8 Nov
2001
8 Nov
'01
6:09 a.m.
On Thu, 8 Nov 2001, Eric Chomko wrote:
Don Maslin wrote:
Certainly! Both the lead screw and the capstan/split-band positioners
were available.
- don
On Wed, 7 Nov 2001, Eric Chomko wrote:
Good point! But doesn't that make it interesting now in 2001? I mean the slide
rule
compared to the electronic caluclator makes the slide rule seem like a lousy design.
Aren't slide rules interesting today.
Did an alternative exist, in 1974, to the spiral cam head positioner?
Eric
Allison wrote:
And worth every penny of it :) But the fact is, that despite your
fortunate experience, the spiral cam head positioner was probably the
worst idea since the stone wheel!
- don
General comment,
Most 8" systems were expected be and behaved reliably and have
at least 250k of space.
Most 5.25" systems could be reliable but, often weren't. I'll restrict
comments to 5.25" for the later reason.
Most of the complaints I've had with disk systems be they Apple or not
were often in this order.
1- Drives (SA400 was pure garbage!!!)
Whoa! I bought my Smoke Signal Broadcasting disk system back in 1978
with two SA400 drives. I added a third drive in the late 80s. To this day
all three drives work great. I did switch drives 0 and 2 to allow the most
used drive to get less use and the newest drive to become the main drive.
But, I'd hardly call a disk drive "pure garbage" that has lasted for 12
and
23 years! And that is in lieu of the fact that they had a 5 year life
expectency.
my 2 cents...