Msg: 4088 *Conference*
03-08-93 16:17:45
From: RICHARD HANSON
To : GERRY TOLENTINO
Subj: REPLY TO MSG #4085 (SHARP CE-301F DISK DRIVE)
----- Gerry: I've seen similar requests for bigger, DOS-based drives for Model T's year after year. And, to the credit of those that have the know how, it's been tired but nothing firm has ever come of all the efforts. However, if a large enough interest were presented to purchase such drives, and a method discovered to cost-effectively manufacturer such drives developed back in the 80's it would have been a reality, today. It's not. This is not to say that someone, somewhere has not already adapted DOS-based drives to the Model T. I'm just saying that I, personally, have not heard anything--and I hear just about everything. The most successful attemp for a decent drive was developped by Holmes Engineering, Sandy, UT. They invented the Chipmunk drive. It ran on Model 100's and 200's but not Model 102's. It was "almost" DOS-compatible but off just enought to be a true DOS-compatible drive. The storage capacity was 320K, SSDD with the ability to go DSDD. The DOS was invented by PCSG. They also did the marketing. The DOS was called CDOS. CDOS has great. It supported subdirectories, direct Telcom or BASIC to drive access, and more. The Chipmunk drives was always the "best" technology available but allas, the Chipmunk drives died away for a variety of reasons. Who cares, now. That's history. If you're looking for large file access then Booster Pac is the key. Booster Pac is not a drive but it's packed with lots of features. Then there's rampac for special uses. For drives I'd look into a TPDD or TPDD2, or using a desktop computer for file storage via Lapdos II, BoosterLink, or 100duet--all depending on what you want to do and what platform you'll be doing it on... whatever "it" is, of course. (grin) Hope this helps... -Rick-