albert@endor.uucp (David Albert) (02/06/91)
I was thinking of getting the CD-ROM package advertised in DAK. Has anyone gotten it and been happy or unhappy with it? I'm particularly interested in the included software. How good are each of the pieces -- the encyclopedia, atlas, reference set, and huge library of literature? Are there any other good packages out there I should be looking at for comparison purposes? Will additional CD-ROM software be available for reasonable prices? Frankly, DAK's claim that they're providing me with $2,542 in "free" software makes me wonder whether I'll ever be able to afford any more after I get the first batch! ----------------------------------------------__------------------------------ David Albert | / ) / UUCP: ...!harvard!albert | / / __. , ___o __/ INTERNET: albert@harvard.edu |/__/__(_/|__\/ <___(_/_
dhansen@nmsu.edu (Deren Hansen) (02/07/91)
CompuAdd lists a similar package in their cataloge for about the same price. It would be a good candidate for a comparison with DAK's offer.
freak@cbnewsc.att.com (c.e.malloy..iii) (02/07/91)
In article <5619@husc6.harvard.edu> albert@endor.UUCP (David Albert) writes: > I was thinking of getting the CD-ROM package advertised in DAK. Has > anyone gotten it and been happy or unhappy with it? I'm particularly > interested in the included software. How good are each of the pieces > -- the encyclopedia, atlas, reference set, and huge library of > literature? > > Are there any other good packages out there I should be looking at for > comparison purposes? Will additional CD-ROM software be available for > reasonable prices? Frankly, DAK's claim that they're providing me with > $2,542 in "free" software makes me wonder whether I'll ever be able to > afford any more after I get the first batch! I have the DAK (Sony) CD-ROM package. So far I am reasonably happy with it. (See below for a Question.) The hardware installation was simple. Just plug it in and power back up. The software was a different story, but it had nothing to do with the software from DAK. Since I have an AT&T 6383E/33 WGS (386 @ 33 Mhz) and the system has it own internal cache, there was a problem with Smartdrive. Once I removed that every- thing was fine. The software that was included "free" is great. DAK supplied a "point and shoot" menu program that loads each individual program for you. I regularly use the encyclopedia, Library of the Future, and the desk reference set. The price that DAK uses is a total of the "List" prices of the software. There is a lot of software out there at reasonable prices. Most of what I have looked at is in the $200 range. Now for my question. The DAK CD-ROm unit came with w program that will play Compact Discs (the audio kind), But I am having real problems with it. If I load the program and then insert the disc, nothing works. If I load the disc and then start the program, I can play the disc, but if I remove the disc, insert a new one, and reload the program, nothing works. To get anything, I must reboot the system. Does anyone have, or know of, a really good program that will play CDs? I know that is just a dream, but is there are MS Windows 3 program? Clancy Malloy att!ihlpf!cem
jimm@spectral.Berkeley.EDU (James Moseman) (02/07/91)
I tried it and have been reasonably happy with it. One nice surprise was that there was software which let me play audio CD's on it. I haven't used the encyclopedia much, but the Library of the Future is great. The atlases were a little disappointing in that I expected a finer degree of granularity, e.g. the U.S. Atlas just goes to the level of a state, showing 2 or 3 major cities. One gripe I did have was that the nice looking menu system to use all of this didn't work. Selecting an entry generated a script with a 'CALL' command which I don't have and wasn't included. So I ended up figuring out what each script was trying to to and doing it manually. The installation procedure was pretty easy aalthough there was a minor hangup which I was able to work around and the details of which I don't recall offhand. Jim Moseman jimm@ctt.bellcore.com
tt@thor.acc.Virginia.EDU (Tang Tang) (02/07/91)
In article <1991Feb6.165851.6013@cbnewsc.att.com> freak@cbnewsc.att.com (c.e.malloy..iii) writes: >In article <5619@husc6.harvard.edu> albert@endor.UUCP (David Albert) writes: >> I was thinking of getting the CD-ROM package advertised in DAK. Has >> anyone gotten it and been happy or unhappy with it? I'm particularly >> interested in the included software. How good are each of the pieces >> -- the encyclopedia, atlas, reference set, and huge library of >> literature? >> >I have the DAK (Sony) CD-ROM package. So far I am reasonably happy with >it. (See below for a Question.) The hardware installation was simple. >Just plug it in and power back up. The software was a different story, >but it had nothing to do with the software from DAK. Since I have an >AT&T 6383E/33 WGS (386 @ 33 Mhz) and the system has it own internal >cache, there was a problem with Smartdrive. Once I removed that every- >thing was fine. > I got the DAK package also, and am pretty happy with it. One thing weird about it is the drive controller, in the manual they call it the "Sony bus". Maybe someone on the net can tell me what's a "Sony bus" and how it's related to SCSI. >Now for my question. The DAK CD-ROm unit came with w program that will >play Compact Discs (the audio kind), But I am having real problems with >it. If I load the program and then insert the disc, nothing works. If >I load the disc and then start the program, I can play the disc, but >if I remove the disc, insert a new one, and reload the program, nothing >works. To get anything, I must reboot the system. Does anyone have, or >know of, a really good program that will play CDs? I know that is just >a dream, but is there are MS Windows 3 program? Yeah, that cdplayer program is brain damaged. Try the one that comes from Sony. It works much better, except there isn't any mouse support. I also a config program for the encyclopedia from DAK, it allows you to change the default colors. Let me know if you want me to e-mail it to you. Tang
pschwart@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Paul Schwartz) (02/07/91)
In article <1991Feb6.202100.3698@bellcore.bellcore.com>, jimm@spectral.Berkeley.EDU (James Moseman) writes... > >One gripe I did have was that the nice looking menu system to use all of this >didn't work. Selecting an entry generated a script with a 'CALL' command >which I don't have and wasn't included. So I ended up figuring out what each >script was trying to to and doing it manually. The installation procedure >was pretty easy aalthough there was a minor hangup which I was able to work >around and the details of which I don't recall offhand. > >Jim Moseman >jimm@ctt.bellcore.com Jim, What version of DOS are you running? CALL is an internal function of DOS 3.3 and higher. It allows a batch file to call another and then have control returned to the origonal batch file when the called file is done. By the way, can anybody tell me the seek time on the DAK drive. CompuAdd said theirs is 350ms. Also, how do you hook the drive to your stereo, can the internal drive be mounted vertically, and what does the external drive connect to(a card that comes with it?)? - Z - +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | PauL M SchwartZ | | | PSCHWART@macc.wisc.edu | The cream may rise to the top, | | PSCHWART@wiscmacc.BitNet | but the scum settles from above. | | (608)255-5702 | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
romkey@asylum.SF.CA.US (John Romkey) (02/07/91)
tt@thor.acc.Virginia.EDU (Tang Tang) writes: > I got the DAK package also, and am pretty happy with it. One thing weird >about it is the drive controller, in the manual they call it the "Sony bus". >Maybe someone on the net can tell me what's a "Sony bus" and how it's >related to SCSI. I suspect that the "Sony bus" is actually a SCSI bus. When I first got my drive, I scanned over the documentation carefully and caught one reference to SCSI in it. I need to repeat that operation to see if I can find out more. A call to Sony tech support will hopefully clear up the matter, and will get me a pinout for the connector on the back of the drive so I can wire up a cable for my mac - if it really is SCSI. -- - john romkey Epilogue Technology USENET/UUCP/Internet: romkey@asylum.sf.ca.us FAX: 415 594-1141
bc1w+@andrew.cmu.edu (Barbara Carlson) (02/07/91)
My husband and I bought the DAK package. We spent an incredibly
frustrating 2 weeks trying to get it to work on our XT clone. Roy was
ready to throw the thing through the window, when a good deal on an AT
clone came our way. We didn't buy the AT just to see if the CD-ROM would
work on it, but it turns out that it worked just fine. We still aren't
sure why it wouldn't work with the XT clone.
The CD itself seems like a good piece of equipment. My husband repairs
TVs and VCRs and is into electronics and was pleased that it was a
machine made by Sony. It has an earphone jack, a volume control and an
eject button. (Not many buttons when you're used to CD players!) The
little "carriers" you have to use with the CDs are a bit of a pain, but
I understand that's pretty much the standard.
With the package we got two of the carriers and all that CD stuff they
advertized.
The Encyclopedia is a lot of fun to browse through, since some of the
entries have color pictures (we have a VGA monitor, so they really look
great). It has the same drawbacks as other inexpensive encyclopedias in
that it's ok for a desk reference but useless for real research. I
expect my children will get a lot of use out of it, though. It has two
Atlases, which are actually quite interesting. One for the World, one
for the US. You can pinpoint countries and get specific data for that
area. The comparative data section (I forget what they call it) is quite
interesting. (comparative data on birth rate, death rate, infant
mortality, AIDS rate, crime rate, etc.) In the US one, you can pinpoint
states and get some info on cities. It doesn't go as far into detail as
I'd like, but you can't have everything. The US map has an interesting
"road map" feature -- it shows you all the major highways in the US.
You can print out pretty much anything you see on the screen, but
beware, if it has pretty pictures (like the road maps), it takes forever
on a dot matrix printer. You can't print the pretty pictures from the
encyclopedia, but you can print the articles.
The "Library of the Future" has hundreds of old standard books
(classics, etc) It's kind of neat because you can search for an obscure
passage on any of the books. I wouldn't think it would be all that easy
to read from the screen, but perhaps that's my own eye problem. You can
print chapters to read, if you wish (a nice feature). I don't think
I'll be using this CD to read much from, but it does seem like an
excellent source of quotes and trivia, if you're into that.
The language disk is somewhat difficult to use, and I haven't quite
figured it out. It seems to be just an electronic version of an
English/whatever dictionary.
I believe the last disk is a dictionary, but my memory fails me at this point.
The software that connects all this has a cute screen where you click on
what you want to see and it prompts you to put in the right CD (if you
haven't already). The software is easy to use, but we haven't gotten it
completely "clean" yet in that it dies with a "bad command" error
returning from certain CDs. Nothing terribly hard to fix, just a minor
annoyance.
It has a CD-player feature whereby you can plug in earphones and play
regular CDs. It has this nifty screen (a little too cutesy for my
taste) that looks like the front of a CD player (sort of). You can do
anything with it that you can with a regular CD player. Or, you can
tell it to play the entire disk in background mode and it will start the
CD playing and pop you back to DOS. This way, you can listen to music
while you use the computer for other things.
I've bought a couple other things from DAK in the past and found them to
be exactly what they say they are -- and no more. But as long as you
are careful to read the advertisements and discard the hyperbola, you'll
have a pretty good idea of what you are getting.
All in all, I think the CD-ROM was a good deal. I, too, have been
somewhat appalled at the price of other CD stuff, but I suspect the
prices will get within reason eventually. (I consider $300 a bit stiff
for one CD) I'm also a little frustrated at trying to find a listing of
other CDs available, but I'm just starting and figure I'll find that out
as I go.
DAK advertises a help line. We spent days trying to get through with no
success, but that might have been because it was the holiday season, we
never did figure out why. My husband sent them a FAX and they did
finally reply to it (with a letter). They seem fairly sincere in their
guarantees.
One word of advice: if you get this, just in case you decide you don't
like it and want to send it back, you have to repack it just like it
came. There were hundreds of little bits of packaging, twist ties, etc.
Not to mention instruction pages. Make an effort to keep all this stuff
together -- we would have been hard-pressed to find it all!!!
(especially considering my cats shredded the styrofoam all over the
library ... *sigh*)
Barbara o o o o o o bc1w@andrew.cmu.edu
Carlson o o o o
o o o
Carnegie Mellon o o Happy Valentines Day
University o o
o o Chocolate donations
Graduate School of o o cheerfully accepted!
Industrial Admin o o
o o [Hollow chocolate has
412-268-3694 o no calories ... ]scum@virtech.uucp (Steven C. Monroe) (02/08/91)
romkey@asylum.SF.CA.US (John Romkey) writes: >tt@thor.acc.Virginia.EDU (Tang Tang) writes: >> I got the DAK package also, and am pretty happy with it. If anyone bought the package for the drives and would like to part with the CD-ROM's themselves please send me e-mail (or phone). Thanks -- Steven C. Monroe (703)430-9247 Virtual Technologies, Inc., uunet!virtech!scum 46030 Manekin Plaza, Suite 160 Sterling, VA 22170
seitz@netcom.COM (Matthew Seitz) (02/09/91)
In article <0bgKHt_00WBK01QUVO@andrew.cmu.edu> bc1w+@andrew.cmu.edu (Barbara Carlson) writes: >My husband and I bought the DAK package. We spent an incredibly >frustrating 2 weeks trying to get it to work on our XT clone. Roy was >ready to throw the thing through the window, when a good deal on an AT >clone came our way. We didn't buy the AT just to see if the CD-ROM would >work on it, but it turns out that it worked just fine. We still aren't >sure why it wouldn't work with the XT clone. > To get Sony drives working on an XT, you should have a "/M:P" argument following "DEVICE=SONY_CDU.SYS" in your Config.Sys file. Make sure you don't have /M:H or /M:D. -- Matthew Seitz Note new address: seitz@netcom.com
schwalbe@pinocchio.Encore.COM (Jim Schwalbe) (02/12/91)
In article <1991Feb6.165851.6013@cbnewsc.att.com> freak@cbnewsc.att.com (c.e.malloy..iii) writes: > >Now for my question. The DAK CD-ROm unit came with w program that will >play Compact Discs (the audio kind), But I am having real problems with >it. If I load the program and then insert the disc, nothing works. If >I load the disc and then start the program, I can play the disc, but >if I remove the disc, insert a new one, and reload the program, nothing >works. To get anything, I must reboot the system. > I also have the DAK CD-ROM package and have noticed the same problem with the CD player software. Interestingly when I first got the package I had an XT system and the CD player software worked fine. When I upgraded my machine to a 386, I noticed that the problem surfaced. If someone knows a solution to this I'd like to hear it as well. I think maybe I'll call DAK technical support about this one tomorrow. If I find out anything, I'll post it. > Does anyone have, or >know of, a really good program that will play CDs? I know that is just >a dream, but is there are MS Windows 3 program? > I saw another CD Player software package in the CD-ROM Inc. catalog a while ago but it was expensive (over $100). I'd also like to get my hands on a CD Player that was made for Windows 3.0. .---------------------------------------------------------------------------. : Jim Schwalbe .----------------. "Half of what I say is : : Hardware Research Group .--+-------------. | meaningless; but I say it : : Encore Computer Corp. | | E N C O R E | | so that the other half may : : Mail: | `-------------+--' reach you." : : schwalbe@encore.com `----------------' - Kahil Gibran : `---------------------------------------------------------------------------'
scum@virtech.uucp (Steven C. Monroe) (02/12/91)
schwalbe@pinocchio.Encore.COM (Jim Schwalbe) writes: >In article <1991Feb6.165851.6013@cbnewsc.att.com> freak@cbnewsc.att.com >(c.e.malloy..iii) writes: >> >> Does anyone have, or >>know of, a really good program that will play CDs? I know that is just >>a dream, but is there are MS Windows 3 program? >> >I saw another CD Player software package in the CD-ROM Inc. catalog a while >ago but it was expensive (over $100). I'd also like to get my hands on a >CD Player that was made for Windows 3.0. When I first received the Microsoft Programmers Library package they sent along a audio CD player. I thought it was pretty cute because a single .EXE ran as both a ms-windows and a non-ms-windows player. Worked correctly in both environments. I thought that they were going to try to sell it so you might give them a call.. -- Steven C. Monroe (703)430-9247 Virtual Technologies, Inc., uunet!virtech!scum 46030 Manekin Plaza, Suite 160 Sterling, VA 22170
morrison@sumax.seattleu.edu (Mary Anne Morrison) (02/13/91)
I would like to have the address and phone number for this company so that I can get one of these catalogs. Please reply here or e-mail. Thanks!