Re: CDR's & MP3 for GS???

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

Randy Shackelford <shack@onyx.southwind.net> wrote:

>Supertimer <supertimer@aol.com> wrote:
>
>: I was thumbing through an old issue of InCider when I came across
>: a review of a Tulin optical drive.  Tulin sold it for the IIGS as well
>: as other computers.  On the IIGS it required a HS SCSI card, but it
>: worked just fine on the IIGS.
>
>: I thought optical drives were the precursors to CD-RW.
>
>Tulin sold floptical drives, which track optically and read/write
magnetically.
>There's also magneto optical, which uses a laser to heat the surface of the
>optical disk so that the magnetic head can write data. Neither are strictly
>optical.
>
>: If an optical drive can work on the IIGS, wouldn't a CD-RW
>: theoretically work?
>
>Well my magneto optical drive won't work on my IIgs.

Probably because you don't have the right driver.  Also, Tulin
and InCider both claimed that Tulin's Optical drive was fully
optical and used only lasers and no magnets.

You don't have to take my word for it, here is the review:


Tulin Optical Drive

Reviewed in January 1993 issue of InCider.
InCider rating: 3 stars out of 5 possible.

*rewritable optical storage
*Apple IIGS with Apple High Speed SCSI
*Ricoh mechanism
*43ms average access time
*120MB 3.5-inch cartridges

It is a truism in the computer industry that if you see
something you like, wait a few months and it'll become
smaller, faster, better, or obsolete.  Occasionally, a
technology comes along that offers completely unique
features.  Using lasers instead of magnets to store your
data, whether in the form of CD-ROM or a rewritable
optical drive, offers immense data compacity but demands
a hefty sacrifice in speed.  Rewritable optical drives
have been available for the Macintosh for some time,
but Tulin Technology recently began shipping a drive
for use on your IIGS and the world of data storage may
never be the same.

To create this beast, Tulin wrapped a standard A-Hive
case around a Ricoh mechanism.  The resulting package
is surprisingly small, about one and a half times as
wide as a 3.5-inch drive and about the same height.

Installation of the requisite software on the Apple
IIGS is a snap.  You either drop the driver into
the appropriate system folder or use the installer
included.  Once up and running, the Tulin drive
performed like a champ.  Tulin claims an average
42-millisecond access speed, two to four times slower
than an average hard drive.  In timing comparisons,
the Tulin finished either in the middle of the pack
or just a few seconds behind the slowest.

The Tulin Optical requires an Apple High Speed SCSI
card on the GS.  Apparently, the RAMFast SCSI card
isn't up to the job.  Rewritable optical cartridges
have capacity and durability.  If you decide to buy
a rewritable optical drive, Tulin deserves your
attention.

Cameran Crotty
InCider staff