21 May
2002
21 May
'02
2:06 a.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk [mailto:ard@p850ug1.demon.co.uk]
Not when there are _good_ techncial reasons for it
(like the
fact that
the RL01 can't format a blank pack becuase to make a positioner that
could step accurately enough without reading servo bursts from the
platter would be rediculously expensive).
Well, that's different. :)
But when it's done for marketing reasons (so you
have to buy the
manufacturer's expensive pre-formatted floppies, as was the
case with the
RX01, etc) then yes, of course it annoys me.
...but this is what I was talking about.
Didn't they have "diagnostic" programs available in some cases (to
field service) that would cause some of these systems to format their
own disks, anyway? I'm certain there was something to get a Qbus VAX
to format hard disks -- I mean, aside from a controller that would do
it in firmware -- but that's probably a little different.
Chris
Christopher Smith, Perl Developer
Amdocs - Champaign, IL
/usr/bin/perl -e '
print((~"\x95\xc4\xe3"^"Just Another Perl
Hacker.")."\x08!\n");
'