25 Aug
1998
25 Aug
'98
9:49 a.m.
On <http://webreview.com/wr/pub/98/07/31/frames/index.html>,
Michael Swaine (of Dr Dobbs early days) writes:
When I first started writing full-time about computer
technology back in 1981, I worked with some suspicious
characters who have gone on to become legends in their own
minds. Folks like John Markoff, now holding the New York
Times to its well-known high standard of accuracy on all
topics technical, and John Dvorak, ubiquitous curmudgeon
and loose cannon on the media deck. At that time Dvorak
was launching a new column called Inside Track, and he
explained to me the hidden significance of the title:
"On disk platters," he said, "the inside track
is the least reliable one."
It was a very popular column.
Of which ancient systems was this true?
Today's CD-ROMs are the opposite, I've heard: as the head positions
to the outermost area of the disc, it tends to push dust along the
guides, and many CD drives accumulate a pile of dust out there,
preventing it from reaching "the end."
- John