Msg: 6321 *Conference*

02-24-96 23:54:33

From: JOHN LATORRE

To : RICHARD HANSON

Subj: TAPE VS TPDD'S, ETC.

Rick, I don't doubt you when you say that the TPDD is better than the cassette
tapes for storage for most people. And I think that there will be a TPDD-2 in
my future someday, and if possible, you're the guy I want to buy it from. (When
there ceases to be "too much month at the end of the money" I'll be looking to
buy stuff like that.) But for now, tape works for me.  I like tape because 1.)
it's pretty crash-proof, the M100 having been designed around it, 2.) it's
physically more robust, being practically unable to go out of alignment or get
de-magnetized by airport X-ray stuff, and 3.) I can play my Steeleye Span tapes
on the tape unit when I'm not using it with the Model T. Since I use my M100
and tape when I'm camping, it makes sense to go for versatility and robustness.
To tell the truth, I usually don't have to back up more than one or two files
with it at a time ... just the ones I happen to be working on that weekend.
Since I'm not a "power user" running a lot of .CO stuff that is crash-prone,
I've had to actually restore something from a backup only twice in over eight
years. (Before that, I _was_ a power user running all the .CO files I could get
my hands on, and the damn thing used to lock up all the time.) But I made my
peace with TEXT and achieved happiness. But maybe if you send me a catalog,
that might change ... :) That aside, I like Club 100 and the concepts you have.
It reminds me of the early days in hang gliding (ca. 1975) when it was more
important to advance the safety of the sport than to make a buck. I recall that
when a manufacturer found a new way to build dive-recovery into a glider, it
shared the idea with everybody, at no charge. The idea, after all, was to save
lives and promote the sport. I think the non-commercial emphasis you put on the
club serves many of the same purposes. (Not that commerce is bad, in Model 100s
or hang gliders ... I made my living in that industry for twenty years.) The
same spirit drove the Homebrew Computer Club and the early users groups, and
the industry would have never been the same without them. One last thing:
Speaking of airlines, in 1984, people on airplanes would marvel when I got out
the M100. In 1990, people would glance and smile as they pulled out their own
laptops. In 1996, they're marveling again, this time that something so
"archaic" could still be in use. What will they think in 2002?
                --John