Msg: 116 *Conference*

06-23-91 10:55:56

From: RICHARD HANSON

To : BOB GASKINS

Subj: REPLY TO MSG #114 (REPLY RE: M100 EXPANSION)

Bob:
        Again, I appreciate your questions, and please believe me, I really
love getting into these discussions, and am not upset about your questions, or
this marketplace, or anything.  I know, you didn't ask me to respond in this
way.  I just felt that it would a good idea to preface this thread by saying
that we're all good friends around here and that as this thread develops,
things may get somewhat heated.  Soooo... the next round of beer is on me.
Now, let's throw some punches!  Look our CNN, Crossfire has nothing on Club
100! (grin)
 
        RAM is "NOT" storage!!!  You store "nothing" in RAM.  RAM is an active,
volatile, working area for programs and data.  Maganetic media is
non-volatile--well, sort of, but far more than RAM.  Important data "must" be
stored to magnetic media for safe keeping.  Model 100/102/200 owners have the
following choices for magnetic media "storage" devices:
 
 * TPDD and TPDD2
 * tape (I've used the CCR-82)
 * DVI
 * DOS machines via data transfer (I use Lapdos II)
 * Mac machines via data transfer (I use 100duet or MacDOS II)
 * Chipmunk drives (a dead issue)
 * Stringy Floppy (a dead issue)
 
        In between RAM and magnetic storage is the RAM disk.  Sometimes called
a data pack, it's a battery-held RAM "storage" device.  Node Systems, as far as
I know, makes the only one of this type of device for Model 100/102/200 users.
And, the Node Data Pack is "excellent!!!" when used as a storage device.  It's
fast but does have an upper limit to the "quantity" you may store to it and a
high cost per byte, vs. using magnetic media, i.e., disk and tape.  The later
are MUCH! slower but the cost per byte is also MUCH! lower.  NOTE: To be fare,
there are other types of RAM disk devices.  These are usually associated with
reserved memory in an alive computer.  In such case, the RAM disk goes away
when power is lost.  It's advantage is access speed once loaded, or used as a
fast swap area for programs requiring such device, i.e., database index files,
etc.
 
        There is a limitation to RAM use on a Model 100/102 computer.  That
limit is 32K... PERIOD!  All RAM Expansion Modules (i.e., our RAM Exp Mod, the
Booster Pack, etc.) require that the user work within a 32K, less overhead,
working space.  All data being worked on at any, given moment must reside in
RAM for processing.  If the data being processed exceeds the 32K limit then
either processing stops or a cold start occures.  The Model 100/102 owner must
"live" within this limit.  However, there exists one, conceptual exception to
the 32K limit.  The user must understand this conceptually to understand
practical application.  It is called "direct storage access."  Okay,
gal-dang-it, when I say "storage" I DO NOT mean RAM.  Applications built to
access files on storage may, realistically speaking, access more than 32K.  In
fact, the actual quantity of data that may be accessed is limited only to the
size of the storage device.
 
        I will stop here, and ask a question.  Do you understand this concept?
If so, how can you apply it to your work, and what combination of hardware and
software will you use to build one, working model?  Today!
 
        Okay, Bob, this is CNN Crossfire... and it's back to you... -Rick-