CompuServe Messages

Hi! I just joined this forum because I heard the DAK folks were here sometimes, and I was thinking of getting the $399 CDROM drive in your latest catalog. If you don't mind my jumping in here, I had a question or two… I should probably warn you, however, that I'm a complete neophyte on CDROM's and the only reason I'm even thinking of getting one is because I figure if I don't start soon, catching up will be like someone trying to learn about PC's now — a daunting prospect! 🙂 Anyway, my system is a 486-50 with a Maxtor SCSI drive and Data Technology adapter card. Would the $399 drive run on such a system? Are their other components I would need? Aside from some "fun" stuff, I'm thinking I would probably use the drive for my consulting business and get some CDROM products from companies like Dun & Bradstreet, Standard & Poors, etc. (not cheap, but then my dialup costs to these aren't cheap, either!). I'm also planning on buying a notebook soon — probably a Toshiba or possibly the NCR 3170. Would the $399 drive work with a notebook? As a general question, could you (or someone else) point me in the direction of some basic CDROM info — a primer of sorts — such as, are files accessed on a CDROM accessed like a file on a hard drive or floppy? Do you use DOS commands? (e.g., will "dir" tell me what's on the disk?) or is there some other access program that one needs to use? I appreciate any and all info! 🙂 I know it's a lot of questions… BTW, hope your financial woes get straightened out — I've bought a fair amount of stereo stuff from you in the past and have always been happy. — Helene