Re: SyQuest SparQ 1.0 GB Drive

[Zorin the Lynx <yakko@zorin.org>]

Hard drive technology was never meant to be used in a non-sealed 
environment; that's why Jaz/Syquest/etc. were never really all that 
reliable for data storage.

When a head floats over a disk, the dust tends to get caught under the 
head and scratch up both the head and the disk surface. Floppy-style 
technology, like Zip 100 and 250, has the heads touching the disk; they 
end up pushing the dust out of the way instead of sucking it up under 
the head, so they last much longer.

Of course the media and heads eventually wear out from all that abrasion.

I think optical media is the only REAL choice for removeable media; 
notice that only optical formats have really survived and gained mass 
acceptance.

-Z

Eric Smith wrote:
> "Terry Olsen" <tolsen64@hotmail.com> writes:
>
> > The local thrift shop has one of these parallel port drives really cheap. 
> > Does anyone know if the drive mechanism is a SCSI or IDE?  or some other 
> > wierd format? 
>
>
> I don't know, but I can tell you that the only thing that SparQ and
> Syjet drives are good for is target practice, and they're not even all
> that good for that.
>
> When I worked at ReplayTV (employee #3, not counting the founders), we
> used them for development of our product.  On average they lasted under
> a month of moderate usage, or maybe two months of light usage.  We were
> continuously exchanging them with the store where we purchased them; the
> store staff got really tired of seeing us.  Syquest went out of business
> not long after.  Coincidence?  I think not.
>
> Don't waste your money on it.  Don't take one even if it's offered to
> you for free.
>
> By comparison, Iomega Jaz drives seem to last between six months (with
> occasionaly cartridge changing) and a year (using the same cartridge
> continously) before they start developing bad sectors.  I'd avoid them
> as well.  I had three remaining mostly-working drives and six cartridges
> that I physically destroyed and threw away because if I gave them to
> someone I'd have felt terrible about it.
>
> If you want a good storage solution for your Apple II, get a CFFA card
> and use a CF card or a laptop IDE drive.

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