boker) (03/09/91)
>In article <1991Mar8.104541.8592@wam.umd.edu> mikec@wam.umd.edu (Michael D. Callaghan) writes: > I spoke with someone yesterday at Insignia Solutions, and was told that > SoftPC ships on 1.44meg DOS-format floppies. The reason, he said, was so > that folks like me, who don't have a NeXT floppy, can use my IBM > compatible to load the software onto my Cube (via ftp/nfs/whatever). > I just spoke with a friend of mine who just received his free copy of Improv. He's a cube owner and doesn't have a 2.88 yet. He tried to read the floppies using a networked PC but did not have any luck. I'm in the same boat when my copy gets here. Cube and OD with lots of PC 3.5 drives available to the net, but no 2.88 SCSI Steve -- #====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====# # Steve Boker # En Vino Kaos # # smb@data.com # En Kaos Veritas # #====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#====#
isbell@ucscf.UCSC.EDU (Art Isbell) (03/10/91)
In article <1991Mar8.104541.8592@wam.umd.edu> mikec@wam.umd.edu (Michael D. Callaghan) writes: >I spoke with someone yesterday at Insignia Solutions, and was told that >SoftPC ships on 1.44meg DOS-format floppies. The reason, he said, was so >that folks like me, who don't have a NeXT floppy, can use my IBM >compatible to load the software onto my Cube (via ftp/nfs/whatever). > >He also said that Lotus will be shipping Improv on DOS-floppies, but >I cannot verify that. It makes sense to me. > The nice UPS man delivered IMPROV to my door yesterday, but I don't have a floppy drive, so I can't load it (or confirm the floppy format). The floppies are the requisite black and appear to have CH as the brand identification with "DOUBLE SIDED 2A3103P" as the only other printing on the diskette. The Lotus diskette label says "For computers from NeXT Computer, Inc." and their "Getting Started" manual says that one must "have a 3.5 in. NeXT compatible diskette drive". None of this indicates to me that these are necessarily 2.88 MB diskettes or are formatted to 2.88 MB. By the way, the IMPROV documentation looks very thorough and well-done (but its a little hard to tell without actually using IMPROV). A couple of curious things caught my attention. Not only is a warranty registration card for the US included, but also one for Great Britain (and Europe, in general). Maybe Lotus just throws all forms into every IMPROV package. But even more curious is the largest of the 3 manuals, the Handbook. The cover says "Applications Guide", just like the real Applications Guide, and when I opened this manual, it's bound upside down!! And the thinner Applications Manual cover is wrapped around the thicker Handbook with about 3/4" of unprinted border required to span the thicker manual. Is this a defect that those of us who paid nothing for IMPROV receive, or is it a defect that only I received? It's really no big deal to me, just kind of funny for such a slick package in all other ways. -- _____ ____ Art Isbell |\ | | | | \ 315 Moon Meadow Lane NeXT Registered Developer | \ | ___ |____| | | Felton, CA isbell@ucscf.UCSC.EDU | \ | |___| | \ | | 95018-9442 (408)438-4736(B) | \| |___ | \ |___/ (408)335-1154(H)
scott@texnext.gac.edu (Scott Hess) (03/10/91)
In article <13239@darkstar.ucsc.edu> isbell@ucscf.UCSC.EDU (Art Isbell) writes:
The nice UPS man delivered IMPROV to my door yesterday, but I don't have
a floppy drive, so I can't load it (or confirm the floppy format). The
floppies are the requisite black and appear to have CH as the brand
identification with "DOUBLE SIDED 2A3103P" as the only other printing
on the diskette. The Lotus diskette label says "For computers from
NeXT Computer, Inc." and their "Getting Started" manual says that one
must "have a 3.5 in. NeXT compatible diskette drive". None of this
indicates to me that these are necessarily 2.88 MB diskettes or are
formatted to 2.88 MB.
The sizes of the disks I got seemed to indicate that they were 1.44M
formatted. Well, unless the 2.88M format takes up 55% overhead, or
something! The CH insignia on there also looks suspiciously like
some disks I saw someone bandying around up here the other day. Since
I know that they weren't 2.88M (they only formatted to 1.44M), this
indicates that the disks are formatted to 1.44M.
The problem is whether they are DOS formatted or Unix formatted. Since
they mounted as something like "Improv Disk #1", I think they're Unix
formatted. [Don't DOS-format disks mount as "DOS"?]
Later,
--
scott hess scott@gac.edu
Independent NeXT Developer GAC Undergrad
<I still speak for nobody>
"Tried anarchy, once. Found it had too many constraints . . ."
"I smoke the nose Lucifer . . . Banana, banana."glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us (Glenn Reid) (03/11/91)
In article <SCOTT.91Mar9211907@texnext.gac.edu> scott@texnext.gac.edu (Scott Hess) writes: > The sizes of the disks I got seemed to indicate that they were 1.44M > formatted. Well, unless the 2.88M format takes up 55% overhead, or > something! The CH insignia on there also looks suspiciously like > some disks I saw someone bandying around up here the other day. Since > I know that they weren't 2.88M (they only formatted to 1.44M), this > indicates that the disks are formatted to 1.44M. > > The problem is whether they are DOS formatted or Unix formatted. Since > they mounted as something like "Improv Disk #1", I think they're Unix > formatted. [Don't DOS-format disks mount as "DOS"?] DOS-formatted disks appear in the workspace with a DOS demarkation. The disks I got with Improv are formatted as 1.44 UNIX disks. Also--I meant to respond to this in the previous posting--that is not "CH" on the disks, it is "HD". You're looking at it upside down. It stands for "High-Density", which is what they are to the PC and Mac world. Notice that the NeXT 2.88 disks have "ED" on them, I presume for "Extended Density" or something (they're running out of superlatives as they keep doubling the disk capacity :-) -- Glenn Reid RightBrain Software glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us NeXT/PostScript developers ..{adobe,next}!heaven!glenn 415-851-1785 (fax 851-1470)
ice@wang.com (Fredrik Nyman) (03/12/91)
cnh5730@maraba.tamu.edu writes: >In article <1991Mar8.104541.8592@wam.umd.edu> mikec@wam.umd.edu (Michael D. Callaghan) writes: > I spoke with someone yesterday at Insignia Solutions, and was told that > SoftPC ships on 1.44meg DOS-format floppies. The reason, he said, was so > that folks like me, who don't have a NeXT floppy, can use my IBM > compatible to load the software onto my Cube (via ftp/nfs/whatever). >I wonder how much the price and availability of the medium factored >into it? Probably duplication of the media is the biggest issue. As long as you use DOS-formatted 1.44 MB floppies, you can go to your friendly neighborhood disk duplication service and have 100 copies made in a few hours. I *strongly* doubt you could do that with 2.88's :-) -- Fredrik Nyman <ice@wang.COM> [NeXT: ice@red-zinger.wang.COM] Global Adaptation Center BITNET: <ice@drycas>, <ice@searn> Wang Laboratories, Inc., M/S 019-490, One Industrial Ave., Lowell MA 01851, USA
scott@texnext.gac.edu (Scott Hess) (03/13/91)
In article <454@heaven.woodside.ca.us> glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us (Glenn Reid) writes:
Also--I meant to respond to this in the previous posting--that is not "CH"
on the disks, it is "HD". You're looking at it upside down. It stands for
"High-Density", which is what they are to the PC and Mac world. Notice that
the NeXT 2.88 disks have "ED" on them, I presume for "Extended Density" or
something (they're running out of superlatives as they keep doubling the
disk capacity :-)
Oh, sure. If it's HD, it obviously stands for high-density! I must
have been looking at it with the "door" on the bottom (or on the top -
whichever way it's backwards). They shouldn't make the little HD look
so much like someone's logo.
After we have ED we'll probably go up to GD (gigantic density) and
then on the MD (Mambo density). If we run out then, we can use
MGD (Mambo Giant Density). That should last us through about 4M
formatted disks (considering that every "quantum leap" up will be
around .5 M, or something).
[Note: I love the use of "Quantum Leap" to describe Huge Mambo
Amazing Gigantic Steps For Mankind! When you think about it, though,
you realize that a quantum leap is the smallest step up in energy
levels at the atomic level (as an electron going from one energy
level to the next). Quantum means a single unit which cannot be
divided, leap refers to the fact that the particle doesn't occupy
space between the starting level and the destination level (it
"leaps"). So, a quantum leap in computers basically mean something
like "the smallest possible step upward in capability". Oh, well.]
Later (can you tell I got too much sleep last night?),
--
scott hess scott@gac.edu
Independent NeXT Developer GAC Undergrad
<I still speak for nobody>
"Tried anarchy, once. Found it had too many constraints . . ."
"I smoke the nose Lucifer . . . Banana, banana."briand@rfengr.com (Brian Dear) (03/13/91)
>> None of this indicates to me tha these are necessarily 2.88MB >> diskettes.... If you look on the side of the Improv box under the System Requirements list, it says: "Improv is shipped on NeXT-formatted 1.44 meg. diskettes" -- brian Brian Dear brian@coconut.com Coconut Computing, Inc.