Usenet 1993 July/InfoMagic USENET CD-ROM July 1993.ISO/answers/cdrom-faq

Internet Message Format | 1993-06-22 | 92.6 KB

Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!usenet
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Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom,comp.multimedia,alt.answers,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: alt.cd-rom FAQ
Followup-To: alt.cd-rom
Date: 22 Jun 1993 11:56:06 GMT
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Summary: Frequently asked questions about CD-ROMs
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.cd-rom:11579 comp.multimedia:7737 alt.answers:451 comp.answers:1086 news.answers:9655

Archive-name: cdrom-faq
Last-modified: 1993/04/26

========================= FAQ alt.cd-rom ===================================

FAQ for the alt.cd-rom usenet newsgroup.  This list is posted to
alt.cd-rom every month.  The latest version is available via anonymous
ftp from cdrom.com: /cdrom/faq.  This file is freely redistributable.
============================================================================

0.  What is a CD-ROM?
1.  What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs?
1a. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in North America?
1b. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in Europe?
1c. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in the Mid-East?
1d. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in Asia?
1e. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in Australia and New Zealand?
2.  Can you recommend a good CD-ROM drive?
3.  Where can I get caddies?
4.  Are there any good periodicals and publications on CD-ROMs?
5.  Why are CD-ROM drives so slow?
6.  Is it important to have a fast CD-ROM?  Does 300ms vs. 700ms really matter?
7.  Is it important to buy a fully SCSI compatible drive?
8.  Where can I get information on SCSI controllers for CD-ROM drives?
9.  How much does it cost to make a CD-ROM?
10. I have a great idea for a CD-ROM but no money.  What can I do?
11. Where can I get a CD-ROM published?
12. Where can I find equipment to make my own CD-ROMs?
13. Where can I get blank media for my CD-ROM recorder?
14. I have 10000 paper documents that I want to put on a CD-ROM.  Who can help?
15. Are there any organizations of CD-ROM Publishers?
16. Where can I get more information about CD-ROM publishing?
17. How much information will fit on a CD-ROM?
18. Why doesn't MSCDEX work with DOS 5.0?
19. Where can I get the latest version of MSCDEX?
20. I bought a used drive at a garage sale.  Where can I find a driver for it?
21. What is the difference between `High Sierra' and ISO-9660?
22. Where can I get a copy of the ISO-9660 standard?
23. What is an HFS disc?
24. Can you give a short explaination of ISO-9660?
25. What the heck does `Red Book' and `Yellow Book' mean?
26. What is CD-I?
27. What is CD-ROM/XA?
28. What are the Rock Ridge extensions?
29. What is ECMA 168?
30. Is a short technical introduction to these standards available?
31. Who comes up with these standards?  Can I have any input to the process?
32. Are there any ftp sites with good stuff related to CD-ROMs?
33. How do I write an MSDOS program that can access a cdrom using MSCDEX?
34. How do I mount an ISO-9660 disc on a Sun?
35. How do I use a CD-ROM with OS/2?
36. Which CD-ROM Drives will work with MicroSoft Windows-NT?
37. How do I read an audio cd track as digital data?
38. Why do CD-ROMs cost so much?
39. Why do all the bundle deals require me to buy a drive?  What if I
    already have a drive?
40. Are alt.cd-rom archives available anywhere?
41. What is the shelf-life of a CD-ROM?
42. How should I handle my CD-ROMs?  How do I clean them?
43. Which drives will work with Kodak Photo CD?
44. What is a "Multisession" CD drive?
45. How does Photo CD work?
46. Where can I get more information about the Kodak Photo CD?
47. Where can I get maps of the US on CD-ROM?
48. How do I put a CD-ROM Drive on a Novell network?
49. Are any CD-ROM Jukeboxes available?
50. Can I speed up my CD-ROM by using a cache?
51. Do you have any info about the CD-ROM filesystems for Amigas?
52. What are the most popular CD-ROMs?
53. What are some good references to CD-ROM reviews?
54. ???? Please send any other questions (and answers) that should
    be included in this FAQ to [e-mail].

==========================================================================
0. What is a CD-ROM?

   CD-ROM means "Compact Disc Read Only Memory".  A CD-ROM is physically
   identical to a Digital Audio Compact Disc used in a CD player, but the
   bits recorded on it are interpreted as computer data instead of music.
   You need to buy a "CD-ROM Drive" and attach it to your computer in
   order to use CD-ROMs.

   A CD-ROM has several advantages over other forms of data storage, and
   a few disadvantages.  A CD-ROM can hold about 650 megabytes of data,
   the equivalent of thousands of floppy discs.  CD-ROMs are not damaged
   by magnetic fields or the xrays in airport scanners.  The data on
   a CD-ROM can be accessed much faster than a tape, but CD-ROMs are
   10 to 20 times slower than hard discs.

   You cannot write to a CD-ROM.  You buy a disc with the data already
   recorded on it.  There are thousands of titles available.

==========================================================================
1. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs?

  Jim Raehl has compiled an excellent list of sources for inexpensive
  CD-ROMs.  His list is periodically posted to alt.cd-rom, and is available
  via anonymous ftp from cdrom.com:/cdrom/faq_disc.

  You can get a list of about 85 CD-ROM titles by sending a blank message
  to [e-mail]  [ Several people have had trouble
  getting the list, so I have made it available for anonymous ftp from
  cdrom.com:/cdrom/micro.med ]

==========================================================================
1a. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in North America?

  ---------------------------------
  Buckmaster Publishing
  Route 3, Box 56
  Mineral, VA 23117
  703-894-5777 or 800-282-5628
  A ham radio callbook database and 5000 public domain programs: $50
  ---------------------------------
  Bureau of Electronic Publishing
  141 New Road
  Parsippany, NJ  07054
  1 800 828-4766, 201-808-2700, Fax: [phone]
  Publish lots of CD-ROM titles.  Call them for a catalog.
  ----------------------------------
  CD-ROM INC
  1667 Cole Blvd, Suite 400
  Golden, CO  80401
  1 800 821-5245
  Many discs, drives and accessories.  Call for free catalog.
  ------------------------------------
  The CD-ROM Source
  PO Box 20158
  Indianapolis, IN   46220
  Phone: [phone]
  ------------------------------------
  CDROMS Unlimited
  P.O. Box 7476
  Fremont, CA 94537-7476
  1 510 795-4286  Call for catalog
  ------------------------------------
  CD-ROM User's Group
  Post Office Box 2400
  Santa Barbara, CA 93120
  805-965-0265
  Bundle of 10 discs for $99.
  ------------------------------------
  Compustuff
  2759 Medina Rd., Plaza 71
  Medina, OH  44258
  216-725-7729
  ------------------------------------
  Computer Man
  18546 Sherman Way, Suite B
  Reseda, CA  91335
  818-609-0556
  ------------------------------------
  Computers At Large
  18728 Cabernet Drive
  Saratoga, CA 95070-3561
  [phone], [phone] - FAX
  ------------------------------------
  Crazy Bob
  ERM Electronic Liquidators
  37 Washinton
  St. Melrose, Mass  02176
  Order line: 800-776-5865
  Sells mostly outdated or surplus discs at low prices
  ------------------------------------
  EBSCO Subscription Services (CD-ROM Handbook)
  P.O.Box 325
  Topsfield, MA 01983
  508-887-6667   800-221-1826   508-887-3923 (Fax)
  ------------------------------------
  EDUCORP
  7434 Trade Street
  San Diego, CA92121-2410
  1-800-843-9497
  ------------------------------------
  Faxon Co., Inc.  (Access Faxon)
  15 Southwest Park
  Westwood, MA 02090
  617-329-3350   800-225-6055   617-461-1862 (Fax)
  ------------------------------------
  JANA Publishing
  [phone]
  [e-mail]
  Bimonthly CD-ROMs of NeXT and Linux software
  ------------------------------------
  Knowledge Media
  436 Nunneley Rd Suite B
  Paradise, CA 95969
  [phone], [phone] FAX, email: [e-mail]
  Graphics software CD-ROM, Audio Resource Library CDROM
  ------------------------------------
  Mail Boxes Etc.
  7657 Winnetka Ave.
  Conoga Park, CA  91306
  818-700-1800
  ------------------------------------
  Mr. CD Rom
  PO Box 1087
  Winter Garden, FL  34777
  800-444-mrcd
  407-877-3834  FAX
  ------------------------------------
  NASA Space Science Data Center
  Code 933.4
  NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  Greenbelt, MD  USA  20771
  Phone (voice) 301 286 6695
  [e-mail]
  CDROMs of data from Voyager, Magellan and Viking for $6 each.
  ftp: ames.arc.nasa.gov in the directory /pub/SPACE
  ------------------------------------
  Nautilus
  7001 Discovery Blvd
  Dublin, OH 43017-8066
  1-800-637-3472
  Provides a CD-ROM of the month subscription.  13 CD-ROM's for $138.
  ------------------------------------
  Oxford University Press
  2001 Evans Rd
  Cary, North Carolina 27513
  800 451-7556
  Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM
  ------------------------------------
  Pacific HiTech, Inc.
  4530 Fortuna Way
  Salt Lake City, UT  84124
  [phone], [phone], FAX: [phone]
  [e-mail].
  Info-Mac Sumex-aim Macintosh CDROM, Educational Gameland CDROM (for PCs)
  ------------------------------------
  Prime Time Freeware
  370 Altair Way, Suite 150
  Sunnyvale, CA  94086
  [phone], [phone] FAX, [e-mail]
  UNIX-related source code on CD-ROM
  ------------------------------------
  ProComp Computer
  12503 Sherman Way
  No. Hollywood  CA  91605
  ------------------------------------
  Profit Press
  2956 N. Campbell Ave.
  Tucson, AZ  85719
  1-800-843-7990, 602-577-9624 FAX, 602-299-0693 BBS
  MEGA-Rom, 600+ meg MSDOS, $79
  ------------------------------------
  Raynbow Software, Inc.
  P. O. Box 327
  Rapid City, SD 57709
  [phone], [e-mail], CompuServe: 70410,413
  5000 GIFs on CD-ROM with Search Engine for $55
  ------------------------------------
  Reed Reference Publishing
  Bowker Electronic Publishing
  121 Chanlon Road
  New Providence, NJ 07974
  1-800-323-3288
  908-464-6800, 212-645-9700, 1-800-323-3328, [e-mail]
  "Books in Print" on CD-ROM, bi-monthly subscription $1095, w/reviews $1595
  ------------------------------------
  ROM-BO
  1300 Mohawk Blvd
  Springfield, OR    97477
  800-536-DISK
  ------------------------------------
  Sound Electro Flight
  4545 Industrial St. 5N
  Simi Valley, CA  93063
  800-279-4824
  ------------------------------------
  Stanford University Press
  415-723-1593
  CD-ROM with authoring system containing four books illustrating its use: $17
  ------------------------------------
  Sterling Software
  1404 Ft. Crook Rd. South
  Bellevue, NE  68005-2969
  800 643-NEWS, 402 291-2108, 402 291-4362, [e-mail]
  uunet!sparky!cdnews, ftp.uu.net:/vendor/sterling
  NetNews/CD: Usenet news on CD-ROM
  ------------------------------------
  TCM Computing                         [phone]
  Rt. 2 Box 130                         [phone] Fax
  Midland, Va.  22728                   [phone] BBS
  [e-mail]
  Night Owl CD-ROMM
  ------------------------------------
  TechCity
  17706 Chatsworth St.
  Granada Hills, CA  91344
  ------------------------------------
  TigerSoftware
  800 Douglas Entrance
  Executive Tower, 7th FLoor
  Coral Gables, Florida 33134
  24-hour FAX: [phone]
  ------------------------------------
  Updata Publications, Inc. (CD-ROM Guide)
  1736 Westwood Blvd
  Los Angeles, CA 90024
  310-474-5900   800-882-2844   310-474-4095 (Fax)
  ------------------------------------
  Walnut Creek CDROM
  1547 Palos Verdes Mall, Suite 260
  Walnut Creek, CA  94596
  1 800 786-9907, 1 510 674-0783, 1 510 674-0821 FAX
  Snapshots of major internet archives on CD-ROM
  ------------------------------------
  Wayzata Technology Inc.
  P.O. Box 807
  Grand Rapids MN  55744
  1 800 735-7321  Call for catalog
  ------------------------------------
  Yggdrasil Computing, Incorporated
  PO Box 8418
  Berkeley CA 94707-8418
  [phone], fax: [phone], [e-mail]
  Linux Operating system on CD-ROM
==========================================================================
1b. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in Europe?

  ------------------------------------
  Apex Software
  PO Box 174
  Battle
  East Sussex
  TN33 9AQ
  International: [phone] (voice or fax), UK: 0424-830025 (voice or fax)
  email: [e-mail]
  ------------------------------------
  BECO Link Ltd.
  Jindrisska 276
  530 02 Pardubice
  Czech Republic
  Tel/Fax: [phone]
  ------------------------------------
  British Software Licensing
  280 (T/L) West Princes Street
  Woodlands
  Glasgow   G4 9EU
  United Kingdom
  [phone], Fax [phone], [e-mail]
  ------------------------------------
  CD-ROM Jacob
  Aarstrasse 98
  CH-3005 Bern
  Switzerland
  [phone], FAX [phone]
  ------------------------------------
  CD ROM (UK) Ltd
  8 Sheep St, Highworth
  Swindon, Wiltshire SN6 7AA
  United Kingdom
  44-0793-861146,  44-0793-765331 (Fax)
  ------------------------------------
  EBSCO Subscription Services
  3 Tyers Gate
  London SE1 3HX
  United Kingdom
  44-71-357-7516
  ------------------------------------
  Faxon Europe, B.V.
  Postbus 197
  1000 AD Amsterdam
  The Netherlands
  31 (20) 91-05-91,  31 (20) 91-17-35 (Fax)
  ------------------------------------
  Micro Haus Limited
  P.O. Box 149
  Gloucester
  GL3 4EF
  United Kingdom
  ------------------------------------
  Mountain Rose Multi Media
  Kikkerveen 331
  3205 XC  Spijkenisse
  The Netherlands
  Phone: [phone] / Fax:   [phone] / Email: [e-mail]
  ------------------------------------
  Public Domain & Shareware Library
  Winscombe House,
  Beacon Road. Crowborough,
  Sussex, TN6 1UL, United Kingdom
  [phone], [phone] FAX
  Libris Britannia, an entire library of PD/Shareware on CD-ROM
  ------------------------------------
  STARCOM
  International Computer Services
  Limburggasse 45
  A-9073 Klagenfurt-Viktring
  Austria
  [phone], [phone] FAX
  ------------------------------------
  UNICA Ltd
  39a Hall St, Stockport
  Cheshire, SK1 4DA, UK
  [phone], [phone] FAX
  ------------------------------------
  WasaWare Oy
  Palosaarentie 31
  SF-65200 VAASA
  Finland
  Telephone & Fax: [phone], Email: [e-mail]
==========================================================================
1c. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in the Mid-East?

  ACTCOM - Active Communication Ltd.
  14 Pinsker St., Haifa 32715, Israel
  [phone], [phone] (FAX)
  E-mail: [e-mail]
==========================================================================
1d. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in Asia?

  ------------------------------------
  Cache Computer
  Shop 29, G/Fl., Golden Shopping Centre
  146-152 Fuk Wah st., Shamshuipo
  Kowloon
  Hong Kong
  Voice: [phone], FAX: [phone]
  ------------------------------------
  Software Studio
  Shop 217
  Olympia Shopping Center
  255 King's Road
  North Point
  Hong Kong
  [phone] FAX
  ------------------------------------
  UniForce System Ltd.
  903 Kin Tak Fung Comm. Bldg
  467-473 Hennessy Road
  Hong Kong
  Voice: [phone]  Fax: [phone]
==========================================================================
1e. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in Australia/New Zealand?
  ------------------------------------
  CompuCD
  GPO Box 1624
  Canberra City
  ACT 2601
  Australia
  fax: [phone]
  ------------------------------------
  Ilb Computing
  48 Nebo Drive
  Figtree Heights
  NSW  2525
  Australia
  [phone]
  ------------------------------------
  Logicware
  1 Riverbank Off. Vil.
  Cnr 1st St. & O'Shea Ter.
  Katherine, N'rn Terr. 0850
  Australia
  fax: [phone]
  ------------------------------------
  Shareware Distribution NZ
  PO Box 2009
  Wellington
  New Zealand
  BBS: [phone] V22b, [phone] Voice/FAX, [e-mail]
==========================================================================
2. Can you recommend a good CD-ROM drive?
  ------------------------------------
  The NEC CD-ROM drives 336,37,73,74,83, etc. have received many favorable
  recommendations.  NEC CD-ROM drive information can be FAX'ed to you.  Call
  NEC Fastfacts at 800-366-0476, and then follow the directions.  You will
  be prompted for a Catalog or Product Number.  Catalog Number 2 is for
  CD-ROM and Product Number 730101 is for the CRD-73M and 730100 is for the
  CDR-73.  Similarly for the CDR-37.  No information was available on the
  CD-74.  You will be prompted for your 10-digit FAX number and your local
  voice telephone number.  If you haven't received your FAX with 30 minutes
  try again.  For international callers, the Fastfacts FAX number is
  [phone]x2621.  You can get documents, and drivers, from the NEC
  BBS at [phone].
  ------------------------------------
  You can get information on Mitsumi drives by calling their US HQ at
  [phone]. The Mitsumi office dealing with the SouthEast is in
  Dallas. [phone], FAX: [phone].  In California, call
  [phone].  A FAQ on Mitsumi drives is available by anonymous ftp
  from cdrom.com: /cdrom/drives/mitsumi.faq.
  -----------------------------------
  A FAQ on the Pioneer DRM-604X is available by anonymous ftp from
  cdrom.com: /cdrom/drm_604x.faq
  -----------------------------------
  Here is a matrix of information on a number of CD-ROM drives.  Please
  send me any additions or corrections.

  Column
  A. Manufactuer
  B. Model Number
  C. Internal/External/Both
  D. Caddies N=No, S=Sony, P=Philips, X=NEC, O=Other
  E. Seek time in milliseconds
  F. Transfer rate in kilobytes/second
  G. SCSI - N/Y/2-scsi 2
  H. CDROM XA / PhotoCD compatable  (N=No, S=Single-Session, M=multi-session)
  I. OS/2 Compatible - Y/N
  J. Windows NT Compatible - Y/N
  K. MPC Compatible - Y/N
  L. Quicktime Compatible - Y/N
  M.
  N. Approximate Street Price, in US dollars
  O. Recommended  #yes/#no (Send email to recommend either yes or no)
  P. Phone #
  Q. Comments

  A          B      C D  E   F  G H I J K L M  N   0       P           Q
=====    ========   = = === === = = = = = = = === === ============ ==========
Apple    CD 150     E S --- --- Y S - - - Y - 400 0/0 408-996-1010
Apple    CD 300     - S --- --- Y M - - - Y - --- 0/0 408-996-1010
Apple    CD 300i    - S --- --- Y M - - - Y - --- 0/0 408-996-1010
Apple    CD SC      - S --- --- Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 408-996-1010
Apple    CD SC+     - S --- --- Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 408-996-1010
CDRM Inc CR 1000i   - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 303-231-9373
Chinon   CDS-431    I - --- 150 - - - - - - - --- 0/1 310-533-0274
Chinon   CDX-431    E - --- 150 - - - - - - - --- 0/1 310-533-0274
Chinon   435        E S 350 150 Y S - - Y Y - --- 0/0 310-533-0274
Chinon   435        I S 350 150 Y S - - Y Y - 369 0/0 310-533-0274
Chinon   431        - S 350 --- Y S - Y Y Y - --- 0/0 310-533-0274
Chinon   CDX-535    E S 280 300 - M - - Y Y - --- 0/0 310-533-0274
Chinon   CDS-535    I S 280 300 - M - - Y Y - --- 0/0 310-533-1727-fax
Denon    DRD-253    - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 201-575-7810
Hitachi  CDR-1700S  - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 415-589-8300
Hitachi  CDR-1702   E N 450  40 N N N N N N   200 0/1 415-589-8300 Obsolete
Hitachi  CDR-1750S  - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 415-589-8300
Hitachi  CDR-3600   - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 415-589-8300
  A          B      C D  E   F  G H I J K L M  N   0       P           Q
=====    ========   = = === === = = = = = = = === === ============ ==========
Hitachi  CDR-3650   I S 350  50 Y N - - N - - 300 1/0 415-589-8300 workhorse
Hitachi  CDR-3700   I - 300 --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 415-589-8300
Hitachi  CDR-3750   - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 415-589-8300
Magnavox CDD461RS   E N 700 --- - - - - - - - 329 0/0 ------------
Magnavox CDD462RS   E N 400 --- - M - - Y - - --- 0/0 ------------
Matsushita CD-521   I S 390 150 N S - - - - - 299 1/0 ------------
Mitsumi             - N 500 150 N - N N - N - 169 0/3 516-752-7730
Mitsumi CRMC-LU005S I N 350 150 N M - - Y - - 199 5/2 516-752-7730
MtOptech SI-680     - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 303-444-2851  Ruggedized
NEC      CDR 36     - - 500 150 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 508-264-8000  Portable
NEC      CDR 37     - - 450 150 - - - - - - - --- 0/0 508-264-8000  Portable
NEC      CDR-73     E S 300 150 Y - - - - - - 649 0/0 508-264-8000
NEC      CDR-73M    E S 280 300 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 508-264-8000  Fast
NEC      CDR-74     E S 300 300 - S - - - Y - --- 0/0 508-264-8000
NEC      CDR-74-1   E S 280 300 2 M - - - Y - --- 0/0 508-264-8000
NEC      CDR-80     - X --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 508-264-8000
NEC      CDR-83     I S 300 150 Y - - - - - - 599 0/0 508-264-8000
NEC      CDR-83M    I S 280 300 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 508-264-8000
NEC      CDR-84     I S 300 300 - S - - - Y - --- 0/0 508-264-8000
NEC      CDR-84-1   I S 280 300 2 M - - - Y - 519 0/0 508-264-8000
  A          B      C D  E   F  G H I J K L M  N   0       P           Q
=====    ========   = = === === = = = = = = = === === ============ ==========
NEC      CDXG1      E - 500 --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 508-264-8000
Philips  CDD-461    E N --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 615-521-4499
Philips  CDI-601    E - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 615-521-4499
Philips  CDI-602    E - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 615-521-4499
Philips  CM205      I N 375 150 N N N - - - - --- 1/0 615-521-4499
Pioneer  DRM-600    E O 600 150 Y S - - - - - 925 1/0 408-988-1702  jukebox(x6)
Pioneer  DRM-604X   E O 300 600 Y S Y - - - - 1.2 2/0 bbs4087482150 jukebox(x6)
Sanyo    ROM 3000   E S 650  40 N N N N N N - --- 0/1 801-225-6888  slow
Sony     CDU-31A    I N 490 150 N S - - Y - - 250 0/0 800-352-7669
Sony     CDU-531    I S --- 150 N S - - - - - --- 0/0 408-944-4335
Sony     CDU-535    I S 340 150 N S - - - - - 200 0/0 408-944-4335
Sony     CDU-541    - S --- 150 Y S - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644
Sony     CDU-561    I S 300 300 Y M - Y Y Y - --- 0/0 408-434-6644  vaporware
Sony     CDU-6201   - S --- 150 N S - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644
Sony     CDU-6205   - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644
Sony     CDU-6211   - S --- 150 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644
Sony     CDU-7204   - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644
Sony     CDU-7205   E - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644
Sony     CDU-7211   - S --- 150 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644
  A          B      C D  E   F  G H I J K L M  N   0       P           Q
=====    ========   = = === === = = = = = = = === === ============ ==========
Sony     CDU-8012   - S --- 150 Y S - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644 SunCD
Talon    TA-100     - - 360 150 - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------
Talon    TA-200     - - 280 300 - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------
Tandy    CDR-1000   I N 800 175 N N - - - - - 200 1/0 817-390-3700 Nice, Cheap
Texel    DM3021     - - 340 --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-886-3935
Texel    DM3024     I - 265 300 Y S - - - - - 439 1/0 800-886-3935
Texel    DM5024     E - 265 300 Y S - - - - - 549 0/0 800-886-3935
Toshiba  TX-M3301   - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 714-455-0407
Toshiba  XM3300     - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 714-455-0407
Toshiba  XM3301     - - 325 150 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 714-455-0407
Toshiba  XM3301B    I S 325 150 Y M - Y Y - - 499 2/0 714-455-0407  Works great
Toshiba  XM3301E1   - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 714-455-0407
Toshiba  3401       I S 200 330 2 M - - Y - - 399 3/0 714-455-0407  Very fast
Trantor  T128       B - --- --- Y S - N - - - 100 1/0 415-770-1400
=====    ========   = = === === = = = = = = = === === ============ ==========
  A          B      C D  E   F  G H I J K L M  N   0       P           Q

  The NeXT CD-ROM is a Sony CDU-541.
  The Sony CDU-6211 is the same as the Sony CDU-7211.

==========================================================================
3. Where can I get caddies?

  Here are a few sources of caddies:
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
  CD-ROM INC
  1667 Cole Blvd
  Suite 400
  Golden, CO  80401
  1 800 821-5245
  Call for the latest price.
  ----------------------------------------------------------------
  EDUCORP
  7434 Trade Street
  San Diego, CA 92121-2410
  1-800-843-9497
  $55 for 10
  ----------------------------------------------------------------
  QB Products
  1260 Karl Court
  Wauconda, IL  60084
  1 800 323-6856  [phone]
  Sony Caddies "Made in USA", 10 for $54, 1000 for $3900
  ----------------------------------------------------------------
  Walnut Creek CDROM
  1547 Palos Verdes Mall, Suite 260
  Walnut Creek, CA 94596
  1 800 786-9907, [phone], [phone] FAX
  Sony caddies "Made in Japan" - $4.95 each, $450 for 100
  Philips Caddies - $4.95 each, $450 for 100
==========================================================================
4. Are there any good periodicals and publications on CD-ROMs?

  ------------------------------------------------------------
  A catalog describing CD-ROM publications and the "Multimedia and Videodisc
  Monitor" newsletter is available from

  Future Systems
  P.O. Box 26
  Falls Church, VA 22040

  Telephone 800-323-DISC or 703-241-1799
  One of their books contains a list of about 1500 CD-ROM's.
  ------------------------------------------------------------
  CD-ROM Professional is a bi-monthly magazine with product reviews,
  technical articles, industry news, etc.  This is a "must read" for
  anyone in the CD-ROM business.  $39.95/year

  CD-ROM Professional Magazine
  462 Danbury Road
  Wilton, CT 06897
  1 800 248-8466
  ------------------------------------------------------------
  "CD-ROM Collecion Builder's Toolkit, 1992 Edition"
  Paul T. Nicholls
  Eight Bit Books, Weston, CT
  ISBN: 0-910-96502-1
  $39.95
  ------------------------------------------------------------
  CD-ROMS IN PRINT 1992
    An International Guide to CD-ROM, CD-I, CDTV & Electronic Book Products
  Meckler Publishing
  11 Ferry Lane West
  Westport, CT  06880
  ------------------------------------------------------------
  Newsgroups and mailing lists:

  On the internet, the best source of information is the newsgroup
  alt.cd-rom, which is linked to the BITNET list CDROM-L.

  Those subscribing to CDROM-L may now choose to receive a daily digest
  of CDROM-L postings or an index to the daily digest.  From the index
  one may easily request the full text of a posting.

  To receive the INDEX, send the following note to listserv@uccvma or
  [e-mail] (the subject is ignored):

    set cdrom-L index

  To receive the DIGEST, send the following:

    set cdrom-L digest

  ***DO NOT*** send to cdrom-L.  Because of the high noise level of
  this list, I recommend that people try the index.

  The newsgroup aus.cdrom provides a forum for discussion of cdrom
  related issues to Australian users that are otherwise lost in the
  morass of postings in the US based groups.

  The internet newsgroup comp.multimedia is a good source of information
  on multimedia topics.

  CDROMLAN (available on usenet as bit.listserv.cdromlan) covers the
  use of CD-ROM products on local area or wide area networks.  You can
  join the list be sending the following command to
  [e-mail]:
        SUBSCRIBE CDROMLAN Your full name

  CD-ROMs are in heavy use in libraries and government document
  repositories, both for access to indexes and for distribution of
  government data.  The relevant lists are PACS-L
  (bit.listserv.pacs-l) and GOVDOC-L (bit.listserv.govdoc-l).
  Send to [e-mail]:
        SUBSCRIBE GOVDOC-L Your full name
  Send to [e-mail]
        SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Your full name

  Discussions of music on CD can be found in rec.music.cd.

  --------
  For those who are contemplating buying a CD-ROM drive or just getting
  your feet wet, Tony Thomas wrote a pamphlet on the subject which he will
  be glad to send you FREE OF CHARGE while supplies last.

  To receive "GETTING STARTED WITH CD-ROM", send a self-addressed, stamped
  #10 envelope with 29 cents US postage to:

  Tony Thomas
  4421 Granada Blvd. #415
  Warrensville Heights, OH  44128

  Topics covered include:

  How to Buy a CD-ROM Drive
  Different Types of Drives
  What You Need
  Setup

  A list of suppliers of CD-ROM hardware and software is also included.

==========================================================================
5. Why are CD-ROM drives so slow?

   Compact discs were originally designed for music.  When you are
   listening to "Willie Nelson's Greatest Hits", you are accessing the
   data sequentially and at a very regular speed.  The only time you need
   to seek is when you decide to skip over a song, or back up and listen
   to "Always on my Mind" one more time.

   In order to fit as much music as possible onto the disc, the data
   is recorded at the same linear density near the outer edge of the disc
   as it is near the center, so there is more information in the outside
   tracks than in the inside tracks.  In order to deliver a steady rate
   of data, the linear velocity of the disc moving under the head is
   constant, so the angular velocity of the disc changes when the head
   moves from the center toward the outside tracks.  This is no big deal
   when you are playing music, but when you are trying to do random access
   to a CD-ROM, the need to accelerate and decelerate the disc is the biggest
   obstacle to making it faster.  Most magnetic discs spin at a constant
   angular velocity, so the data density decreases toward the outside of the
   disk, but seeks are faster.

   A few other reasons that CD-ROMs are slow:  Optical disc heads tend to be
   heavier than magnetic disk heads, so they have more inertia, and take
   longer to stablize onto a new track.  Many CD-ROMs contain too much data
   to make effective use of RAM caches.

   As time goes by, CD-ROM drives will get a little faster, but don't expect
   any miracles.

==========================================================================
6. Is it important to have a fast CD-ROM?  Does 300ms vs 700ms really matter?

   It depends on what applications you will be using.  Many CD-ROMs
   are just big archives of stuff, and you can copy individual programs
   to your hard disk before using them so speed is not really very
   important.  But if you are going to be using large ramdom-access
   databases, or any kind of interactive multi-media applications, then
   the speed difference is very noticeable.

==========================================================================
7. Is it important to buy a fully SCSI compatible drive?

   Several CD-ROM drives only support a sub-set of SCSI, and usually
   come with their own semi-SCSI controller card.  Full SCSI compatible
   drives usually cost more, but are better if you already have a SCSI
   controller and want to daisy chain several devices, or if you want to
   be able to use the drive on different machine types.

==========================================================================
8. Where can I get information on SCSI controllers for CD-ROM drives?

  Many SCSI drive vendors recommend the Adaptec 1542-B SCSI Card.
  The phone number for Adaptec is 800-959-7274 or 408-945-2550.

  [ If anyone sends me info on other scsi controllers, I will include
    the info here. ]

==========================================================================
9. How much does it cost to make a CD-ROM?

  You can get a master made for about $1300, and then about $1.50 per
  disc for duplication.  So to make 1000 discs, it will cost you about
  ($1300 + (1000 * 1.50)) = $2800.  Publishers often have `first-timer'
  specials with steep discounts off the list price.  For instance, DMI
  recently had a special of mastering, 50 discs, and two hours of tech
  support for $750.

  If you only want a few discs, you can have single ISO-9660 `one-offs'
  made for about $200 for the first disc, and $100 for additional copies.
==========================================================================
10. I have a great idea for a CD-ROM but no money.  What can I do?

  You can author a CD-ROM, and have someone else publish it and pay you
  royalties.  One company that does this is Walnut Creek CDROM.  Their
  author guidelines are available by anonymous ftp from cdrom.com in the
  file /cdrom/author.txt.

==========================================================================
11. Where can I get a CD-ROM published?

  I have used both of these companies, and highly recommend either:

    Digital Audio Disc Corporation
    1800 North Fruitridge Avenue
    Terre Haute, IN 47803
    812-462-8100, 812-466-9125 FAX

    Disc Manufacturing Inc.
    4905 Moores Mill Road
    Huntsville, AL 35810
    800-433-DISC, 205-859-9042, 205-859-9932 FAX

    DADC is a subsidiary of Sony, and DMI is a subsidiary of Philips.

    A more detailed list of 25 publishers in 8 countries is available via
    anonymous ftp in cdrom.com:/cdrom/publshrs.

    There are now over 10 manufacturing facilities active in CDROM in North
    America, and another growing collection of write-once service bureaus.
    These are listed in MFG.TXT in Lib #8 of the Compuserve CDROM Forum.

  If you only want to make one disc, or just a few copies, there are
  several companies that offer this service:

    CD Services
    13901 Lynde Avenue
    Sartoga, CA  95030
    [phone], 408 867-0518 FAX
    ISO-9660, Mac HFS, Call for price

    Optical Media International
    San Jose, CA
    [phone], 408-376-3519 FAX
    [e-mail]
    ISO-9660, Mac HFS, Call for price

    Young Minds Inc.
    1910 Orange Tree Lane, Suite 300
    Redlands, CA  92374
    714 335-1350, 714 798-0488 FAX, yngmnds![e-mail]
    Rock Ridge (Unix), $950

==========================================================================
12. Where can I find equipment to make my own CD-ROMs?

  If you want to do single copy `one-offs', or low volume CD production,
  there are recorders announced by JVC, Philips, Sony, Yamaha and Pinnacle
  Micro.

  JVC Personal ROM-Maker       $12500 (complete system, including software)
  Philips CDD-521               $5500 (+ $1900 for software)
  Sony CDW-900E                $10000 (???)
  Yamaha                        ????  ????
  Pinnacle Micro               $3995  ISO 9660 and HFS software for Macs

  Kodak remarkets the Philips drive as their PCD Writer 200.

  Pinnacle Micro announced at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco a new,
  recordable CD-ROM drive with a list price of $3,995!  This price
  includes ISO 9660 and HFS software for Macs.  PC interface kit and
  software is extra $200.

  Here are some phone numbers you can call for more info:

  JVC Product Information:            [phone]
  Philips Consumer Electronics:       [phone]
  Sony Computer Peripheral Products:  1 800 352-7669
  Pinnacle Micro                      1 800 553-7070, [phone] (fax)

  You can buy the Philips drive with CDGEN software for ISO-9660
  discs from DataDisc (1-800-328-2347, FAX: [phone]) for $7895.
  They recommend that you use it with the Adaptec 1542 SCSI Card.

  Optical Media International (1-408-376-3511, [e-mail])
  has Macintosh HFS premastering software for the Philips CDD-521.  The
  program is called "Quicktopics" and the cost is $2500.

  The JVC drive comes with software for making ISO-9960, Apple HFS, and
  hybrid ISO-9660/HFS discs.  [ If anyone knows anything more about these
  hybrid discs, please let me and I will include the information here.]

  Additional third party integrators are: Meridian Data 408-438-3100;
  CD-ROM Strategies 714-733-3378; and Interactive Support Group 818-709-7387.

  Here is a list of software vendors

    CD-ROM Strategies              CD-GEN          1 714 733-3378
    DataDisc                       CD-Gen          1 800 328-2347
    Dataware Technologies, Inc.    CD Make         1 510 942-3111
    JVC                            RomMaker        1 714 965-2610
    Meridain Data                  CD Publisher    1 408 438-3100
    OnLine Business Systems        CD-Formatter    ? ??? ???-????
    Optical Media International    Topix           1 408 376-3511
    PoINT Software and Systems     CDWRITE         ? ??? ???-????
    Young Minds, Inc.              CD Studio       1 714 335-1350

    Authoring Software:

    Dataware Technologies, Inc.    CD Author       1 510 942-3111
    Dataware Technologies, Inc.    ReferenceSet    1 510 942-3111
    Electronic Text Corporation    WordCruncher    ? ??? ???-????
    Executive Technologies, Inc.   Search Express  ? ??? ???-????
    Folio Corporation              Folio Previews  1 800 228-3934/801 375-3700
    I-MODE Retrieval Systems, Inc. I-SEARCH        ? ??? ???-????
    Knowledge Access International KAware          ? ??? ???-????
    Nimbus Information Systems     Romware         ? ??? ???-????
    OnLine Business Systems        CD-Build        ? ??? ???-????
    Retrieval Technologies, Inc.   re:Search       ? ??? ???-????
    Textware Corporation           Textware        ? ??? ???-????
    TMS, Inc.                      InnerView       ? ??? ???-????

=============================================================================
13.  Where can I get blank media for my CD-ROM recorder?

  The blank discs for CD Recorders are not the same as a normal CD.  The
  metal data surface is gold instead of aluminum.  The recorder uses a high
  powered laser to modify a dye layer which is between the gold and the
  plastic.  This dye is somewhat photo sensitive so write once CDs should be
  stored in a dark place.  They should be stored in an area that does not
  rise above 40 Celsius (104 F).  It takes about half an hour to burn each
  disc.

  The blanks come in two sizes.  63 minute, and 74 minute.  The time refers
  to the amount of digital audio that can be recorded.  Since DA is read
  from the discs at a constant rate of 150 kb/sec, it is easy to calculate
  the amount of data they will hold.  The 63' discs will hold about 580 meg,
  and the 74' discs will hold about 660 meg.

  Here are several sources for blank discs:

  DataDisc (1-800-328-2347, 1-703-347-9085 FAX).  74 minute $27 quantity 10.
  63 minute $19 quantity 25.

  DataWare (1-510-942-3111, ask for Jeff Caplan).  74 minute (650 meg) blanks
  for $31 quantity ten, $29 quantity 100, and $27 quantity 500.

  Sonic Solutions 415-485-4800.  Their April 1992 price list shows CD-R74
  quantity 100 as $27.50, CD-R63 quantity 100 as $25.00.

  The U.S. sales office for DIC (a Japanese ink and chemical company) can
  be reached at 201-224-9344.  DIC claims a useful life in excess of
  75 years for their discs.

  APDC sells blanks discs, magneto-optical disks, 8mm and 4mm tapes.
  800-522-7232, ask for Susan Bradley.

  Kodak also sells them.  Call 800-242-2424.

  Mitsui Toatsu: The product name for their disks is Airy.  Their
  advertising literature claims that the accelerated aging tests
  indicate a life of up to 240 years assuming storage at 25C.  The Warranty
  on the jewel case is for 1 year from date of purchase.

  Japan        03-3592-4774
  United States 212-867-6330
  Germany    211-320458
  England    71-976-1180

  Some other source for blank discs (sorry, no phone numbers):
  TDK, JVC, Ricoh, Taiyo Yuden, Mitsubishi Chemicals.

==========================================================================
14. I have 10000 paper documents that I want to put on a CD-ROM.  Who can help?

  Check the classified ads in the back of CD-ROM Professional Magazine.
  There are several companies that will do large scale scanning, OCRing,
  and data entry.  Because these things are so labor intensive, most of
  work is done offshore, usually in Malaysia or India.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Agro Computer Systems can process several thousand pages a day,
  and claims an error rate of less than 10E-6.  For more information
  contact
        Mr. G. M. Mahindra
        Agro Computer Systems
        28 Lalbagh (Mission) Road
        Bangalore 560 027
        India

        Phone: [phone], FAX: [phone]
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  For smaller jobs that need a quick turn around I have used a company
  called "Quick-Set" ([phone]) that does data entry, scanning,
  and OCRing.

==========================================================================
15. Are there any organizations of CD-ROM Publishers?

  The Optical Publishing Association is a non-profit trade and professional
  organization for CDROM and other digital media publishers.  They have been
  around since 1988, publishing newsletters and backgrounders for publishers,
  and promoting profitable practices for the business.

  OPA, PO Box 21268, Columbus OH 43221 USA, 614/442-8805, 614/442-8815 (fax)
  CIS address 71333,1114, [e-mail], AppleLink r.bowers.

==========================================================================
16. Where can I get more information about CD-ROM publishing?

  Subscribe to CD-ROM Professional Magazine, 1 800 248-8466, $39.95/year

  There is a mailing list devoted to CD-ROM publishing.  For more information
  send a message to [e-mail] with the word "HELP" in
  the body of the email text.

  There are several files pertaining to CD-ROM publishing available for
  anonymous ftp from cdrom.com.
==========================================================================
17. How much information will fit on a CD-ROM?

  It depends on the drive.  Almost all CD-ROM drives will handle up to
  620 megabytes with no problems.  Many newer drives can read discs with
  over 700 megs.

  The CD-ROM Users Group (see above) has a diagnostic CD-ROM that
  will tell you how much information your drive can handle.

==========================================================================
18. Why doesn't MSCDEX work with DOS 5.0?

  You must use SETVER with MS-DOS 5.0, to make MSCDEX 2.20 work properly.
  Otherwise you will get an incorrect DOS version message.  See the MS-DOS
  5.0 documentation on how to use SETVER.  MSCDEX 2.21 works with MS-DOS 5.0
  without SETVER.
==========================================================================
19. Where can I get the latest version of MSCDEX?

  Call MS BBS at 206-936-4082.  Choose F for file library, S UPDATES, F to
  list files, then D MSCDEX.ZIP to download the file.  (Microsoft may have
  deleted this file.)

  You can get the latest version of MSCDEX (2.21) in a self-extracting zip
  archive via anonymous ftp from cdrom.com:/cdrom/cdext.exe.

  It is also available in the MSL library on CompuServe, as CDEXT.EXE.
==========================================================================
20. I bought a used drive at a garage sale.  Where can I find a driver for it?

  Many CD-ROM manufacturers maintain BBS's where you might be able to find
  drivers for their drives:

  NEC BBS:      [phone]
  Philips BBS:  [phone]
  Sony BBS:     [phone] or [phone]
  Pioneer:      [phone] (9600/HST/8N1)
==========================================================================
21. What is the difference between `High Sierra' and ISO-9660?

  Not much.  When the standard was first proposed, it was given the name
  "High Sierra'.   Later it was adopted as an offical standard, with a few
  minor modifications, and was designated ISO-9660.  Usually when someone
  says "High Sierra", they really mean ISO-9660.
==========================================================================
22. Where can I get a copy of the ISO-9660 standard?

  You can order a copy of the ISO-9660 standard from

  ANSI
  Attn: Sales
  11 West 42nd Street
  New York, NY 10036
  212-642-4900

  Cost to US destinations is $50, plus $6 shipping.

  Another source of a wide variety of standards documents is Global
  Engineering.  Their service is often faster than ANSI, but they charge
  more.  They also have offices in Europe and Asia.

  Global Engineering Documents
  15 Inverness Way East
  Englewood, CO  80112-5704
  [phone]    (same)
  [phone]
  fax [phone]

==========================================================================
23. What is an HFS disc?

  HFS is the Macintosh's Hierarchical Filing System.  It is unrelated
  to High Sierra and ISO-9660 formats.  Most CD-ROMs intended for the
  Macintosh are created in the HFS format, since HFS does support the
  Mac's resource and data forks and file information.

  There are drivers made by AsimWare (AsimCDFS) and Xetec that allows HFS
  discs to be read on an Amiga.  There is a list of differences that the
  drivers contends with, such as non-standard characters and 32 character
  filenames (Amiga supports only 30).

  ------

  "New Inside Macintosh: Files" published by Addison-Wesley,
  has the most complete description of HFS format.

  Inside Macintosh: Files
  By Apple Computer, Inc.
  Addison-Wesley Publishing Company
  ISBN 0-201-63244-6

  In Chapter 2, the section on "Data Organization on Volumes" pages 2-52 to
  2-76 contains as complete a description of HFS as is available.

  This book can be ordered from APDA (Apple Programmers & Developers
  Association) or any bookstore.

  APDA
  P.O. Box 319
  Buffalo, NY 14207-0319
  1-800-282-2732    U.S.
  1-800-637-0029    Canada
  [phone]    International
  [phone]    Fax
  AppleLink         APDA
  America Online    APDA
  CompuServe        76666,2405
  Internet          [e-mail]

==========================================================================
24. Can you give a short explaination of ISO-9660?

  ISO-9660 is an international standard that defines a filesystem for
  CD-ROMs.  Almost all systems support ISO-9660.

  Level one ISO-9660 is similar to an MS-DOS filesystem.  Filenames are
  limited to eight single-case characters, a dot, and a three character
  extension.  Filenames cannot contain special characters, (no hyphens,
  tildes, equals, or pluses).  Only single case letters, numbers, and
  underscores.  Directory names cannot have the three digit extension,
  just eight single-case characters.

  All alphabetics are in UPPER case; some software maps this to lower case.
  Either the file name or the extension may be empty, but not both ("F."
  and ".E" are both legal file names).

  There is a "File Version Number" which can range from 1-32767, and is
  separated from the extension by a semi-colon.  The file version number
  is ignored on many systems.

  Here are some examples of legal and illegal filenames:

         Legal                   Illegal                 Why
        TEST_1C.TXT             TEST-1C.TXT             hyphen
        TEST1C.TXT              TEST 1C.TXT             space
        TEST.1C                 TEST.1C.TXT             more than 1 period
        README                  Readme                  not single case

  Subdirectories are allowed to nest up to eight levels deep.

  Level two ISO-9660 allows longer filenames, up to 32 characters.
  But many of the other restrictions still apply.  Level two discs
  are not usable on some systems, particularly MS-DOS.

==========================================================================
25. What the heck does `Red Book', `Yellow Book', etc. mean?

  "Red Book" is the common name of the "Compact Disc Digital Audio
  Standard".  When a disc conforms to the red book standard, it will
  usually have "digital audio" printed below the "disc" logo.  Most music
  CDs conform to this standard.

  "Yellow Book" is the standard for CD-ROM.  When a disc conforms to the
  yellow book, it will usually say "data storage" beneath the "disc" logo.

  "Green Book" is the CD-I (compact disc interactive) standard.

  "Orange Book" is the standard for write-once compact discs.

  "Blue Book" is the standard for LaserDisc.

  You can get the Red Book and Yellow Book from

      ANSI
      Attn: Sales
      1430 Broadway
      New York, NY  10018
      [phone]

      Red Book:       CEI IEC 908
      Yellow Book:    ISO 10149:1989

   You can get the Green Book from

      American CD-I Association
      11111 Santa Monica, Suite 750
      Los Angeles, CA  90025
      [phone]

   The Orange Book is still proprietary to Philips and Sony, and available
   only to their licensees.

  [If anyone can tell me where the other standards are available, I will
  include that information here.]
==========================================================================
26. What is CD-I?

  CD-I means "Compact Disc Interactive".  It is meant to provide a standard
  platform for mass consumer interactive multimedia applications.  So it is
  more akin to CD-DA, in that it is a full specification for both the
  data/code _and_ standalone playback hardware:  a CD-I player has a CPU,
  RAM, ROM, OS, and audio/video/(MPEG) decoders built into it.  Portable
  players add an LCD screen and speakers/phonejacks.

  If you want information about Philips CD-I products, you can call these
  numbers:
               US: Consumer hotline:    [phone]
                   For nearest store:   800-223-7772
                   Developers hotline:  [phone]

               UK: Philips CD-I hotline: [phone]

  "Discovering CD-I" is a book available for $45 from:

    "Discovering CD-I"
    Microware Systems Corporation
    1900 NW 114th Street
    Des Moines, IA  50325-7077
    1-800-475-9000

  There are three books by Philips IMS and published by Addison Wesley:
  "Introducing CD-I" ISBN 0-201-62748-5
  "The CD-I Production Handbook" ISBN 0-201-62750-7
  "The CD-I Design Handbook" ISBN 0-201-62749-3

  Lex van Sonderen periodically posts a CD-I FAQ to comp.multimedia.  The
  latest version of this FAQ is available by anonymous ftp from
  cdrom.com: /cdrom/cdi.faq.
==========================================================================
27. What is CD-ROM/XA?

  CD-ROM/XA is an extension to the Yellow Book Standard.  A track on
  a CD-ROM/XA disc can contain computer data, compressed audio data,
  and video/picture data.  Many CD-ROM drives do not support CD-ROM/XA.

  CD-ROM/XA extends CD-ROM by adding some of the CD-I disc features (such
  as using Mode 2 tracks with interleaved compressed-audio and other data).
  Thus CD-ROM/XA (eXtended Architecture) is often called the "Bridge" format
  between CD-ROM and CD-I... though the relationship is mostly the sector
  types.  CD-ROM/XA applications still require specific code for each target
  platform.
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  CDROM-XA specifies a `bridge format' so that a CDROM-XA disc can be read
  on a CD-I player as well as on a PC under MSCDEX (provided that you use
  a conforming (.SYS) driver. On a normal yellow-book CDROM, a data track
  contains only mode-1 data sectors. On a CDROM-XA, a (the) data track
  contains only mode-2 data sectors. A mode-2 sector can be of two formats,
  form-1 and form-2. A form-1 sector contains 2048 bytes of user data,
  together with EDC and ECC bytes. A form-2 sector contains 2324 bytes of
  raw data (e.g. ADPCM audio or video data). If the device driver delivers
  2048 bytes of data when MSCDEX asks for it, regardless whether the sector
  is mode-1 or mode-2/form-1, the PC is CDROM-XA compatible.

==========================================================================
28. What are the Rock Ridge extensions?

  The Rock Ridge extensions use some undefined fields in the ISO-9660 standard
  to allow full unix-like filenames, symbolic links, and deep directories.

  "Rock Ridge" is named after the town in the movie "Blazing Saddles" for no
  particular reason.

  To receive a copy of the current version of the Rock Ridge specifications,
  please contact Bob Niland, e-mail [e-mail], fax [phone].  You
  can ftp the Rock Ridge specs from cdrom.com: /cdrom/rockridge.

  For information on Rock Ridge at Sun, try [e-mail] or
  [e-mail].

  For information on Unix-based premastering software supporting the Rock Ridge
  extensions contact:

  Young Minds Inc.
  1910 Orange Tree Lane
  Suite 300
  Redlands, CA  92374
  714 335-1350
  714 798-0488 FAX
  yngmnds![e-mail]

  Rock Ridge is expected to be approved as an ISO standard during the first
  quarter of 1993.
==========================================================================
29. What is ECMA 168?

  ECMA 168 is a volume and file format standard for write-once CD and CD-ROM.
  It was approved as a European standard by the ECMA General Assembly in June
  of 1992. It provides for full Orange Book functionality, including
  multisession recording, track-at-once recording, and packet recording.
  When used with an Orange Book writer, this will allow write-once CD to
  be used more like a general-purpose storage peripheral than is possible
  using ISO 9660. ECMA 168 also incorporates the functionality of Rock Ridge:
  the ability to use Unix-style filenames, Unix permissions, and deep directory
  hierarchies. Much thought was put into character set issues, and ECMA 168
  accommodates multiple-byte character sets such as ISO 10646. Although
  ECMA 168 is not upward-compatible with ISO 9660, it is possible to write
  a "conformant disc" containing both sets of volume and file structures.
  If such a disc is Yellow Book compatible (a CD-ROM or a CD-WO written
  disc-at-once), it could be read on either an ISO 9660 system or an ECMA
  168 system. There are many common elements between ECMA 168 and ECMA
  167, which is a new standard intended primarily for WORM and erasable
  optical disks. Hopefully this will encourage developers to support both
  standards.

  The title of the standard is "Volume and File Structure of Read-Only and
  Write-Once Compact Disc Media for Information Interchange".  This standard
  expands upon the ISO-9660 CD-ROM standard.

  At the current time, I do not know of any companies which support ECMA 168
  in their products.

  A new draft international standard on CD-ROM/CD-WO format:

        ISO/IEC DIS 13490 Volume and File Structure of Read-only
        and Write-once Compact Disc Media for Information Interchange

  is currently undergoing letter ballot process and voting may
  end at end of August, 1993.

  DIS 13490 is also the ECMA Standard 168, which is derived from
  the Frankfurt Group proposal. Copies of this draft standard
  should be available at the ANSI or ECMA office.

  DIS 13490 is designed to support both the CD-ROM (yellow book) and
  CD-WO (orange book) conforming media.  In addition,  DIS 13490 removed
  many unnecessary restrictions of ISO 9660, and is compatible
  with ISO 9660 at the directory and file structures level.
  DIS 13490 conforming discs can also be made to be read
  by both ISO 9660 and DIS 13490 conforming receiving systems.

==========================================================================
30. Is a short technical introduction to these standards available?

  The file ftp.apple.com(130.43.2.3): /pub/cd-rom/cd-rom.summary gives
  a short techie introduction to compact disc technology.

  ----

  There is a good short general article on CD-Rom and its's many
  variations (CD-XA, CD-I, CDTV, PhotoCD) called MULTIMEDIA IN A MUDDLE
  by Barry Fox in the New Scientist (London, ISSN# 0262-4079) vol. 131
  no. 1787 (Sep 21, 1991) pp.35-38

  ----

  There is a very good article by Bill and Lynne Jolitz "Inside the
  ISO-9660 Filesystem Format" in the December 1992 Dr. Dobbs Journal.
  Detailed source code examples are provided.  They are planning followup
  articles covering Rock Ridge, CDI and CDROM-XA.

  ----

  The SAMS book "Principles of Digital Audio" by Ken C. Pohlmann (ISBN
  0-672-22634-0) deals primarily with audio CDs but there are sections
  dealing with CD-ROM, CD-I, DVI, CD-V, CD-WO, Erasable CD, CD + G and
  CD + MIDI.

  ----
  There is a good brief explaination of all these standards in the paper

      "Compact Disc Terminology"
      Nancy Klocko
      Disc Manufacturing Inc.
      1409 Foulk Road, Suite 202
      Wilmington, DE  19803
      1-800-433-DISC

  Here is some information from the paper:

  Standards:

  Red Book == CD-Audio

  Yellow Book == CD-ROM
    Mode-1 is for computer data
    Mode-2 is for compressed audio data and video/picture data

  CD-ROM/XA == an EXTENSION to Yellow Book and defines a new type of track.

    CD-ROM Mode 2, XA Format, is used for computer data, compressed audio
    data, and video/picture data.  A CD-ROM / XA track may interleave Mode 2
    compressed audio and Mode 2 data sectors.  Additional hardware is needed
    to separate these when playing the disc.  The hardware is programmed to
    separate the audio from the data, decompress the audio and play it out
    through the audio jacks.  At the same time, the hardware passes the data
    to the computer.

    NOTE:  Additional hardware is needed to play a CD-ROM / XA disc.  Several
    vendors offer an XA interface board that will allow an existing CD-ROM
    drive to play CD-ROM / XA discs.

  Green Book == Compact Disc Interactive (CD-I)

  Orange Book == Recordable Compact disc Standard
    Part I - CD-MO (Magneto Optical)
      Consists of optional Pre-Mastered (READ-ONLY) area and a Recordable
      (re-writable) user area.
    Part II - CD-WO (Write Once)
      Orange Book Part II also defines a second type of CD-WO disk called
      a "Hybrid Disc".  This disc consists of a Pre-recorded Area and a
      Recordable Area.  The Pre-recorded area is a READ ONLY area where
      the information is manufactured into the disc.  (This area is written
      per the Red, Yellow, and Green Book specifications, and can be played
      on any CD-Player.)  The Recordable areas are where additional
      recordings can be made in one or more sessions.  Only the first
      session on the disc is readable by todays CD-Players; additional
      software will be needed to read the additional sessions.

      A TOC (Table of Contents) is written during each recording session.
      Disc will have multiple TOCs, one for each recording session.

      Photo-CD is an example of a "Hybrid Disc".

   CD-Bridge Disc

      The CD-Bridge Disc defines a way to add additional information in
      a CD-ROM / XA track in order to allow the track to be played on a
      CD-I player.  the result is a disc that can be played on both a
      CD-I player connected to a TV set and on a CD-ROM / XA player
      connected to a computer.

      An example of a CD-Bridge Disc is the new Photo-CD disc.  The
      Photo-CD disc will be playable in CD-I players, Kodak's Photo CD
      players and in computers using CD-ROM/XA drives.

   Photo-CD
      The Photo CDs will be Mode 2 Form 1 sectors per the CD-ROM / XA
      specifications.  The disc will be written per the Orange Book Part
      II "Hybrid Disc" specifications.  This will allow photographs to be
      written to the disc in several different sessions.  Additionally,
      the disc will use the CD-Bridge disc format to allow the disc to be
      readable by both CD-I and CD-ROM / XA players.

      The photographs written to the disc in the first session will use
      the ISO 9660 format.  These photographs will be readable with the
      existing CD-ROM / XA players connected to a computer running new
      software written for the Photo CD picture structure.  Additionally,
      the photographs will be displayable on CD-I Players and Photo CD
      Players connected to a TV set.

      Photographs written to disc after the first session will be
      displayable on CD-I Players and Photo CD players.  New software
      and/or firmware will be needed to read these additional photographs
      with existing CD-ROM/XA players.

==========================================================================
31. Who comes up with these standards?  Can I have any input to the process?

  In the case of the colored books, they have been developed by engineers
  within Philips and Sony. Few people outside these companies have input into
  the process.

  The file format standards (ISO 9660, Rock Ridge, and ECMA 168) have all
  been developed originally by ad-hoc groups of interested people from
  various companies in the industry, then have been submitted to established
  standards organizations (ECMA, ANSI, ISO) for further work there.

  The CD-ROM Architecture Working Group is an official Standards working
  Group under the auspices of the IEEE Computer Society by way of the
  Standards Committee for Optical Disks and Multimedia Platforms (SCODMP)
  chaired and sponsored by Dr. Lawrence Welsch, PhD.  Mike Rubinfeld is
  presently the Chair of the working group.  They are working in accordance
  with a Project Authorization Request (PAR) for the development of a CD-ROM
  architecture profile that hopefully will be made into an international
  standard.  The PAR was approved by the Standards Activity Board (SAB) of
  the IEEE/CS last June and the Architecture Profile will probably be ready
  for balloting by August, 1993.

  For more information, contact:

  Mike Rubinfeld
  NIST
  Bldg. 225, MS:B266
  Gaithersburg, MD  20899
  [phone]
  Email: [e-mail]
==========================================================================
32. Are there any ftp sites with good stuff related to CD-ROMs?

  A couple of sites with cdrom related stuff are

  cdrom.com (192.153.46.254): /cdrom   [ This site is maintained by me. ]

  cs.uwp.edu (131.210.1.4): /pub/cdrom

==========================================================================
33. How do I write an MSDOS program that can access a cdrom using MSCDEX?

  The MSCDEX interface documentation is available on the Microsoft Programmer's
  Library CD-ROM.  This also has detailed specifications for drivers that talk
  to MSCDEX.  It even provides solutions to a number of sticky problems.

  The file mscdex21.zip contains Microsoft's info on how to talk to the
  CD-ROM extensions (MSCDEX.EXE) and a sample DOS application which is crude
  but effective in playing audio tracks.  This file is available via
  anonymous ftp from ftp.cica.indiana.edu:/pub/pc/win3/uploads/mscdex21.zip
  or cdrom.com:/cdrom/mscdex21.zip.

  MSCDEX programming information can be found in INTER31?.ZIP.  Ralf Brown's
  interrupt bible.  The information is very complete.  The interrupt list
  is available via anonymous ftp from Simtel20 (wsmr-simtel20.army.mil) or
  from the mirror site wuarchive.wustl.edu: /mirrors/msdos/info/inter31?.zip.

  There is a book by Ray Duncan (Microsoft Press) detailing all extensions
  to Dos (XMS, LIM EMS, MSCDEX etc..) which should be available in book
  stores. The title is "MS-DOS EXTENSIONS" ISBN 1-55615-212-4.
==========================================================================
34. How do I mount an ISO-9660 disc on a Sun?

  Su to root and run this command,
    # mount -r -t hsfs /dev/sr0 /cdrom
  or even better, put the following line in your /etc/fstab
    /dev/sr0   /cdrom hsfs ro 0 0
  and then run
    # mount /cdrom

  Don Trimmer, of Delta Microsystems, has written a program that allows
  safe mount/umount operations without requiring super user permissions.
  You can get his program by anonymous ftp from cdrom.com:/cdrom/mount.c
==========================================================================
35. How do I use a cdrom with OS/2?

  What you need to do to make your cdrom drive work under os/2 is:

  1) make a bootable msdos floppy disk which is configured so that
  you can use the cdrom after booting from this floppy.

  2) copy the files fsaccess.sys and fsfilter.sys onto the floppy and
  then add DEVICE= statements to the CONFIG.SYS for the floppy.

  3) copy the floppy disk to the os/2 hard disk using the VDISK command.

  4) create an icon with the "boot from drive" option set to the name
  of the file created by the VDISK command.

  5) Click on the icon.

  -----

  OS/2 has builtin support for IBM drives, and for SCSI third party
  drives.  The Sony CDU 541 works well.

  What you need to do if you don't have one of the supported drives, is
  use the OS/2 command VMDISK to create a bootable "diskette image" on your
  hard disk.  On the diskette image file, you will copy a CONFIG.SYS file,
  an AUTOEXEC.BAT, and the drivers you require for your CDROM.  This feature
  allows you use any driver with OS/2.  The down side is that you can't
  access the device in the image box from any OS/2 window.  You have to use
  the bootable image box to copy files back and forth between the image box
  and any other.  If you have one of the supported drives, you can access it
  from any box.

  -------

  The VMDISK technique is only needed for unsupported, mainly non-SCSI
  drives.  Some unsupported SCSI drives, such as the NEC CDR-84, work
  fine with OS/2

  The only thing to do in order to make some unsupported SCSI CD-ROM
  drives work (as a data CD-ROM, MM is another problem) is to patch the
  vendor ID string into \OS2\CDROM.SYS. Simply replace "TOSHIBA " by
  "NEC     ", etc. i.e. with blank-padding to eight characters. This is
  known to work with NEC and SONY drives. It does not work with some
  Matsushita (Panasonic) drives.

  -------

  Systems Integration Technologies sells a Mitsumi CD-ROM Device Driver
  for OS/2.  The price is $10+S/H for text only, and $25+S/H for the
  future enhanced driver.  Contact [e-mail] or
  [e-mail]

==========================================================================
36. Which CD-ROM Drives will work with MicroSoft Windows-NT?

  The Microsoft(R) Windows NT(TM) operating system is designed to
  support a broad range of hardware.  This is a preliminary list of
  hardware that we have run Windows NT on to date.  This is a subset of
  the hardware we expect to support in the final product.

  The following hardware has undergone preliminary testing for this
  release.  We have not tested every machine and/or device in all
  possible configurations.  Microsoft makes no warranties express or
  implied in this document.

  disk controllers:
    100% Register Compatible with WD1003 - ESDI, IDE, WD1003
    Compaq Intelligent Drive Array
    SCSI(R)
    Adaptec AHA-1540b, AHA-1542b, AHA-1640, AHA-1740
    Future Domain TMC-845, TMC-850, TMC-850M(ER), MCS-700 (7), TMC-1660 (7)
      TMC-1680 (7), TMC-7000EX
    IBM SCSI Host Adapter (10)
    Maynard 16 Bit SCSI Adapter (11)
    NCR 53C700
    Olivetti ESC - 1 Adapter
    Built-in SCSI on MIPS ARC/R4000 systems from :  Acer, MIPS and Olivetti

  CD-ROM devices:
    CD Technology CD Porta-Drive T-3301
    Chinon CDX-431
    Denon(R) DRD 253
    Hitachi(R) CDR-1750S
    NEC Intersect CDR-73(M), Intersect CDR-84
    Pioneer(R) DRM-600
    Sony(R) CDU-541, CDU-6211, CDU-7211
    Toshiba XM-3201, TXM-3301

  (7)  A driver that supports both Setup and File I/O for the Future
       Domain MCS-700, and TMC-16X0 series controllers will be posted to
       CompuServe in the WINNT forum, Lib 2 "Fixes and Updates".
  (10) Earlier versions of this controller have proven to have problems
       with various CD-Rom drives. The Chinon CDX-431 and NEC Intersect
       CDR-73 are known to work with this version of controller.
  (11) The Maynard SCSI Adapter can be used as a general purpose SCSI
       controller for all tasks but graphical setup.

==========================================================================
37. How do I read an audio cd track as digital data?

  Most CD-ROM drives cannot decode audio information.  There are
  firmware and data path reasons why it doesn't work.  The drive
  vendors could make drives that allow this feature.

  There are only a few drives with the capability to read audio
  tracks as data: The AppleCD 300 (which is a Sony 8003), the Sony
  CDU-561 and the CD-ROM drive sold by Silicon Graphics for use
  with their Indigo workstation.  The SGI drive is a modified
  Toshiba 3301B.

  For the Toshiba drives, you issue a MODE SELECT command with density
  code 0x82 and then all read's with an lba inside a digital audio track
  will return 2352 bytes audio samples / block.

  Both Sony and Toshiba may support reading audio (red book) CD's on their
  next generation drives (the dual speed ones), at least, as an option.

  There are several ways to read digital audio from Sony CDU 561
  and Sony CDU 8003 mechanisms. Note that the technique of merely
  setting the density (0x82) using MODE SELECT SCSI command as on
  Toshiba 3401s will not work.

  Here are three ways to read digital audio Red Book standard
  audio track data across the SCSI bus into your computer complete
  with all sound processing already performed (For example the
  CIRC routine already run and the output is LRLRLR pairs of 16
  bit digital audio samples 2352 bytes per CD-ROM block.

  Method 1 : READ CD-DA scsi command 0xD8

  Byte 0: D8
  1: <LUN stuff> 0
  2: <4th most significant byte of logical block address>
  3: <3rd byte>
  4: <2nd>
  5: <1st, lowest of the address>
  6: <4th most significant byte of transfer length
  7: <3rd byte>
  8: <2nd>
  9: <1st, lowest of the number of contiguos blocks to transfer>
  10: <special sub code selector> (0 == normal 2352, other values
      are 01, 02, 03)
  11: <control>

  Method 2 : READ CD-DA MSF scsi command 0xD9

  byte 0: D9
  1: <LUN stuff> 0
  2: 0
  3: <starting minute in binary not BCD>
  4: <starting second in binary not BCD>
  5: <starting frame (75th of a second) in binary not BCD>
  6: 0
  7: <ending minute in binary not BCD>
  8: <ending second in binary not BCD>
  9: <ending frame (75th of a second) in binary not BCD>
  10: <special sub code selector> (0 == normal 2352 each, other
      values are 01, 02, 03)
  11: <control>

  For this one you will need to remember how to convert MSF to
  logical (LBA) address to set the SCSI transfer length correctly
  to avoid the Mac SCSI manager reporting a phase error. to
  calculate the number of bytes total you will get use the formula:

  ((Me-Ms)*60*75 + (Se-Ss) * 75 + (Fe-Fs)) * (2352)

  Method 3 : MODE SELECT (6) 0x15

  This is a very complex topic to discuss, but if you know how to
  use the SCSI mode select page commands the third more direct
  (and jitter filled) method to get digital audio across the SCSI
  bus on the new SONY devices is to set the block length of the
  volatile settings in the 6th 7th and 8th bytes of the Block
  descriptor section of a MODE select list with 0 or more pages
  (12 bytes for none) to a setting of either 2352, 2368, or 2448.
  You want 2352, but I have not tried this technique and Sony
  recommends the special streaming commands.

  WARNING: for high quality use large transfers but QUICKLY
  reissue another command as soon as a command is completed. The
  head must never come to a rest for 100% pure results.

  -------

  The format of a CD-DA sector, that the Toshiba XM-3401 returns, is not
  too complicated: each sector contains 2352 bytes, these are devided
  into 588 16-bit signed stereo samples of 4 bytes each. The 16-bit
  samples are returned in 'low byte first' (i386, ...) byte order. The
  16-bit samples in the sector are intended alternating for the left and
  right channel, starting with the left channel.

    struct cdda_sector {
      struct cdda_sample {
        char left_channel_lsb;
        char left_channel_msb;
        char right_channel_lsb;
        char right_channel_msb;
      } samples[588];
    };

==========================================================================
38. Why do CD-ROMs cost so much?

  Here are several answers, take your pick:

  A.  Because too many people are willing to pay the high prices.

  B.  They are not really very expensive when you consider how much data
      they contain.  Even the most expensive CD-ROMs are often cheaper
      than the least expensive floppies when you figure the cost per byte.

  C.  Because there isn't enough competition.  The prices will come down
      when more people buy drives, and more CD-ROM titles are available.
==========================================================================
39. Why do all the bundle deals require me to buy a drive?  What if I
    already have a drive?

   Many disc producers sell outdated or surplus discs at steep discounts
   to be bundled with new drives.  The theory is that the new drive owner
   will find the discs useful, and order the latest version at full price.

   There are some bundle deals that do not require you to buy a new drive.
   For instance, the CD-ROM User's Group (see above) has a bundle of ten
   discs for $99.

==========================================================================
40. Are alt.cd-rom archives available anywhere?

   I don't know if there is an ftp site anywhere that archives alt.cd-rom,
   but you can retrieve old articles via email:

     For a list of files available, send the message
       INDEX CDROM-L
     as the first line of your e-mail message to:
       [e-mail]
     or the Internet form of address:
       [e-mail]

    To retrieve an archived message, send the e-mail message
      GET CDROM-L LOGyymm
    or  SENDME CDROM-L LOGyymm      as above
    where yymm is the year and month of the archive wanted.
    e.g. LOG9110 = Log of October 91 messages.

==========================================================================
41. What is the shelf-life of a CD-ROM?

  If a CD-ROM is not manufactured properly, the lifetime can be very
  short, perhaps only a few years.  This can happen if the edge of the
  disc is not properly sealed, and oxygen reaches the metal surface.

  If the disc is manufactured properly, it will last a very long time.
  Most CD-ROMs should last for more than a human lifetime.

  Philips has proposed new standards for testing CD-ROMs that are expected
  to result in discs that will enjoy a life span of more than a thousand
  years.  For more information see Fox, Barry "CD Makers Perform in Unison
  to Stop the Rot" New Scientist 134(1815) (April 4, 1992):19.

  The laser used in a CD-ROM drive is very low power, and does not
  harm the disc in any way.  Reading the disc will not shorten
  the lifetime.

==========================================================================
42. How should I handle my CD-ROMs?  How do I clean them?

  The following guidelines represent the current thinking for the care
  and handling of CD-ROM discs, by a number of CD-ROM disc and drive
  manufacturers.  The validity and usefulness of most of these
  guidelines have not been substantiated by government testing and
  therefore are presented for information only.

  Wash your hands before contact with the disc.  If available, wear
  lint-free cloth gloves, finger cots, or talc-free latex gloves.

  If you must wipe the disc, do so with a soft, dry, lint-free cloth in
  a radial motion- that is from the inner to the outer hub- not in a
  circular motion around the disc like you might do for a phonograph
  record.  The most devastating scratches are those which occur along a
  circular arc of the disc which can obscure a long stream of pits.

  Certain cleaning agents and solvents can damage the discs.  Some of
  these include: gasoline, paint thinners, benzine, acetone, carbon
  tetrachloride, chlorinated cleaning solvents, ammonia, and household
  detergents which contain ammonia.  Do not clean with a water soaked
  cloth.  The use of Isopropyl alcohol, the ingredient in many
  commercial CD cleaning products, as well as certain waxes and acrylic
  liquids, is still questionable.

  Do not clean the label side of the disc.

  Use of a CD-ROM caddy is highly recommended during transport and
  operation.  Limit the amount of physical contact with the disc.

  Always handle the disc by the outer edge and/or the inner (hole) edge.
  Never touch the data surface.

  Discs like to "live" in the same conditions that people do; that is:
  They don't like to be manhandled
  They don't like exposure to temperature extremes
  They don't like exposure to excess humidity
  They don't like exposure to high intensity UV light

  Ron Kushnier, Chairman
  Compact Disc- Reliability & Integrity of Media Working Group of
  The Special Interest Group on CD-ROM Applications and Technology
  Code 5053
  Naval Air Warfare Center
  Warminster, PA. 18974
  [phone]
  FAX [phone]
==========================================================================
43. Which drives will work with Kodak Photo CD?

  According to Kodak, the following drives are compatible.  To view more
  than just the first recorded session, you need a multisession  drive.
  Most of these drives are single session only.

        Magnavox CDD461    - single session
                 CDD462RS  - multi session
        Sony CDU-6205      - single session
             CDU-535       - single session
             CDU-561       - multi session
        NEC CDR-73         - single session
            CDR-37         - single session
        Apple 300CD        - multi session

  The NEC CDR-74/84 works fine with PhotoCD. Older models that have a
  firmware revision of 1.0 should be sent back to NEC for a FREE refit,
  that upgrades the firmware to 1.0a, and may update some other components.
  NEC should be called at 1-(800)-388-8888 follow the recorded messages to
  get them to sent the info required for the refit (or hit 6 then 1 to get
  there instantly).  You will get your drive back in 3-4 business days.

  The Kodak Information Center is maintaining a file on the compuserve CDROM
  forum of compatible drives, and it has become quite extensive.  They also
  specify compatible SCSI boards, drivers, and cable configurations.  There
  are also a couple of subtle issues in compatibility that are still being
  worked out.  For example, the NEC drives are single session compatible, but
  not multi.  There are also drives which have been certified as compatible
  which are not XA, and there is some indication that this makes them useful
  for pictures alone, but not for mixed media Photo-CD productions in the
  future.
==========================================================================
44. What is a multisession CD drive?

  A CD has an "index" area which contains track details; this is what is
  read when you first stick an audio CD into a player.  Photo-CDs have a
  separate index area each time they are written (because it is impossible
  to "update" the index area). A multisession drive is one that knows to
  look for multiple index areas. The full details are contained in the
  Philips/Sony/Kodak "Orange Book" standard for writable CDs.

==========================================================================
45. How does Photo CD work?

  In a nut shell, 35mm film (negative, slide, B&W, internegative) is scanned
  by an image scanner and transfered to XA-formatted CD-ROM discs.  These
  discs are manufactured by burning (writing) -- not by pressing.

  Each scanned image on the disc is kept in five resolutions.  These five
  resolutions are called: Base/16, Base/4, Base, 4Base, and 16Base.  As
  examples, Base/16 is one sixteenth the resolution of the "Base" image, and
  16Base is sixteen times the resolution of "Base".  (These are not simply
  larger picture elements.  There are in increased number of scan lines.)

  The 4Base and 16Base images are are compressed using Huffman encoding.  You
  need the decompression software to pull the higher resolutions out of the
  image.  You would typically need these higher resolutions if you want
  enlargements or if you intend to use an HDTV as a display device.

==========================================================================
46. Where can I get some information about the Kodak Photo CD?

  To learn more about Photo CD products or other KODAK desktop color
  imaging products, contact Eastman Kodak Company at 1-800-242-2424 Ext 51
  or 716-724-1021, ext. 53.

  Or send inquiries to the following address:

     EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
     Kodak Information Center
     Dept. E. 343 State Street
     Rochester, NY 14650-0811

  Information about PhotoCD is available by anonymous ftp from
  cdrom.com:/cdrom/photo_cd.

  There is an excellent article on PhotoCD in the Sept 92 issue of
  Photographic Magazine.

  Eastman Kodak Co recently released Photo CD Access, which is designed
  to allow users to integrate CD images into any Windows or Macintosh
  Application.  Requires a CD ROM XA (Extended Architecture) drive.
  Most popular image formats are supported, including TIFF, GIF, TARGA
  and PICT.  Kodak sells the software directly.  $39.95, 1-800-242-2424.

  A developer's kit is available for $695 and includes source code as well
  as object for PC/MAC.

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

  Dick Phillip's Photo-CD application for NeXTs is now loaded in the
  pub/next/submissions directory at sonata.cc.purdue.edu. The following
  files are available:

  pCD.README
  pCD.tar.Z.TAKEME                application
  README.pCD
  photo_cd.tar.Z                  test data - simulated photo-CD
  photo_cd.tar.Z.README

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

  The maximum resolution is 3072 X 2048, 24 bit color.

==========================================================================
47. Where can I get maps of the US on CD-ROM?

  The USGS is producing a series of cds that contain 1:100,000 scale
  digital line graph (DLG) data. Presently, only Florida is available.
  Also, 1:2,000,000 DLG cd is available for the US.  Call 1-800-USA-MAPS
  for more info.

  You can also get topo data (with AVHRR coverage) on CD-ROM for $32. This
  is DEM (30" elevation data) for the whole US.  Contact: EROS Data Center,
  Sioux Falls, SD  605-594-6507, or 6511

  The Digital Chart of the World (DCW), produced by your Defense Mapping
  Agency, is generally acknowledged to be the best data set providing
  world-wide coverage. It is at a scale of about 1:1 000 000, and it is
  unlikely that you will find data at a larger scale for much of the world.
  At $200.00 for the set of 4 CD-ROMs and viewing data, it is considered to
  be a steal by most professional users, though it might be a bit of an
  overkill for domestic use.  You can obtain it from:

    U S Geological Survey
    Distribution Center
    Building 810
    Box 25286
    Denver, CO 80225

==========================================================================
48. How do I put a CD-ROM Drive on a Novell network?

  ---------
  1. SCSI Express.  SCSI drives only, NLM only.

  2. OptiNet by OnLine in Germantown, MD. Both NLM and separate CD-Server.
     Any type of drive supported. Up to 128 drives per server.

  3. CD-Net by Meridian in Colorado. Software only version of the Meridian
     CD-Server. Used to be limited to 21 drives, but may have been upgraded.
     Not sure if NLM version is currently available.

  Also, CBIS has a hardware/software solution that supports up to 21 drives
  per server. No NLM.

  All the packages run about $700 for 8 users or less.

  [ If anyone has used any of these products, and would like to recommend
    yes or no, please let me know.]

  ---------
  Corel sell a SCSI driver package that include NLM's to put
  worm drives,CD-Roms etc on a 3.1+ server. The package also includes dos
  drivers for just about every device you would want to connect to SCSI.
  Only costs about $70.
==========================================================================
49. Are any CD-ROM Jukeboxes available?

  There is a Pioneer DRM600 CD-ROM jukebox.  It will hold 6 CD's in a
  cartridge, costs around $900-$1000, but has a slow drive.  Pioneer also
  has a new drive coming out in December that is the same 6-CD changer,
  but with a 340ms, 600K/Sec drive in it.  That will be more like $1400.

  It is available from:

  Kintronics Computer Products
  3 Westchester Plaza
  Elmsford, NY 10523
  914-347-2530 or 800-431-1658 attention Neal Allen

  It is also distributed by Peripheral Solution, in Santa Cruz, 408-425-8280
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  A jukebox that handles 240 discs is available from

  Kubik Technologies Ltd.
  200-3900 Viking Way
  Richmond, BC V6V 1V7
  604-273-0400
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  There is a German firm called NSM that sells CD-jukeboxes for bars,
  etc. They have their fast 100-disk changer also available for consumer
  purposes and a CD-ROM version.  In Holland it is sold by:

  LaserMusic Nederland
  Leeuwenstein 44
  2627 AM Delft, the Netherlands.
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  The Lotus CD/Networker can have up to 28 CD-ROM drives installed in it.
  Lotus Development Corporation, 55 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, MA 02142.
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Todd Enterprises has a box that can have up to 64 CD-ROM drives mounted.
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Another jukebox is available from Microboards (MBi of America), 308
  Broadway, PO Box 130, Carver  MN  55315, 612/448-9800, 612/448-9806 (fax),
  contact Kathleen Davies
==========================================================================
50. Can I speed up my CD-ROM by using a cache?

  There are several programs that cache information from the CD-ROM onto
  your hard disk.  Since magnetic discs are often more than 10 times faster
  than a CD-ROM, this can result in dramatic improvements under some
  circumstances.

  Most of the programs cache the directory information, so you can traverse
  subdirectories quickly.  They also cache the most recently accessed blocks
  of data.  So if you use the same files over and over, or access the same
  records in a database, your CD-ROM will seem much faster.  But when you
  access the information for the first time, it will be just as slow as
  ever.

  SpeedCache+ from Future Systems has been recommended as a pretty good
  caching program.

   Future Systems, Inc
   0420 South 500 East
   Bluffton, IN 46714
   [phone]

  ------
  On the Macintosh a prescanning (Directory, file atrributes, icons, etc)
  cache to accelerate the Mac with CD-ROMs exists from two companies
  SpeedyCD 1.22 and FWB CD-ROM ToolKit 1.0.  FWB seems much faster than
  SpeedyCD and can prescan any type of CD-ROM volumes (ProDos, Mac HFS,
  MS DOS, ISO9660, PhotoCD etc.) It prescans in the background.
==========================================================================
51. Do you have any info about the CD-ROM filesystems for Amigas?

   The following information is taken from the Winter '93
   "AC's Guide to the Commodre Amiga" (pages 112, 253, 262, 149)

   AsimCDFS
   This CD_ROM FIleSystem allows an Amiga/CDTV to access any ISO9660,
   HighSierra, or Mac HFS formatted disc. CDTV discs also accessible.
   Comes with FishMarket, a disc containing Fred Fish disks 1-637,
   and AsimTunes, an intuition-based AudioCD controller program with
   ARexx capability. Includes a manual and a painless install procedure.
   Supports a number of CD-ROM drives.  Requires SCSI controller
   compatible with Commodore SCSI-Direct Standard. For 68000,010,020,
   030,040 processors. Minimum 512K, more recommended for buffering.
   AmigaDOS 1.3/2.0 compatible. $79.00
   Asimware Innovations, 101 Country Club Dr,
   Hamilton, Ontario L8K 5W4, Canada, (416) 578-
   4916  FAX[phone]

   CDx Disk Set
   All software needed to attach a SCSI CD-ROM drive to most popular
   SCSI controllers, plus a printed manual and two CD-ROM discs (Fish &
   More Vols. I and II). Software consists of: CDxFileSystem for access
   to ISO 9660, High Sierra, and Mac HFS discs, CDTV emulation software
   to run most CDTV titles (1MB chip RAM recommended), audio CD player
   software, an assembly/C/Arexx-compatible device for developers, and
   more. NTSC/PAL compatible, Requires SCSI controller, SCSI CD-ROM drive.
   AmigaDOS 2.0 compatible. $50.00
   Xetec, Inc., 2804 Arnold Road, Salina, KS 67401,
   [phone], FAX[phone]

   CDROM-FS
   CDROM-FS version 702 enables Amiga owners to connect most SCSI CD ROM
   drives to an Amiga with a SCSI interface. This software provides support
   for industry standard ISO 9660/High Sierra format CD ROM discs. It comes
   with clear concise instructions, making it easy to install and use.
   Requires A590, A2091, A3000, Microbotics Hardframe or GVP. $49.95.
   Canadian Prototype Replicas, P.O. Box 8, Breslau,
   Ontario, Canada N0B 1M0, [phone]

==========================================================================
52. What are the most popular CD-ROMs?

  Here are the hottest-selling CD-ROM titles in the USA in October, according
  to PC Research.  This is a good indication what Christmas sales were like.

  10.  CD Game Pack                              Software Toolworks
   9.  Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego     Broderbund
   8.  Murmurs of the Earth                      Warner New Media
   7.  King's Quest V                            Sierra On-Line
   6.  Street Atlas USA                          Delorme
   5.  World View                                Brittanica
   4.  Sherlock Holmes, Detective                Icom
   3.  Wing Commander / Secret Missions I & II   Origin
   2.  Cinemania                                 Microsoft
   1.  Battle Chess Enhanced CD-ROM              Interplay

==========================================================================
53. What are some good references to CD-ROM reviews?

  Drive reviews:

        "PC-Computing" December 1992
        "Macworld", October 1992
        "PC-Computing", October 1992
        "Computer Shopper", October 1992
  ---------------------------------------------------------
  CD-ROM LAN Server reviews:

        "LAN Times", January 11, 1993
        "PC Magazine", December 31, 1991
  ---------------------------------------------------------

  Jan Schwenk, the president and CEO of Resource International, runs a BBS
  containing many CD-ROM reviews.  The number is (817)-582-0672 at 8N1.
  Admission is free.

==========================================================================
54. How do I put a CD-ROM Drive on a Ethernet by using a unix system
    (e.g. a SUN ) as a server and PCs as clients.

  Edmund J. Sutcliffe <[e-mail]> writes:
  If you mount an ISO format CD-ROM on you sun using the commands previously
  mentioned in Question 34 and export it to the network using
     # exportfs /cdrom
  It is then made available for mounting using NFS to other devices.

  The PC can mount the CD-ROM using any NFS Client including Sun's PC-NFS.
  (This is the product we use) Most PC search software requires the presence
  of MSCDEX to work with the CD-ROM. Daniel Churchman of Digital Solutions
  Pty Ltd, of Queensland Australia wrote a simplistic MSCDEX faker called
  MXSUB in May 1990 which they release under GNU Public License in January '92.
  This work well with early versions of the search software.Colin Ian King
  <[e-mail]> wrote a small quantitiy of C code which fakes the MSCDEX
  extensions required by many PC packages. He also produced a list of which
  search software used which MSCDEX functions. This code is released under
  GNU Public license and is available from ftp.york.ac.uk in /pub/cd-rom,
  via anonymous FTP. This faker can work with an Microsoft Compatible Network
  which can see CD-ROMs.

  It is also necessary sometimes to set the volume label of the NFS mounted
  drive. "Malcolm E. Sherrington" <[e-mail]> in an article in the
  proceeding of the UKUUG confernce of January '93 talks about the problems
  in doing this. He wrote a program call NFSLABEL to label PC-NFS mounted
  Network Drives. However, this code was slow to be release and Robert
  Turner <[e-mail]> wrote similar code called LABELNFS
  which is available in source form. All this code is available from
  ftp.york.ac.uk in /pub/pc-nfs. This code has been sucessfully used with
  BRS/Search SilverPlatter and WilsonDisk search software.
  The only CD-ROM search software which has been made available to me for
  testing purpose, on the Macintosh is SilverPlatters SPIRS. We have a
  GatorCS/Rack running GatorShare, an Apple Filing Protocol to NFS convert.
  (For more info mail [e-mail]) This allows the Macs to see NFS
  file store as Appleshare Volumes. To mount CD-ROM to the Mac you must do
  the following:
     1) mount the CD-ROM on a Mac using a local CD-ROM. This
      will give you the Volume Name of the CD-ROM as seen to the Mac.
     2) mount the CD-ROM on the NFS server.
     3) Using GatorKeeper, the management software for GatorShare create a
      new  AppleShare Volume called the same name as the volume when the
      CD-ROM was mounted locally.
       This volume should mount the CD-ROM exported from the NFS server but the
     DESKTOP file should be create on some other section of NFS disk as it
     cannot be created on the CD-ROM. GatorKeeper will confirm the volume
     creation and then uses can mount the Volumes using the Chooser as usual.
  The user community can now mount the CD-ROM over the network to their Mac
  just like any other network volume and the SPIRS search software can us it.
  It is possible to Automate this mount and search software to make it
  transparent to the user and so limit usuage.

     It should be noted that it is important to license approriately copies
  of the CD-ROMs before exporting them generally over the network. You might
  also want to restrict access to appropriate netgroups. Also license
  locking the search software satisfies certain companies, but not all.

==========================================================================