No Fragments Archive 10: Diskmags/nf_archive_10.iso/MAGS/INFO/IINFO51.MSA/TEXT_SYQUEST.TXT

Text File | 1991-03-14 | 6KB | 117 lines

  88MB SYQUEST! STR InfoFile?          88mb removable-cartridge hard disks
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                          SYQUEST "88"  TO DEBUT!
                          =======================


     SyQuest removable-cartridge hard  disks,  for  three  years  a fixture
 among  desktop  publishers,  multimedia  developers and others who need to
 transport or archive large files, will soon grow  to double  their current
 capacity.

     SyQuest Technology,  developer of  the expandable storage system, this
 week will announce a  new  generation  of  its  drives  and double-density
 cartridges, which  together will  be capable of storing up to 88 Mbytes of
 data per cartridge. Called the SQ5110,  the  new  mechanism  is  slated to
 ship in  limited quantities  early in  the second quarter and in volume in
 June.

     At least three leading Macintosh storage  vendors -  Mass Microsystems
 Inc., MicroNet Technologies Inc. and Peripheral Land Inc.- plan to release
 systems based on the enhanced technology as soon  as it  is available. All
 three vendors  apparently plan to price their drives at about $1,800, with
 extra high-density cartridges at $200 to $250.

     The new drives will read but not write the 44-Mbyte SyQuest  format.
 The current  SQ555 mechanism, of which the company sold 150,000 last year,
 will remain in production for the foreseeable future.
     Described by  SyQuest  officials  as  an  "evolutionary"  product, the
 SQ5110 will  deliver the  same 20-millisecond  average seek time as recent
 versions of the lower-capacity drives. Overall  performance, however, will
 be improved  25 percent  to 30 percent, according to the company, by a new
 32-Kbyte buffer and better buffer-management techniques.   The  new models
 also should prove more reliable than their predecessors. SyQuest rates the
 SQ5110 at  60,000 hours  MTBF (mean  time between  failure), compared with
 30,000 for the current model.

     Among vendors  announcing support for the SQ5110, Mass Microsystems of
 Sunnyvale, Calif., said it plans five configurations under  the DataPak 88
 name,  including  two  dual-drive  versions  and three footprints matching
 various Mac  cases. The  company said  single-drive models  will be priced
 "below $2000"  and its preformatted DataCart 88 cartridges will retail for
 less than $200.

     MicroNet Technologies of Irvine, Calif., plans to list  its drive, the
 MR-90,  at  $1,795;  extra  cartridges  will  be $238.  Peripheral Land of
 Fremont, Calif., said its  entry, the  Infinity 88  Turbo, will  be priced
 "below $1,800." The company also plans to offer an optional SCSI-2 card in
 a bundle with the drive.

     For now, SyQuest said, it will offer the  SQ5110 only  to selected OEM
 customers, not  to distributors.  The policy, while it lasts, is likely to
 keep prices relatively firm. The 44-Mbyte  drives, introduced  three years
 ago at  the same  $1,800 retail level, are now available from direct-sales
 outlets for as little as $500.

     This week's announcement represents a major challenge to  Iomega Corp.
 of  Roy,  Utah,  SyQuest's  chief  competitor in the Mac removable-storage
 market. Iomega offers 42-Mbyte Bernoulli cartridges  in several configura-
 tions. Officials  said the  company is  working on  products with the same
 capacity as the new SyQuest that will be  announced later  this year "when
 fully tested and ready to ship into the channel".

     The 88-Mbyte  drives will also bring SyQuest into competition with the
 3.5-inch, 128-Mbyte erasable optical systems, which  several companies are
 now  shipping  in  limited  volume. SyQuest officials claimed their drive,
 although its capacity is lower, will  deliver three  times the performance
 of the opticals at not much more than half the price.

       _____________________________________________________________


    Question from Marc Lacombe on CIS (slightly edited)...
 ...I  am thinking of buying...a Syquest 44mb removable hard  drive...can
 it  could also be used on an IBM?...If I buy an IBM in a few  years,  it
 would be nice to know that my Atari hard drive could do double duty.

    Answer from Bob Retelle (Sysop) on CIS...
 ...most hard drive mechanisms,  including the SyQuest can be easily ins-
 talled in an IBM style system.  All you need is a compatible  controller
 card and you're in business!

    Answer from Bob Brodie (Atari User Group Co-Ordinator) on CIS...
 The heart and soul of the Syquest is a true SCSI device.  Just unplug it
 from the host adapter that it's connected to, and your ready to rock and
 roll.  You can use it on a Mac,  you can use it on an Amiga, you can use
 it  on an IBM,  you can use it on ANYTHING that understands SCSI or  can
 interpret SCSI.

                             ----------------

    Question from Kurt Schmidt on Genie...
 Has  anyone...any information as to how to upgrade my Megafile 30  drive
 to a higher capacity drive?  Do I need SCSI or MFM or ???  Plus, if I do
 upgrade,  what HD driver do I use to format with? The one that came with
 the  Megafile  will only format 30,  45,  or 60 Mb.  Any help  would  be
 appreciated.

    Answer from Doug Wheeler (ICD) on Genie...
 ...The  Megafile 30 has an integrated host adapter and  RLL  controller.
 Unless  you plan on doing a LOT of soldering,  you can only replace  the
 drive with another RLL drive (which works great).  If you do  this,  you
 will  have to play with Atari's WINCAP file to add the  information  for
 the drive you install (unless it happens to be one Atari uses in one  of
 their other drives).

   The controller in the Megafile 30 is  a  modified Adaptec 4070 which can
 handle 1:1 interleave (the real Adaptec can't)...
 if  you  have already formatted your Megafile 30 with  Atari's  software
 then it is already 1:1 interleaved.  If you used Supra's or ICD's  soft-
 ware you would have had to explicitly specify 1:1 interleave.

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