Date : Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:18:24 +0200
From : rick@... (Rick Murray)
Subject: OT Only Connect
Philip Pemberton wrote:
I have a Miniscribe! :-)
Go here:
http://redhill.net.au/d/d-a.html
and look for:
Miniscribe 8438 and 8425
I don't know if it is the same model - the only difference is an Apple
label...
In use? Let's say it's the only SCSI harddisc I've ever come across that
would probably make my FileStore run SLOWER, had it been possible to
install it.
Actually, for those of us who were geeky in the '80s and '90s, the
redhill site makes for a good bit of reminiscence. I'm looking at those
286 boards right now and thinking "I remember that!"...
Not much about our favourite machine, perhaps the impact in Australia
was not so much as it might have otherwise seemed?
> Their claim to fame was that they allegedly figured out how to eliminate
> about half the parts that typically went into a 3.5" HDD...
I read your story you posted in 2002. Sorry there was no Lemmings fix.
In deep irony, another site says:
--8<--------
These products are ideal for ruggedized applications and specially
suited where compact size, lightweight, high storage capacity, and
reliability is required.
--8<--------
> rails and shock absorbers, and probably the head loading ramp / landing
> zone assembly...
Oh, so it was an actuator, a head, and a platter rattling around with
little else useful?!?
They got rid of shock absorbers? I bet it'd be fun to listen to Win32
swapping off one of those!
> Heh. R TAPE LOADING ERROR was always an annoyance.
What, this?
http://www.rtapeloadingerror.com/
:-)
> The CFS is just quiet enough (after being covered in books/papers/foam/junk)
> to not annoy the heck out of me.
The only computer I've ever been happy leaving on overnight is Aiko,
which is virtually silent.
Way back when, my first big harddisc was a 1Gb Fujitsu hooked to an
A5000. Ran bloody hot - I stuck a main powered fan on it to cool it, but
after a year or so of power up/down, it started to succumb from bit rot.
After it more or less died, I swapped it for a Viper 150Mb tape streamer
as my one's SCSI interface was on the fritz. I dunno why the person
wanted a dead drive, but hey...
I'm wary of things that aren't Intel chips that feel a need to run that
hot...
> I've worked on have been built just well enough to last out the 12-month
> guarantee.
Mmmm....
> Now you pretty much have to pay ?20 for a "Seagate approved" cardboard box
> and packing foam, or risk having them deny your RMA...
They ought to refund you - it's their damned problem leading you to buy
the thing in the first place!
They'd die, they really would. My 250Gb Deskstar drive arrived in a
large box, bigger than a shoebox. Inside was the harddisc in a sealed
antistatic bag, and a small handful of shredded cardboard.
THAT WAS IT.
For reference:
1. The supplier was Grosbill ( www.grosbill.fr )
2. The drive verified okay and has worked just fine since
> I am not paying ?20 for a box and foam...
You might think somebody at Grosbill is either lazy or just plain
stupid, but you'd have thought it would be company policy to take care
in packing of fragile items in order to reduce loss due to returns of
broken equipment, customer dissatisfaction, etc.
Maybe the over-the-top box&foam says a lot about Seagate's thoughts on
their drive?
I'm sure I read on one drive that, when off, it could withstand an
impact of 300G? That can't be right, surely? 300G? Doesn't that mean I
could lob it at a concrete floor and expect it to work afterwards?
> friendly. "It's dead? OK, about half a dozen layers of bubble-wrap, then
> find a nice thick-walled cardboard box to put it in. Send it Recorded
> first-class, our address is >X<."
What, no anti-static baggie?
> My current flavour-of-the-month are the WesternDigital drives
How d'you rate SSDs?
Best wishes,
Rick.
--
Rick Murray, eeePC901 & ADSL WiFI'd into it, all ETLAs!
BBC B: DNFS, 2 x 5.25" floppies, EPROM prog, Acorn TTX
E01S FileStore, A3000/A5000/RiscPC/various PCs/blahblah...