irwin@galton.uchicago.edu (Mark Irwin) (12/06/90)
I am thinking about buying a Syquest type drive. Currently I am considering the Peripheral Land Inc (PLI) which is available from MacConnection for $749. From the comments about Ehman/Cutting Edge I've seen, especially about there monitors I not too interested in theirs. I am interested in peoples opinions about the various drives available. I did find the file at Sumex compiled by Erik Johnson but I am looking for updates on his information. If you have any comments to make I would perfer e-mail which I will post to the net in a week or so. Thanks in advance Mark Mark Irwin Dept of Statistics, Univ of Chicago irwin@galton.uchicago.edu mark@stat.ubc.ca (last resort only please)
irwin@galton.uchicago.edu (Mark Irwin) (01/06/91)
In article <1990Dec6.052732.26226@midway.uchicago.edu> I wrote: > > I am thinking about buying a Syquest type drive. Currently I am > considering the Peripheral Land Inc (PLI) which is available from > MacConnection for $749. From the comments about Ehman/Cutting Edge I've > seen, especially about there monitors I not too interested in theirs. I > am interested in peoples opinions about the various drives available. I > did find the file at Sumex compiled by Erik Johnson but I am looking for > updates on his information. Here are the responses that I received. The most popular choices were the drives by APS and DPI. People interested in these drives should also check out the article in the February MacUser (pp 206-230). This article also discuss the Bernoulli and Ricoh mechanisms as well. I hope you find this useful. Mark Irwin ============================= From rob@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu Thu Dec 6 08:57:49 1990 I'd cast a vote for Alliance Peripheral Systems. Their price runs about $569 (I think). Their formatting software seems ok, although I also bought SilverLining from LaCie ($99). The APS drive case has a fan, external setting of SCSI ID (jumper), and external termination. I've had no problems at all. Specifically, I DON'T have the problems that some others on the net have mentioned. I can power on the drive, or leave it off and still use my internal drive. I can power it on or off at any time without disrupting my work (or rebooting the machine). APS included cable, terminator, and one cartridge formatted and with system installed (plus something like 10-15 meg of PD software). Robert -- Robert K. Shull rob@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu chinet!uokmax!rob ========================================== From stuart@cbnewsc.att.com Thu Dec 6 10:11:45 1990 I just got some info from a recent info-mac digest about syquest drives - they can be bought for a good deal less than $749. I favor APS myself, as I've heard great things about their service. Stuart >From info-mac mac digest, volume?? no. 198 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Nov 90 13:42:32 EST From: CON-ETDL-COM <contr003@monmouth-emh2.army.mil> Subject: SyQuest Price Revision [ PLEASE POST THIS VERSION (1:45 27-nov-90), as the previous mailing was in error!!!!! moderators: please post this in the /info-mac/report area as syquest-prices.txt or something similar ] ---------------------------- I had posted a request regarding SyQuest drives in info-mac vol 8.196, and received *quite a few* (read: many) requests regarding my findings. Here is my list of SyQuest removables as of today (27-nov-90). Many thanks go to Erik Johnson of UIUC for his original SyQuest research. >> If anyone wants more detailed information regarding SyQuest experiences, << >> I whole-heartedly recommend that they check our Erik's report in the << >> archives (/info-mac/report/syquest-report.txt ?? ) << This information is mainly derived from MacWeek, MacWorld, and MacUser... too many of the prices in Computer Shopper are mechanism only, and if you don't mind a "roll-your-own" and hunting down SyQuest mounting INITS then that method might be for you...personally not for me. -------------------------- list starts here ------------------------- Company phone SyQuest $ carts-included cart $ ------------------------------------------------------------------ MacProducts .... 800-622-3475 .. $449 ......... 0 ........... 67 BEST BUY! * BottomLine ..... 900-420-3636 .. $498 ......... 0 ........... 69 MacLand ........ 800-333-3353 .. $499 ......... 0 ........... 72 MacDirect ...... 800-621-8461 .. $534 ......... 1 ........... 72 TMS ............ 800-626-MEGS .. $535 ......... 1 ........... 70 ClubMac ........ 800-club-mac .. $535 ......... 1 ........... 72 VCP ............ 800-477-6350 .. $535 ......... 1 ........... 72 etc ............ 800-822-2863 .. $535 ......... 1 ........... 72 Relax .......... ............ .. $539 ......... 1 ........... 72 Hardware Express 800-622-7123 .. $549 ......... 1 ........... 79 Axone .......... 800-955-0388 .. $565 ......... 1 ........... 72 APS ............ 800-233-7550 .. $569 ......... 1 ........... 72 HardDrive Intl.. 800-776-disk .. $575 ......... 1 ........... 79 * Mac's Place .... 800-367-4222 .. $580 ......... 0 ........... 79 Jasmine ........ 800-347-3228 .. $599 ......... 1 ........... 72 ThirdWave ...... 800-284-0486 .. $599 ......... 1 ........... 78 Mirror Tech .... 800-654-5294 .. $627 ......... 1 ........... 79 I have *NOT* included any of the Ehman/Cutting-Edge products in this list due to an overwhelming "un-recommendation" on the part of people I know with the "Ehman-experience". I intend no slander or disrespect toward Ehman/Cutting-Edge, and have never used any of their products. ------------------------------ end ------------------------------ The entries marked with (*) above indicate purchases of a separate mechanism and external case/power-supply (a "roll you own" approach). From what I have been able to determine, most if not all of these companies are using the newer SyQuest mechanism. I have 2 friends with SyQuests: one has a Microtech (which isn't made anymore) and one has an APS syquest; both are happy with them, though I find the APS chassis to be rather tall and bulky, but they are reputed to have a 24..48 hour turn-around time for their warranties. Some may choose to take the approach of buying the cheapest drive that they can find and purchase the cartridges elsewhere. Not a bad scheme, as I'll probably purchase a drive with cartridge then immediately purchase 3 more cartridges (we all do backups, don't we?!?). My primary concerns with any drive purchase, SyQuest or otherwise (read: Quantum) are reliablity, speed, and warranty, as I don't want to waste time haggling with people over the phone. I hope that this helps those planning SyQuest purchases (like me!), and remember, "Buyer beware!" I have no affiliation with any of these companies. --- Stuart Ericson AT&T Bell Laboratories USEnet: att!ihlpa!stuart IH 1C215 ARPA: stuart@ihlpa.att.com 2000 N. Naperville Road Voice: (708) 979-4491 Naperville, Il 60566-7033 ========================================== From steve@violet.berkeley.edu Thu Dec 6 10:36:10 1990 BMUG continues to recommend the DPI as recently as their November 1990 newsletter. They cite a price of $599 (which is, I think, a special price for BMUG members). I bought a DPI on BMUG's recommendation and am quite satisfied with it. DPI (800) 825-1850 Steve Goldfield College of Engineering UC Berkeley ========================================== From sanders@parc.xerox.com Thu Dec 6 11:27:33 1990 At the USGS, we have about 6 or 7 Syquest drives packaged by DPI (Milpitas, CA) I think the price is now in the $600 range. Excellent tech support from DPI, no real problems with two drives about 16 months old, recommended by BMUG for not "cooking" the cartridges (vertical mounting of drive). -- Rex ========================================== From claris!outpost!peirce@ames.arc.nasa.gov Thu Dec 6 12:06:39 1990 I use three different brands of Syquest drives: MassMicro, PLI, and a noname one I got mail order. They all work very well. I've choosen to run the MassMicro INIT on all three since I had the MassMicro first, but they are fully interoperable. The only difference I notice is that they are variously noisy. The MassMicro is noisier when no cartridge is loaded, the noname is loud with a cartridge loaded, but very quite when none is loaded. The PLI is moderatly noisy all the time. They also have differences in power supplies, but I haven't seen this to be a problem so far... I love 'em and couldn't live without them (I have about a dozen cartridges... -- michael -- Michael Peirce -- {apple,decwrl}!claris!outpost!peirce -- Peirce Software -- Suite 301, 719 Hibiscus Place -- Macintosh Programming -- San Jose, California 95117 -- and Consulting -- (408) 244-6554 ========================================== From marder@rata.vuw.ac.nz Thu Dec 6 13:21:47 1990 I've had a Syquest drive for about a month now and think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's axiomatic, I know, but some people swear _at_ Syquest drive, by_ them. I'm one of the latter. BTW, my drive is labelled as FTi, but inside it's the same as any other Syquest. -- Stephen Marder Department of Russian Domain: marder@rata.vuw.ac.nz Victoria University of Wellington P.O Box 600, New Zealand. ========================================== From dhall@paul.rutgers.edu Thu Dec 6 14:22:29 1990 I just bought a syquest drive from DPI in Milpitas CA for $570 and am very happy with it. This is supposedly the one that's recommended by Bay Area MUG. Their phone# is 408 945-1850. Happy hacking. --David. ========================================== From chinet!magik@gargoyle Fri Dec 7 05:36:05 1990 I have 2 Syquest drives from APS (their current price is $569 and includes one cartridge. Good people, good prices, good service. If you are interested, their number is (800) 233-7550. -- ------------ ------------ ---------------------- Ben Liberman USENET magik@chinet.chi.il.us GEnie,Delphi MAGIK ========================================== From kyt@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu Fri Dec 7 15:02:58 1990 I'm using a Syquest drive sold by Mirror Technologies. I'm very happy with it so far. I've only had it for about 3 months but it hasn't given me any problems. It comes packaged with a couple of utilities designed specifically for Mirror Technologies by CE Software and is very competitive pricewise. You can contact Mirror Technologies through their ads in MacWorld and MacUser. I have no connection with Mirror Technologies except for being a satisfied customer. -- =============================================================================== Kok-Yong Tan can be reached at: | "Oscularis fundamentum!" InterNet: kyt@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu | - Annoyed Latin scholar CompuServe: 75046,256 | I speak for myself and disclaim all ties America Online: lallang | with regard to this message. =============================================================================== ========================================== From beecher@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu Fri Dec 7 19:06:55 1990 I have a MicroNet removable drive and I'm very happy with it. Slightly inconvenient because it doesn't automatically mount. I have to run a utility to mount the disk before it appears on the desktop. Also I have to power on the disk before I power on the computer, but that's probably true of all drives. The software lets you choose an icon for each cartridge but sometimes I just get the default icon. Very reliable hardware. -- Ben Beecher beecher@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu Network Planning 212-854-7439 Columbia University ========================================== From greg@cpsc.ucalgary.ca Mon Dec 10 15:42:41 1990 I sold my old PLI drive (bought in Feb. 1988) and bought an APS Syquest about two months ago. Here are my observations. My first PLI had a number of problems, the most severe of which was overheating, which caused me to send my drive back for warranty repair. While they did eventually fix it, it took close to three months to get it back. I sent it in a second time to mave it made quieter, since it made this really annoying high-pitched whine. It came back better, but not great. I sold my SE two months ago, and managed to unload my PLI at the same time, since I got $625 CAN for it, and I got the APS for about $825 CAN after extra shipping, currency exchange, and border tax (note I live in Canada). What I got for my $225 was a new 2-year warranty, far superior customer service (I think they're awesome), a -much- quieter drive, and, of course, a new mechanism. I think I'm much better off. I am not saying that new PLI drives will be as bad as mine was. They will be using the new mechanisms, and their new drives will be quieter than mine ever was, I'm sure. However, I think that APS is definately worth looking at, especially since it is much cheaper, and still built like a rock. Oh, yes. Two last points. My biggest grump against the APS is that SCSI ID selection uses DIP switches. Finally, not that it matters to you, but a measure of APS's customer service is that their 1-800 line works in Canada. Greg James greg@cpsc.ucalgary.ca ========================================== From ogus@math.berkeley.edu Mon Dec 17 18:36:57 1990 I have owned one for nearly a year. It is currently giving me a bit of trouble--I drove it down to PLI this morning--but the company seems to have an excellent attitude toward customer support. If you like, I will let you know the outcome of the current problem. ========================================== Mark Irwin Dept of Statistics, Univ of Chicago irwin@galton.uchicago.edu mark@stat.ubc.ca (last resort only please)
okamoto@hpcc01.HP.COM (Jeff Okamoto) (01/08/91)
irwin@galton.uchicago.edu (Mark Irwin) writes: > Here are the responses that I received. The most popular choices were > the drives by APS and DPI. Thanks for posting the summary. I am still unsure of which drive to purchase. On the one hand, BMUG recommends DPI's drive, yet it has internal termination (and the person I called didn't know if it could be converted to external termination. I do like the fact that it is vertically mounted, but I wonder if this might cause problems on other horizontally mounted drives. On the other hand, MacUser recommends Mac Products Magic 45 (and the Hammer drive, but that's WAY too expensive), yet it doesn't seem to have any diagnostic software, and that makes me a bit uneasy. > People interested in these drives should also check out the article > in the February MacUser (pp 206-230). This was a good article except that I was very surprised that they didn't list the noise levels. I know they said that for the most part they were the same, but still.... Question: What exactly is SilverLining, and why is it nice to have? -- \ oo The New Number Who, \____|\mm Jeff Okamoto //_//\ \_\ HP Corporate Computing & Services /K-9/ \/_/ okamoto@ranma.corp.hp.com /___/_____\ ----------- (415) 857-6236
sanders@parc.xerox.com (Rex Sanders) (01/10/91)
okamoto@hpcc01.HP.COM (Jeff Okamoto) writes: >... I am still unsure of which drive to >purchase. On the one hand, BMUG recommends DPI's drive, yet it has >internal termination (and the person I called didn't know if it could >be converted to external termination. With a Swiss Army Knife and a call to DPI tech support, I removed internal termination in 1-2 minutes. Then you plug in external terminator. With practice (and better tools), I can do this in less than 1 minute. >On the other hand, MacUser recommends Mac Products Magic 45 (and the >Hammer drive, but that's WAY too expensive), yet it doesn't seem to >have any diagnostic software, and that makes me a bit uneasy. > >> People interested in these drives should also check out the article >> in the February MacUser (pp 206-230). Compare MacUser's text recommendations to the individual ratings in the charts. Why are some drives (like DPI's) rated higher in the charts than the text ratings? -- Rex
m_herodotus@coors.dec.com (Mario Herodotus - Digital Customer Support Center (800) 525-6570) (01/10/91)
>okamoto@hpcc01.HP.COM (Jeff Okamoto) writes: >... I am still unsure of which drive to >purchase. On the one hand, BMUG recommends DPI's drive, yet it has >internal termination (and the person I called didn't know if it could >be converted to external termination. I have my DPI drive in the middle of my SCSI bus. I removed the termination resisters in less then 2 minutes. It was very easy to do! There are only four screws to take off to get to the resister packs. I like the drive a lot. It is fast, and fairly quite. I also like the INIT that DPI ships with their software that mounts the disk whenever a cartridge is inserted. I think DPI has great tech support too, I've called them a few times, twice because of termination questions and they helped right away, once because of an incompatibility problem (my new IIcx would not run the older formatter) and they sent out a new version right away. Mario -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can't afford my own opinions, and DEC won't pay for them either. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mario Herodotus [ CX03 1/K4 ] | m_herodotus@coors.dec.com Digital Equipment Corporation | Customer Support Center | - or - m_herodotus%coors.dec@decwrl.dec.com 305 Rockrimmon Blvd. | Colorado Springs, CO 80919 | - or - ...!decwrl!coors.dec.com!m_herodotus (800) 525-6570 Ext 25520 | [direct line (719) 592-5520] | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------