This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (174 messages)
Kathy: I was just trying to respond to a single point in the message, but you are certainly right! Too often we get hung up in the cost of the medium (whether it's paper or sky-writing) without considering the effort to create the content and get it on the medium.…
Ah, I get it!
Steven: Are you looking for, say, a master list of these products by their UPC's? Rich Bowers
Peter: For good or ill, Yes, each CDROM product brings with it its own interface/retrieval/presentation software. Some will run from Windows, other will have to run under Windows. While there are a limted number of vendors writing CDROM software, publishers work hard to make their presentations unique, and it does…
Bill: Rumor Time! I heard today that Apple is due momentarily to announce an Apple-labelled one-off system, based on Sony's system (in spite of the arrangement with Trace), including software for about $7K. The announcement was to have been made last week, but hasn't happened yet, so status is uncertain.…
Bill: And one doesn't have to risk making a fool of oneself wrestling with the stupid projector screen! It's so public! At least now, when making a fool of oneself trying to figure out which little wire to plug into which little hole, one is huddled behind the tv, out…
Cheryl: I'm just sorry I didn't respond earlier! Glad to help. Rich Bowers
John: I have not heard of this problem before. Perhaps if it happens again, you could make a note of the message # and pass it along to me – I'll check it out. You do have the ability to set the date for new messages, which overrides the normal…
David: Hopefully, the World Series win will keep everyone up there a little warmer this winter! Your drive will read the first "session" of a Photo-CD if 1) it is XA-compatible and 2) you have Kodak's software. The drives that Kodak has certified as compatible are listed in Lib#7 in…
Frank: The key to selling anything, as you know, is to get the ear of people who are candidates for the product. Kodak has – and can get -the ear of photographers. While that is a subset of the entire US consumer market, it is a HUGE subset. While the…
Dale: An increasing number of the "authoring" tools (indexing/retrieval software) have engines for both Mac and PC. If this is your goal, then it should be one of your first questions. It sounds as if your project – from a technical point of view – is pretty straightforward. You will…
#30464-
#OED pricing
Message #30540
Robin: Not that I speak for Oxord, but compare the CDROM version with the original print version at something like $2500. The production cost for the condensed print version is indeed quite a bit less expensive – they simply shoot the original pages at a reduction. On the other hand,…
Bill: I'm not familiar with the announcement you referred to but: 1) there are no erasable CD systems on the market today, and I know of no plans for release of such a system. The best we can do is the so-called CD-R (for recordable), which is available from Sony,…
#30411-
#CD-ROM Book Production
Message #30533
Dale: I gather from your message that you have looked around for software and have a good idea of what you want to do. I have perceived a split into two basic (though somewhat amorphous) groups. First there is the "traditional" database and free text retrieval software (vendors are noted…
#30465-
#Clinton Anti-Vietnam
Message #30531
Douglas: With all respect for your opinions and positions, does this have anything to do with CDROM?
#30439-
#Catalog/Catalogue
Message #30527
Mushtaq: Thanks for the info on your company. In order to stay in good graces with CompuServe and other Forum members, however, we ask that you post messages of this type in the "Marketplace" section, reserved for commercial announcements. Feel free to jump in anywhere on the Forum to respond…
#30398-
#Grolier
Message #30526
At the risk of being too obvious, have you tried calling Grolier's customer service? I have 800/243-7256. I have to believe your difficulty is an oversight they would want to correct! Rich Bowers
#30474-
Retrieval Software
Message #30521
Let me check with Steve Luper – he knows the CompuServe system inside and out. There may be a way to broadcast a message to sysops about their CDDROM involvement. You obviously know of several. There's COREL, MSL, GAMER(?)… Rich Bowers
Bill: Do you have any contact info about Sumo Systems? Or the dealer from whom you bought it? Thanks. Rich Bowers
What platform do you use? Is this your basic adult dictionary o children's? Merriam Webster's Dictionary from Highlighted Data runs on the Mac with audio pronunciations. Microsoft Bookshelf runs on the PC. And there's an MPC product from Macmillan for children. Don't know about find misspelled words, et al.
Nope, you have the right place. Oxford University Press' phone is 212/679-7300, ext 7370. They can either sell you one or direct you to a dealer. The list price is $895 for the latest edition published in print in 1990. BTW, they have some other electronic reference products, on floppy…
Kathy: Sorry, I didn't mean to slight you. I agree, it can be tough to find out who these vendors are, and I really don't know why. Well, maybe it's because "retrieval software" for CDROM has been until recently a very specialized field, and most vendors (with a couple of…
Tom: I would also be interested in what you learn. It would be most useful for OPA's newsletter or for a file to be available here on the Forum. It would be particularly interesting to get the pespective of a potential user, rather than simply comparing spec sheets and feature…
A key issue is whether the software program that operates access to the CDROM is workable cross-platform. If the disc in question is ISO9660 compatible, both systems will be able to "read" it, that is, recognize its content. But the software is written to each platform. The best luck in…
Alan: Is that "GO CYBERLAW", or is Cyberlaw a section in another forum?
I don't mean to butt in, but… The penetration of CDROM drives in the Mac market is higher (as much as twice as high) as the Dos-based market. One of the main reasons is businesses like yours that use Macs in graphics and publishing applications. As for titles, you might…
Jan and Albert: Thanks for the kudos, but my purpose here is simply to help people find answers, and you and all the others do the really hard work. Eg., going through your experiences and sharing the results! Rich
Don't know about Red book only for Photo-CD, although it seems logical at this stage. Perhaps Paul McAfee will see this an respond; I'll ask around. Rich Bowers
It seems there is emerging a pretty good mix of titles – some are developed cross-platform, and others are unique to specific systems. There are fewer CD-I titles to be found in other-platform versions, probably because of the specific nature of the development process. But there seem to be increasing…
Frank: This has certainly wandered from the CD Changer topic! But I really appreciate your comments and perspective. Hopefully, some of the prospective publishers frequenting the forum will gain some insight from your experience! And hopefully the non-publishers will also get a better understanding of what makes CDROM publishing the…
The only thing "precious" about the OPA lists I've posted, is the good they may do someone trying to find a needle in a haystack. Assembling them costs me a lot of personal time and the OPA no small expense. But we do the best we can in an ever-changing…
Kevin: It seems that the systems people like Philips easily lose sight of their position in the ol' food chain. Systems providers, title developers (publishers) and consumers are very dependent on each other. As Philips has demonstrated, no systems vendor can simply plant a flag and claim to be the…
Kevin: Our views of the "nature" of CD-I will probably remain apart. I can appreciate that Philips wants to create the impression that CD-I is aompletely original implementation of basic CD technology. However, in fact, first there was CD-audio. It was extended (by virtue of adding additional error correction etc)…
Everyone gets hung up on the data format issue (like CD-I vs XA, etc) without considering that these systems are entirely different, everything outside the disc format itself, that is. Since CD-I is a closed environment with its own OS, Tandy is a flavor of DOS/Windows, and Photo-CD is both…
There are a couple of companies that make CDROM stacks of drives. Online Computer Systems of Germantown MD comes to mind. I think you may have difficulty with the "simultaneous" issue, unless you are talking about serial searching of multiple discs with a "virtual" appearance of simultaneous use. In any…
Check out the "vndrs.txt" file in Lib #14. There are a few dozen distributors (many with 800#'s) who have substantial CDROM product lines. And I hope others will share with you their favorite vendors. Increasing numbers of retail outlets are carrying CDROM too. If your local outlets don't, ask questions,…
There are two major and a couple of lesser CDROM directories on the market, one published by Meckler for $95 and the other by TFPL (in England) for $149. Both are available in print or CDROM. Descriptions and contacts for these and others are in the "biblio.txt" file in Lib…
I invite you to load a product description, specs, etc into our "Marketplace" library. There has been some messages in recent months looking for this kind of information. Rich Bowers, co-sysop OPA
The mention of sound board tells me you are seeking a pc-compatible product? There are perhaps dozens of excellent "bundle" deals available from distributors and vendors. Some that get the most attention are from NEC, TigerSoftware, DAK and Sony, but – if history is any indicator – there are probably…
All the OPA files are in Library #14. There is a bibliography of CDROM-related publications, a distributor/vendor list, a list of marketing studies and a file full of membership info about OPA. There will be several new files added in the next week or two about dataconversion houses and service…
Frank: Certainly you are right about the production costs. In fact, it might be interesting to look at the comparison of where dollars go in the book-making process vs CDROM-making process. Publishers are accustommed to paying authors very little, and spending a lot on actually making the book. In the…
Re: Tandy and VIS. There is some logic that is simply to formidable to dispute!
Well, interleaving text with pictures (and, by the way sound and video) is not "XXA." That is precisely what the XA spec was designed to do. Kodak's recent announcements are only implementing the capability of the format that has been there all along. Rich
No, I am not afraid that CD-I will replace CDROM. I spend a lot of time explaining to people that CD-I **IS** CDROM, just a special format intended for a dedicated player.
Have you tried Meridian Data in Scotts Valley CA?
I believe Trantor has a gizmo that allows a connection through the parallel port. But I seem to recall that performance can be affected. I don't know about moving between an MCA and an ISA machine, however.
If I am understanding correctly, it sounds as if you are trying to bypass the data protection scheme of the product, which may violate your purchase agreement. Have you tried contacting the vendor if you are dissatisfied with the product?
For **maximum** flexibility I would want to have an XA-compatible, multisession drive, which should be available (according to vendors claims, anyway) later this year, perhaps as soon as COMDEX. This would give you access to both MPC titles and Photo-CD. Barring that, I would like a 2x-speed drive with lots…
How about we load this file in the "Drives/Hardware" library #7? It might be easier for others to deal with and will survive longer than the message rotation schedule. If you need any help let me know. Otherwise, just "contribute" to the sysop library and Lupes will move it around.…
Larry: Did you use IBM's tools to do the Photomotion processing/compression yourself, or did you hire a service bureau. What was the experience like?
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