Msg: 108 *Conference*
06-21-91 01:08:03
From: ED DAHLGREN
To : MIKE LANE
Subj: REPLY TO MSG #101 (PORTABLE DISK DRIVE 2)
Mike -- Rick's advice is well-taken; get input from users and FORMER users before committing too much to the D/VI. It and the PDD's were aimed at two entirely different operating modes, though, so it's not too fair to compare them except as to what works for you. You'd be hard-pressed to fit the D/VI into your briefcase (it's the size of a PC system box) ... and it's darned tough to get 80-column, 25-line display out of a PDD2! The deciding factor is likely to be compatibility with the software you're familiar and comfortable with. (Unless you like to explore!) Your question made me realize that the Disk/Video Interface has a misleading name. It's a video INTERFACE because there's no display built into it, but to the user it's a disk DRIVE because there's one built in. It's a standard (but SINGLE-sided) 5.25" drive with a formatted capacity of 180k. And there's an expansion slot for a second, identical, drive. The system disk contains both the Disk Operating System and BASIC and was written by Microsoft and licensed to Tandy. Note two things here: you MUST have this disk, one way or another, and it IS a DOS while what comes with the PDD2 isn't. (Sorry, Rick.) Tandy doesn't even try to call the software on the PDD2 disk a DOS, they're file-handling utilities. Of course this has all been made moot by the third-party stuff Rick mentioned. And the fact that the DOS and BASIC with the D/VI aren't what you'd get with, say, a PC by a long shot. If you do get a D/VI and don't get the disk, it's okay. I know for a fact that it's available through Tandy software for $7.50. It's no problem to order, but it takes a week or two to receive. Another MUST-HAVE is the ***correct*** cable to connect your 100 to the D/VI. There are two ... one is a nice normal one that connects to the more intelligently implemented system bus interface on the 102 & 200, while the other is a 40-pin connector that goes into the socket down there underneath the 100, next to the option-ROM socket. You may even find that you've got two cables hooked together when you get the D/VI; that's okay as long as one has the spidery little pins that goes into your 100. The third thing that you really OUGHT to have is the owner's manual. Not that the D/VI is all that complex, but how else are you going to know which BASIC commands are available and which aren't? And there's some good technical information in the manual, too, if you're so inclined. The book is only 64 pages, and several of these are blank or else which way the disk should be facing when you stick it in the drive ... so if you get a D/VI without the manual, and if you should find that it's not available from Tandy (but it probably is), you can always spend a little on photocopying to get what you need from it. And finally, IF you decide to buy a D/VI -- and remember, I'm not twisting your arm! -- get in touch with me before you write that check. Chances are that I'll know someone who has an extra. That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but feel free to ask anything else that comes to mind. And I hope some other folks will chip in with their experiences on the D/VI ... or DD/VI as it probably should have been called! -- Ed