CompuServe Archive

This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.

Search Results (401 messages)

#49009 What Should I Buy?? Message #49059
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 24, 1993 3:57 AM
You get hardware cacheing on a SCSI drive; it's just built into the drive as it should be, and is different for each maker/design. A software cache is always a good idea if it doesn't cause more problems than it solves, since it speeds up all graphics-intensive activities as well.…
#48987 CD-R with audio??? Message #49006
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 22, 1993 8:13 PM
Never heard of CD GEN, but I note that Pinnacle's new recorder is under five grand and allegedly has not only red book (and the rest) support but also audio outputs. Haven't seen it, though, just reviews. I would suspect that most recorders out there are cranking out beta copies…
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 22, 1993 3:40 AM
Good old rule of thumb: only the top of each line does "everything possible today" (which means this week). NEC, Texel, and Toshiba all make such drives. What you want to look for without getting technical is if they claim they are XA and Kodak compatible and if they run…
#48887 What Should I Buy?? Message #48896
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 21, 1993 3:23 AM
You don't need that kind of hardware cache with SCSI drives. The throughput is amazingly fast without that nonsense in the way. If you use the on-board BIOS chip there is no memory penalty; the BIOS essentially makes the connection but runs off the board on boot up. The manager,…
#48843 CD-R with audio??? Message #48878
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 20, 1993 10:04 PM
Well, I'd love to have a Philips recorder myself, so if you could spring for that the logical thing to do would be to just hang a stock CD ROM on the SCSI chain and use it for playback tests. Okay, you'll have to remove the disk from the Philips…
#48861 MSCDEX 2.22 Message #48877
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 20, 1993 10:04 PM
Glad I could. Shows what I remember. I thought it was 2.22….
#48801 #What Should I Buy?? Message #48805
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 20, 1993 3:36 AM
The big problem with SCSI on the PC side was a total lack of standards, so it might as well not have been SCSI at all–proprietary drivers drove proprietary cards. Corel changed that by coming out with CorelSCSI, a software solution based on the ASPI standard originally developed by Adaptec…
#48665 #What Should I Buy?? Message #48714
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 19, 1993 3:39 AM
So far I've heard varying theories as to why it's slower off the PAS, but the only thing I can say for sure is that every time I've tried it both ways it holds up. I do give MediaVision credit, though, for providing a standard SCSI port at all, which…
#48651- #What Should I Buy?? Message #48713
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 19, 1993 3:39 AM
Okay, as I currently have a SCSI-based EISA system with not one but two, count 'em TWO, SCSI-2 EISA controllers installed, I think I can answer your questions here. 16 bit is always better than 8 bit because it doubles the data path. It won't make your CD ROM work…
#48205 New user Message #48222
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 12, 1993 4:25 AM
I don't think CL is licensed by MS to sell that disk separately, but I've seen several similar multimedia upgrade CDs. Sure makes adding a new driver or changing one thing a lot simpler, doesn't it? What I'd like to see is MicroSoft simply offer WIN31 on CD ROM for…
#47896 #New user Message #48071
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 10, 1993 4:53 AM
Yes, I write science fiction for a living (see Lynne's comments earlier in this section). The Windows on CDR was from a beta test I participated in. It's great and I wish MS would offer it commercially. You need to save your GRP and INI files. On the other hand,…
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 10, 1993 4:53 AM
I've done more rewrite since going to computers than before (the first DANCING GODS book was not done on computer). I don't do version rewrites–what you see is essentially first draft. However, I DO revise individual sections, passages, etc. Often the more complex books are actually written out of order,…
#48064 MSCDEX 2.22 Message #48069
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 10, 1993 4:53 AM
MicroSoft says you can use the new MSCDEX with DOS5. It fixes the bug that did not allow MSCDEX to work properly if loaded high (or so they say).
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 10, 1993 4:53 AM
Yes, it does, but at least some PAS16s require the use of no IRQ higher than 10 if you want that SoundBlaster support enabled. Don't ask me why. Mine's one of 'em.
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 10, 1993 4:53 AM
ECHOES is all over now. Depends on geography, though; trade pbs are shipped from Random House HQs in Westminster, MD, so they make it across country and across the northern border in a progression. Yeah, it only takes a few hours to read one but it takes months to write…
#47813 problems solved Message #47859
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 6, 1993 9:32 PM
Just use Tech Support or Sysop. They'll get it.
#47826 #New user Message #47858
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 6, 1993 9:32 PM
I forgot the context, Matthew, sorry. Too many messages and replies and the original context message is gone now. Reinstalling Windows is a pain in the rear but it's sometimes a good idea to do it occasionally anyway. I reinstalled Windows when I added a second hard drive and discovered,…
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 6, 1993 9:31 PM
Many of the higher-end graphics packages (like CorelDraw) provide Kodak viewers, but you can also order inexpensive software (I believe it's called Kodak Access) directly from Kodak. Somebody from Kodak here will probably be able to tell you where it can be ordered in Britain (it's available from a toll…
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 6, 1993 9:31 PM
Which of my 43 published novels do you want a short description of? Go to any bookstore (chain bookstore in particular, such as Waldens, Daltons, Brentano's etc.) and look in the science fiction section under Chalker. I have eleven million copy plus selling books, so I'll be there.
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 6, 1993 4:27 AM
Well, the original OS/2 code was MicroSoft's, so you'd expect much the same error codes there. I have a certain grudging admiration for MicroSoft. Remember how they promised no more UAEs if you went from WIN30 to WIN31? And they kept their word. They renamed them….
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 6, 1993 4:26 AM
Ron, they haven't figured out how to quadruple the CD capacity yet, and I'm afraid that's what you'd need!
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia May 6, 1993 4:26 AM
Okay, one at a time…. I don't know the Mitsui. If it says XA anywhere, it's Kodak CD compatible. It it doesn't, it may be single session compatible but not multisession compatible (i.e. it might be able to read everything laid down in one pass but not anything added later…
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 5, 1993 4:33 AM
Interesting. I knew of a lot of error messages but never saw a GPF message outside of Windows….
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 5, 1993 4:33 AM
No, I'm a science fiction writer, mostly, and that means that if I make a mistake I hear about it for years. Besides, MathCAD was cheap (AAAS member special) and is fun to play with.
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 5, 1993 4:33 AM
Actually, I work at 1024X1268, and I do use wallpaper, but it's only that tiny "paper.bmp" file from WIN30. It's just easier on the eyes and doesn't take much memory. Besides, it keeps me from having my son sneak in and put on one of his own creations…. With the…
#47704 I'm back Message #47712
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 5, 1993 4:33 AM
Sorry, Lynne, but naked wimmen is one of my trademarks. If I leave 'em out my editors (usually women, by the way) want to know why….
#47680 I'm back Message #47711
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC May 5, 1993 4:33 AM
Awww…. I'm getting used to "I'm back." It's like an old friend….
#46733 #I'm back Message #46846
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 25, 1993 5:31 AM
Yeah, well, Prodigy keeps getting more and more expensive and you still get the ads! I have several services I find useful for different things: DELPHI is friendly and is great for online "live" stuff, has great email, and very cheap ($2.50 a month) access to the Internet. BiX I…
#46686 I'm back Message #46845
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 25, 1993 5:31 AM
Because somebody could read "digressions" and think we were just digressing on Nautilus subjects, which we often do….
#46683 #I'm back Message #46844
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 25, 1993 5:31 AM
Just your friendly cable monopoly in action, most likely. Some of the emerging dish technologies might even give some apartment dwellers a way in, although you'll need to be facing south or west! In Britain, they have a 50-channel Ku dish system and it's fascinating to see all the tiny…
#46762 #Art Work Message #46843
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia April 25, 1993 5:31 AM
The good news is that there are several just as you describe out there. The bad news is that I can't give you the titles of any of them because my wife and son have been raiding my CD ROM files here and I can't find where they put half…
#46709 #Multisession ? Message #46842
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia April 25, 1993 5:31 AM
You miss my point. If you could make a camera that would only accept Kodak film you could almost afford to give away the camera, and, in any case, it would be a one-time charge. On the other hand, Kodak processing companies who do Photo CD charge for the service…
#46590 #I'm back Message #46615
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 22, 1993 5:40 AM
Well, why not? After all, nobody's going to mistake a thread with a name like that for anything about Nautilus or CD ROMs, are they?
#46571 #I'm back Message #46614
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 22, 1993 5:40 AM
Fine; join the club, then, and answer everybody else's questions. The key isn't just the bill; the key is to use BBS management software that limits that bill and also allows you to manage your own time. TAPCIS is my own choice; it logs on, downloads my EMail and all…
#46589 #I'm back Message #46613
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 22, 1993 5:40 AM
That's where a dish comes in handy. ALL national media as well as governments go in for such things. I don't believe the CBC when it's examining a lot of Canadian politics, nor the Beeb on British, but what they say about other places, including ours, is often the best…
#46588 #I'm back Message #46612
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 22, 1993 5:39 AM
You actually expect the truth from government briefings? How naive…. I grew up in close proximity to Washington, D.C. I know better.
#46587 #I'm back Message #46611
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 22, 1993 5:39 AM
Invasion? Maybe, but didn't we all? The Indians invaded from Asia, then the Spaniards and Portuguese invaded from Europe, followed closely by the English, French, Dutch, even the Swedes. For a period between the Civil War and the Twenties most major cities looked and sounded like a Disney exhibit with…
#46567 #Multisession ? Message #46610
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia April 22, 1993 5:39 AM
Funny–I got the impression that Kodak's Photo CD was introduced so that Kodak could sell it as a service and make a lot of money. I doubt with their patents and copyrights that they would be too thrilled to see competing photo companies offering it without paying royalties. Kodak is,…
#46599 #Multisession ? Message #46609
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia April 22, 1993 5:39 AM
You'll agree that multisession XA is really best in firmware; current MPC CD ROM drives now include support for it within their chip set, and a few offer firmware upgrades from single-session to multisession capability. However, I don't know of any way to play and use multisession XA disks using…
#46482 New Technology Message #46608
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia April 22, 1993 5:39 AM
I don't think the AVI system is practical for much beyond what it can now do, and considering how critical matched video drivers, sound drivers, and the like are, I really wonder just how much progress we can expect on the anarchic PC side. So MicroSoft annoints the S3 or…
#46445 #I'm back Message #46472
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 21, 1993 5:50 AM
Well, it's pretty much anything the regulars want to make it, isn't it? If you have a CD ROM question, I'm sure folks here would be happy to answer it (most of us are veterans of betas and multimedia stuff and all that) and if you have a question for…
#46337 #I'm back Message #46471
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 21, 1993 5:50 AM
The French farmers are so powerful that the entire French government is scared to death of them. They actually kill politicians. They also attack, beat, terrorize, and whatever British and other truckers bringing imports into or even THROUGH their countries. I watch the BBC news every night. We have no…
#46336 #I'm back Message #46470
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 21, 1993 5:50 AM
Involving ourselves in the affairs of other nations is a constant, not something new, that's all I'm saying. And a good examination of the wars and revolutions around 1848 and 1871 will show you that civilian wars aren't that unusual, either. The most instructive thing about the Serbs and their…
#46335 #I'm back Message #46469
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 21, 1993 5:49 AM
Speak for yourself. We Celtic Americans will not rest until every single road sign is in Welsh (and hence forty feet long)!
#46334 I'm back Message #46468
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 21, 1993 5:49 AM
Paul, I am self-employed and with a pre-existing condition. Blue Cross is currently getting me for $1095 a MONTH for coverage for me and my family and I can't switch because nobody else will take me. It's about at the top range that I can handle (but it only takes…
#46340 Invaders . . . Message #46467
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 21, 1993 5:49 AM
Good. I'm not going crazy, then. The trouble is, while I'm getting much better TEST results I'm not seeing a humungous (or even noticeable) increase in actual playing quality. Oh, well….
#46339 I'm back Message #46466
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · NAUTILUS PC April 21, 1993 5:49 AM
Very few centrist parties command majorities; they just don't have the fanatical followers and dedicated tops to take them there and keep them there. Poll after poll indicates that the majority of British citizens agree more with the Liberal Democrats on most issues, yet it has not and probably will…
#46446 #Multisession ? Message #46465
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia April 21, 1993 5:49 AM
They generally refer to it as Kodak Multisession, if that helps, and, yes, it's a different "standard." But right now it's the only game in town for the Kodak CD photo format and is likely to be the one used by others when they come along because it's in the…
#46295 Encarta Data Message #46464
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia April 21, 1993 5:49 AM
Well, I admit that I have a Brittanica in the house, but it's not on CD ROM. Of the 3 that are now, the Groliers has more depth of information than the other two in my opinion. Okay, so the F&W and Comptons are aimed at middle/junior high and the…
#46279 SB Pro & CD ROM Message #46463
From: Jack L. Chalker CDROM Forum · Multimedia April 21, 1993 5:49 AM
You can't. You either buy the CD ROM that is specifically designed to work with the port or you can't run one from it. It is a proprietary interface. However, you CAN hook a CD ROM to any of the dozens of fine SCSI cards around and then just run…

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