Need advice on CD-ROM
6 messages in this thread
Bryan,
I have a 386 with super VGA, a MediaVision Thunderboard sound card,
amplified speakers, and plenty of open slots and bays. My kids (aged 4 and
6) have gone nuts over the Mixed-up Mother Goose game and it's got me
contemplating adding a CD-ROM drive. I read in INFOWORLD that DAK has made
a special deal with NEC to offer a low-priced drive that meets the new
Microsoft multi-media specifications. I've tried calling DAK many times
but the lines are always busy. Is this drive capable of both good
performance on games as well as the numerous multi-media titles expected to
be delivered in 1992? Is it truely MPC-compliant? What is involved in the
installation process? Do I need any other hardware? Besides Mixed-up
Mother Goose, can you recommend any other existing games or educational
CD-ROM titles that young children would appreciate? Thank you for your
patience in reading this any advice you might be able to give me.
Joe Surdoval
Joe,
I wish I could give you more technical information on this, but all I know
is that we bought a quantity of NEC CD-ROM drives a while back. We're just
selling them through the store at the moment. They have a SCSI interface
card and should have everything you need to install and use. I haven't
spent any time with it — I work on catalog items and the NEC drive is just
a close-out we're handling through our store.
Bryan/DAK
There is 1 Reply.
Bryan,
Thanks for the quick reply. Can DAK items like the CD-ROM drive be
mail-ordered from a store? I don't think there are any DAK stores near
Allentown, PA.
Joe Surdoval
There is 1 Reply.
Joe,
I would recommend that you call our Canoga Park (Calif) store and check the
availability and shipping. Sorry, I'm at home and don't have the number
memorized or I'd give it to you.
Too bad you're not in this area. We often have products in the store that
aren't in the catalog. I saw some microwave ovens and refrigerators the
other day!
Bryan/DAK
There has been alot of disscusion here and in the Multimedia forum on the
merits of the various NEC/DAK/SONY bundles. These three different bundles
have different drives and titles. Whether the drive is MPC-compliant or not
is a hot issue. It depends mostly on the buffer size of the interface card
(i gather from lurking).
Actually, to be LABLED as an MPC product i think it has to be a complete
system or a complete MPC upgrade package. Since you already have a sound
card (does it meet the MPC sound spec's?) you dont want a complete upgrade,
just the CDROM.
As for good educational titiles, an Encyclopedia is a good start. The
'Mammals' CD is also raved about. Be careful about the Encyc. There are at
least 2 different versions of the COMPTONS and 3 of GROLIERs. COMPTONS
MULTIMEDIA has the richest multimedia (animations). It is very different
from the Compton's FAMILY e.
The three Grolier versions are basically the same (same text as the on-line
CIS/Prodigy versions) but include still images and sound. Most of the
bundles include one or the other encyclopedia.
The TimeTable of Science (in NEC bundle) is interesting, educational, and
fun, but it runs somewhat slow and doesnt have animations. I was the last
programmer diddling it. There will be faster versions next year, as well as
two more in the Time Table series.
Jerry Isdale
Jerry,
Thanks for the advice. I have a Thunderboard sound card which is
compatible with Sound Blaster (not Sound Blaster Pro). I'd like to be able
to run some of the titles you mentioned, especially National Geographic's
Mammals. I'm considering DAK's $229 special on NEC-80 drives, but am
concerned that its slow (1 second) access time might not let it run discs
like Mammals satisfactorily. Its transfer rate is supposed to be 150k and
it has a 64k buffer. Do you think It will be able to handle the video in
Mammals?
Thanks,
Joe Surdoval