[comp.sys.mac.hardware] Jasmine Drives

xdab@ellis.uchicago.edu (David Baird) (01/27/91)

I received yesterday a mailing from Jasmine in which they are
making an offer for a 40 MB Drive for $299.00 if you call
an 1-800-number. Does anyone in netland know anything about
this drive.  It looks like a nice compact unit, similar to the
IDS Wips sealed units. Is this Jasmine a sealed Unit (i.e., no
fan) or if not, how quiet (or loud) is it? With the recent
trouble that Jasmine had, and the more recent good news about
Jasmine, is this a good deal or not?  Any thoughts or ideas?


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X	           David Baird			xdab@midway.uchicago.edu      X
X	      University of Chicago		  d-baird@uchicago.edu        X
X	University Computing Organizations	     (312) 702-7161           X

costello@stx.UUCP (Michael E. Costello) (01/29/91)

In article <4603@lib.tmc.edu>, drg@mdaali.cancer.utexas.edu (David Gutierrez) writes:
> 
> In article <1991Jan27.034045.10292@midway.uchicago.edu> 
> xdab@ellis.uchicago.edu (David Baird) writes:
> > I received yesterday a mailing from Jasmine in which they are
> > making an offer for a 40 MB Drive for $299.00 if you call
> > an 1-800-number. Does anyone in netland know anything about
> > this drive.  It looks like a nice compact unit, similar to the
> > IDS Wips sealed units. 
> 
> It's the same drive; Jasmine (or Jasmine-Chess SA) bought iDS. I agree 
> with Kevin Rudd, though; I'd suggest you buy a drive somewhere else. 
> Getting a drive from Jasmine is too much like Russian roulette.
> 
> David Gutierrez
> drg@mdaali.cancer.utexas.edu
> 
> "Only fools are positive." - Moe Howard
> 
> 
IT IS NOT the same drive.  Jasmine and iDS are both owned by Chess; however
the $299 Jasmine is not the same as an iDS WIP.

The WIPs are quite nice--very compact (especially the new 1/3 height versions,
though they only have one SCSI port) with quality mechanisms (Quantum in
1/2 height, Conner in 1/3 height).

The low cost Jasmine, while lacking a fan and a power supply, is significantly
larger than a WIP.  It also contains a Kalok mechanism.

==>Michael Costello                   costello@world.std.com
==>BCS*Mac, The Boston Computer Society Macintosh User Group
==>P.O. Box 2591; Woburn, MA  01888             617-631-8188

drg@mdaali.cancer.utexas.edu (David Gutierrez) (01/29/91)

In article <1991Jan27.034045.10292@midway.uchicago.edu> 
xdab@ellis.uchicago.edu (David Baird) writes:
> I received yesterday a mailing from Jasmine in which they are
> making an offer for a 40 MB Drive for $299.00 if you call
> an 1-800-number. Does anyone in netland know anything about
> this drive.  It looks like a nice compact unit, similar to the
> IDS Wips sealed units. 

It's the same drive; Jasmine (or Jasmine-Chess SA) bought iDS. I agree 
with Kevin Rudd, though; I'd suggest you buy a drive somewhere else. 
Getting a drive from Jasmine is too much like Russian roulette.

David Gutierrez
drg@mdaali.cancer.utexas.edu

"Only fools are positive." - Moe Howard

xdab@ellis.uchicago.edu (David Baird) (01/29/91)

In article <0E010009.x0l3om@stx.UUCP> costello@world.std.com writes:
>
>The low cost Jasmine, while lacking a fan and a power supply, is significantly
>larger than a WIP.  It also contains a Kalok mechanism.
					^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Which being interpreted means?????????___________________________





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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
X	           David Baird			xdab@midway.uchicago.edu      X
X	      University of Chicago		  d-baird@uchicago.edu        X
X	University Computing Organizations	     (312) 702-7161           X

munson@acacia.Berkeley.EDU (Ethan V. Munson) (01/29/91)

In article <0E010009.x0l3om@stx.UUCP> costello@world.std.com writes:
>
>In article <4603@lib.tmc.edu>, drg@mdaali.cancer.utexas.edu (David Gutierrez) writes:
>> In article <1991Jan27.034045.10292@midway.uchicago.edu> 
>> xdab@ellis.uchicago.edu (David Baird) writes:
> 
>IT IS NOT the same drive.  Jasmine and iDS are both owned by Chess; however
>the $299 Jasmine is not the same as an iDS WIP.
>
>The WIPs are quite nice--very compact (especially the new 1/3 height versions,
>though they only have one SCSI port) with quality mechanisms (Quantum in
>1/2 height, Conner in 1/3 height).
>
>The low cost Jasmine, while lacking a fan and a power supply, is significantly
>larger than a WIP.  It also contains a Kalok mechanism.
>
>==>Michael Costello                   costello@world.std.com
>==>BCS*Mac, The Boston Computer Society Macintosh User Group
>==>P.O. Box 2591; Woburn, MA  01888             617-631-8188

I bought one of the iDS Wip drives at MacWorld Expo.  They had 20Meg
drives on sale for $199 (the first time I've seen any Mac external drive
at or below $200).  120 Meg drives were selling for $659.  Apparently,
the 20 Meg drive is $299 in stores.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.  Apparently, Chess plans to use
Jasmine for direct/mail sales and iDS for dealer sales.  I talked to the
iDS rep about the differences between the Jasmine and iDS lines.  Both
companies' low-cost drive lines get away without a fan and power supply 
because they steal power from the external floppy port.  They have a case 
just large enough to hold the drive and a SCSI interface.  As a result, they
only have enough space for one SCSI connector.  If you need to daisy
chain one of these drives, you have to buy a SCSI "Y" adaptor.

Anyway, the iDS people apparently don't think much of the Jasmine folks.
The iDS sales rep claimed that while their Conner drives only draw 2
watts, the Jasmine mechanism (I don't remember if he said they were
Kaloks) draws about 6 watts.  This is important for people like me who
have Mac Pluses and other Macs with tenuous power supply capacity.  The
iDS rep said that the external floppy drives from Apple require 2-3
watts and that the additional 3-4 watts that the Jasmine drives require
can really stress the Mac Plus power supply.  The solution is to buy an
external power supply from Jasmine or buy an iDS Wip drive.

By the way, the iDS people had a sample of a new drive using Conner's
new 2 1/2 inch mechanism.  It has no power supply and leaves the
external floppy port open.  It gets its power from the 5 volt line on
the SCSI port.

Ethan Munson
munson@yew.Berkeley.EDU