Re: DiscQuest

[st3b1@jetson.uh.edu (Fretz, David)]

In article <1994Apr7.184459.13861@news.vanderbilt.edu>, LEVENSJM@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu () writes...
>My interest about Econ's "discQuest" has been spiked by all these messages
>about the Apple CD150 and DiscQuest use..
> 
>What exactly does discQuest do? I was under the impression that it just
>rummages files off of Mac/IBM CD's...
> 
>Is that all it does? Is it really worth looking into? 
> 

  I'll take stab at trying to descibe discQuest.  It is software that allows
the IIGS to access discpassage CD's.  Discpassage is a type of CD "database" inthe ISO 9660 format that allows Macs and PC'ss to access the same information.
This is different from other ways to lay out a CD which puts a MSDOS partition
and then a seperate HFS partition on the same disk.  DiscQuest can go through
the organized folders to access graphics in TIFF, SCF, BMP, access sounds
(WAV's), and view the text (It is ASCII text with leading characters on each
line).  The graphics can now be viewed in color as well as grey scale.  There
is also a way of printing the graphics on the CD onto a printer.  The graphics
can be larger than the 640x200.  A process similiar to Finderview is used where
the mouse can move the picture around the screen.
  The discpassage CD's can be found anywhere CD's are sold.  I've seen some of
the same CD's for sale for about the same price as Sequential.  The only CD you
get with the software only version is the Family Doctor CD.  A good choice
since it includes sounds, graphics, and text.  I got the Sherlock Holmes CD
also and it is only text.  Though that's why I got it.  This CD has three large
books worth of reading.  If your only interest is in select text, that can be
arranged through a find text routine as part of the discQuest software.
  Note you could try and read these text with any other text editor.  However,
the links from the titles of the text and the actual text are seperate.  So
discQuests purpose is to be a shell to coherently view the CD.  You can still
view CD's from Macs and PC's without the use of discQuest.  You can even use
Mac CD's with Truetype fonts without the use of discQuest.  To view discpassage
CD's you will need to get discQuest to make sense of the CD.  It is with this
idea I encourage people with CD players to give this software a try.  You never
know what you are missing until you try it.
  My observations have been done with a CD150 and Apple HS SCSI card.  This
configuration is supported by discQuest.  Other configurations are the Apple CDSC+, Pioneer DRM-600 series and Apple CD300 (no audio) with the Apple HS SCSI
card.  DiscQuest supports the Apple CD SC+, Apple CD150, Pioneer DRM-600
series, NEC, Texel, and other SCSI II drives with the Ramfast card.
  DiscQuest can be purchased at Big Red, LRO, and Sequential Systems.  Check
with  them for pricing.

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  University of Houston    |"The king is gone but not forgotten." (Neil Young)
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  GS Games SIG Coordinator Houston Apple Area User Group  Apple II Forever!
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