A New Super High Density Possibility for the Apple II's and IIGS

[Charles Turley <gbmaidsf@wco.com>]

Here's some information, I'm sure all IIGS users will find of great 
interest!

First presented to the Apple IIGS users via GS WorldView from the 
following URL:

http://www.wco.com/~3d5d1wsw/gsezine/GS.WorldView/*ARTICLES/New.A2.SHD.D
D.html

in an article written by Micha=CEl Guitton and myself - 'A New Super High 
Density Possibility for the Apple II's and IIGS', it's also just 
recently been estimated and projected, by the major computer market and 
industry analyst, with an announcement from 3M that the new LS-120 
diskette and disk drive and with an email confirmation just received by 
me, that (with the proper driver), any computer using the 1.4MB HD, 720k 
DD or 800k DD (3.5) diskette can support the new 120MB (3.5) diskette, 
for read/write, using the disk drive designed for use with it.  The disk 
drive would also be compatible with any existing; 1.4MB, 800K and/or 
720K (3.5) diskettes - in use today.

This new (3.5) 120MB diskette and its disk drive, certainly would make 
an impressive addition within the design of the rumored GS-X!

Additional information from the four companies involved in the LS-120 
technology; Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd. (MKE), 
Compaq, 3M and O.R. Technology have related via the products tech. 
review on the - 3M.com, LS-120 web site pages: "These technology 
powerhouses are joining forces in an effort to deliver the 
next-generation floppy disk drive and provide the required support to 
build it into an industry standard," said Phil Devin, vice president and 
principal analyst, Dataquest, an industry analyst firm in San Jose, 
California. "If successful, they, and potentially others, could attain 
volumes in the tens of millions of drives."

In its North American announcement, 3M said the suggested list price for 
its LS-120 Diskette is $19.99. The 120 MB (3.5) diskettes will be 
available through 3M's network of authorized distributors.

An abstract - as noted from the 3M.com web site also related:

S-120 TECHNOLOGY WINS TOP HONOR AT WORLD'S LARGEST COMPUTER EXPO

HANNOVER, Germany (March 21, 1996) -- LS-120 diskette technology, 
demonstrated here just 2 weeks after its launch, was honored by a 
leading European computing magazine as the top new hardware shown at 
CeBIT '96, the world's largest computer exposition.

This year's annual "CeBIT Oscar" was awarded to the LS-120 diskette 
technology by Germany's CHIP Magazine, a monthly with one million 
readers. About 40 of the magazine's reporters deliberated more than a 
day while evaluating all the new products on display at this year's 
show. CeBIT '96 comprised 6,500 exhibitors in information technology, 
office equipment, telecommunications systems and software.

The 120 MB diskette technology was shown at four CeBIT booths by the 
companies behind the program -- 3M, Compaq Computer Corp., Matsushita 
Kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd. (MKE), and O.R. Technology.


See this URL: 
http://www.3m.com/market/omc/om_html/dsp_html/ls120/index.html
for more in-depth information concerning this new 120 MB (3.5) diskette 
and disk drive technology.

Cheers!

Charles Turley