rtgrc@ultb.UUCP (R.T. Gayvert) (10/19/89)
I am having trouble with purchasing a CD-ROM reader that can handle disks in the PC standard (ISO 9660) and whatever standard is used on the Mac (HFS?, High Sierra). I have been trying to get the answers out of Toshiba, but I haven't found the right technical people yet. The reader will be attached to a Mac. Please reply to trrrc@vaxn.isc.rit.edu Thanks for any info...
russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) (10/19/89)
In article <1447@ultb.UUCP> rtgrc@ultb.UUCP (R.T. Gayvert) writes: >I am having trouble with purchasing a CD-ROM reader that can handle >disks in the PC standard (ISO 9660) and whatever standard is used on >the Mac (HFS?, High Sierra). I have been trying to get the answers out >of Toshiba, but I haven't found the right technical people yet. The >reader will be attached to a Mac. The Apple CD-ROM will read ISO 9660, HFS, High Sierra, and audio CDs. It does it all, though it is quite expensive (I got in on the developer deal) -- -- Matthew T. Russotto russotto@eng.umd.edu russotto@wam.umd.edu
newbery@rata.vuw.ac.nz (Michael Newbery) (10/20/89)
We have a sort-of-related question. We want to buy a CD-ROM reader that can spend most of its time attached to an MS-DOS machine but can be plugged into a Mac when needed. (Lack of funds precludes the obvious solution of buying each system its own drive.) Suggestions please? Hardware and software (Mac drivers etc.) needed. -- Michael Newbery<newbery@rata.vuw.ac.nz> (...!uunet!vuwcomp!newbery if you must) "Homer knew that the first thing to do on getting your chariot out was to put the wheels on." John Chadwick--The Decipherment of Linear B
blob@Apple.COM (Brian Bechtel) (10/21/89)
Two different posters ask about High Sierra, ISO 9660, Macs, and MS-DOS machines. Apple's software to support ISO 9660 (and the older High Sierra format) is an INIT and several supporting documents. The INIT is called Foreign File Access, and it uses the external file system hook in the ROM to provide access to ISO 9660 volumes whether on CD-ROM or some other media (i.e. it's media and drive independent). Foreign File Access is available for licensing by any other CD-ROM manufacturer. I know that some companies are currently selling CD-ROM drives in the U.S.A. which come with their own driver software and Apple's Foreign File Access software. Toshiba, Denon and NEC all advertise such drives. There are probably others as well. You could use any of these drives on an MS-DOS machine, if you have a SCSI interface board to plug into the appropriate machine and the appropriate driver. The requirements on the Macintosh side are: a) that the drive be a SCSI drive b) that you have a driver which works with it c) that you have the Foreign File Access software. From looking in recent copies of CD-ROM End User magazine, I see that some of the same companies listed above sell a drive which also works on MS-DOS machines. I assume that they are the same drive, with a board and MS-DOS specific software, but I can't tell from the advertisements. Optical Media International sells a driver which works with several varieties of CD-ROM drive. Their phone number is (408) 395-4332. Unfortunately, they are based in Los Gatos, California, which was one of the areas damaged most severely by the recent quake. You may experience difficulty in contacting them over the next few days; I haven't heard how they fared in our big shake. I'll be glad to answer other questions about CD-ROM and ISO 9660. I wrote the original High Sierra/ISO 9660 supporting software. --Brian Bechtel blob@apple.com "My opinions, not Apple's"