Internet Surfer 2.0

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Internet Surfer 2.0 / Internet Surfer 2.0 (Wayzata Technology) (1996).iso / pc / text / mac / faqs.012 < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1996-02-12 | 27.7 KB | 731 lines

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.012 22. What are the Rock Ridge extensions? 23. Is a short technical introduction to these standards available? 24. Are there any ftp sites with good stuff related to CD-ROMs? 25. How do I write an MSDOS program that can access a cdrom using MSCDEX? 26. How do I mount an ISO-9660 disc on a Sun? 27. How do I use a CD-ROM with OS/2? 28. Which CD-ROM Drives will work with MicroSoft Windows-NT? 29. How do I read an audio cd track as digital data? 30. Why do CD-ROMs cost so much? 31. Why do all the bundle deals require me to buy a drive? What if I already have a drive? 32. Are alt.cd-rom archives available anywhere? 33. What is the shelf-life of a CD-ROM? 34. How should I handle my CD-ROMs? How do I clean them? 35. Which drives will work with Kodak Photo CD? 36. What is a "Multisession" CD drive? 37. How does Photo CD work? 38. Where can I get more information about the Kodak Photo CD? 39. Where can I get maps of the US on CD-ROM? 40. How do I put a CD-ROM Drive on a Novell network? 41. Are any CD-ROM Jukeboxes available? 42. Can I speed up my CD-ROM by using a cache? 43. Do you have any info about the CD-ROM filesystems for Amigas? 44. ???? Please send any other questions (and answers) that should be included in this FAQ to rab@cdrom.com. ========================================================================== 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:/pub/faq_disc. You can get a list of about 85 CD-ROM titles by sending a blank message to CD-ROM@micromed.net.netcom.com [ Several people have had trouble getting the list, so I have made it available for anonymous ftp from cdrom.com:/pub/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 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: (317) 251-9833 ------------------------------------ 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 (408)255-1081, (408)255-2388 - 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) ------------------------------------ Knowledge Media 436 Nunneley Rd Suite B Paradise, CA 95969 +1 916 872 3826, +1 916 872 3826 FAX, email: pbenson@ecst.csuchico.edu Graphics software CD-ROM ------------------------------------ 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 CDROMs of data from Voyager, Magellan and Viking for $6 each. If you have ftp capability, you can sample images from the two currently mounted CDROMS at ames.arc.nasa.gov in the directory SPACE/CDROM. ------------------------------------ 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 (800) 765-8369, (801) 278-2042, FAX: (801) 278-2666 71175.3152@CompuServe.com. Info-Mac Sumex-aim Macintosh CDROM ------------------------------------ Prime Time Freeware 370 Altair Way, Suite 150 Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (408) 738-4832, (408) 738 2050 FAX, ptf@cfcl.com 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 602-577-9624 MEGA-Rom, 600+ meg MSDOS, $79 ------------------------------------ Raynbow Software, Inc. P. O. Box 327 Rapid City, SD 57709 (605) 394-8227, louis@ce.ucsc.edu, 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, info@bowker.com "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, cdnews@Sterling.COM uunet!sparky!cdnews, ftp.uu.net:/vendor/sterling NetNews/CD: Usenet news on CD-ROM ------------------------------------ TechCity 17706 Chatsworth St. Granada Hills, CA 91344 ------------------------------------ TigerSoftware 800 Douglas Entrance Executive Tower, 7th FLoor Coral Gables, Florida 33134 24-hour FAX: (305) 529-2990 ------------------------------------ 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, 1 510 947-5996, 1 510 947-1644 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 (510) 526-7531, fax: (510) 528-8508, yggdrasil@netcom.com 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: +44-424-830025 (voice or fax), UK: 0424-830025 (voice or fax) email: vincea@cix.compulink.co.uk ------------------------------------ British Software Licensing 280 (T/L) West Princes Street Woodlands Glasgow G4 9EU United Kingdom +44-41-339-7264, Fax +44-41-334-1675, graham@gimble.demon.co.uk ------------------------------------ CD-ROM Jacob Aarstrasse 98 CH-3005 Bern Switzerland ------------------------------------ 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: +31 1880 33083 / Fax: +31 1880 41551 / Email: sterbbs@sus.eur.nl ------------------------------------ STARCOM International Computer Services Limburggasse 45 A-9073 Klagenfurt-Viktring Austria +43 (463) 29 67 22, +43 (463) 29 67 24 FAX ------------------------------------ WasaWare Oy Palosaarentie 31 SF-65200 VAASA Finland Telephone & Fax: +358 61 173365, Email: hv@uwasa.fi ========================================================================== 1c. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in Asia? ------------------------------------ Software Studio Shop 217 Olympia Shopping Center 255 King's Road North Point Hong Kong +852 510 7470 FAX ------------------------------------ UniForce System Ltd. 903 Kin Tak Fung Comm. Bldg 467-473 Hennessy Road Hong Kong Voice: (852)838-6048 Fax: (852)572-4778 ------------------------------------ Cache Computer Shop 29, G/Fl., Golden Shopping Centre 146-152 Fuk Wah st., Shamshuipo Kowloon Hong Kong Voice: (852) 361-9975, FAX: (852) 387-9935 ========================================================================== 1d. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in Australia/New Zealand? ------------------------------------ The Cave MegaBBS PO Box 2009 Wellington New Zealand BBS: +64 4 5643429 V22b, +64 4 564-5307 FAX, clear@cavebbs.gen.nz ------------------------------------ CompuCD GPO Box 1624 Canberra City ACT 2601 Australia fax: +61 06 2319771 ------------------------------------ Ilb Computing 48 Nebo Drive Figtree Heights NSW 2525 Australia +61 42 28 5827 ------------------------------------ Logicware 1 Riverbank Off. Vil. Cnr 1st St. & O'Shea Ter. Katherine, N'rn Terr. 0850 Australia fax: +61 89 72 3412 ========================================================================== 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 +1 708 860-9500x2621. You can get documents, and drivers, from the NEC BBS at +1 508 635-6328. ------------------------------------ DAK has a slow but reliable drive for $199. For an extra $49 you can get a bundle of discs. DAK Industries Incorporated 8200 Remmet Avenue Canoga Park, CA 91304 Orders: 818-888-8220, 800-DAK-0800 Technical information: 800-888-9818 ------------------------------------ You can get information on Matsumi drives by calling their US HQ at (516) 752-7730. The Mitsumi office dealing with the SouthEast is in Dallas. (214) 550-7300, FAX: (214) 550-7424. In California, call (408) 970-0700. ----------------------------------- 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 - Y/N 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 - S --- --- Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Apple CD 300 - S --- --- Y M - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Apple CD 300i - S --- --- Y M - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Apple CD SC - S --- --- Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Apple CD SC+ - S --- --- Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ CDRM Inc CR 1000i - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Chinon 435 E S 350 150 Y S - - Y Y - --- 0/0 800-441-0222 Chinon 435 I S 350 150 Y S - - Y Y - 369 0/0 800-441-0222 Chinon 431 - S 350 --- Y S - Y Y Y - --- 0/0 800-441-0222 Denon DRD-253 - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Hitachi CDR-1700S - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Hitachi CDR-1702 E N 450 40 N N N N N N 200 0/1 ------------ Obsolete Hitachi CDR-1750S - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Hitachi CDR-3600 - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Hitachi CDR-3650 I S 350 50 Y N - - N - - 300 1/0 ------------ workhorse Hitachi CDR-3700 I - 300 --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Hitachi CDR-3750 - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ Magnavox CDD461RS E N 700 --- - - - - - - - 329 0/0 ------------ Magnavox CDD462RS E N 400 --- - M - - Y - - --- 0/0 ------------ Matsushita CD-521 I - 390 --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 ------------ MediaVis PAS B - --- --- Y S - N - - - 129 1/0 ------------ MediaVis PAS-16 B - --- --- Y S - N - - - 150 1/0 ------------ 16-bit sound Mitsumi - N 500 150 N - N N - N - 169 0/2 ------------ MtOptech SI-680 - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 303-444-2851 Ruggedized NEC CDR 36 - - 500 150 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-NEC-INFO Portable NEC CDR 37 - - 450 150 - - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-NEC-INFO Portable NEC CDR-73 E S 300 150 Y - - - - - - 649 0/0 800-NEC-INFO NEC CDR-73M E S 280 300 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-NEC-INFO Fast NEC CDR-74 E S 300 300 - S - - - Y - --- 0/0 800-NEC-INFO NEC CDR-80 - X --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-NEC-INFO NEC CDR-83 I S 300 150 Y - - - - - - 599 0/0 800-NEC-INFO NEC CDR-83M I S 280 300 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-NEC-INFO NEC CDR-84 I S 300 300 - S - - - Y - --- 0/0 800-NEC-INFO NEC CDXG1 E - 500 --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-NEC-INFO Philips CDD-461 E N --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-722-6224 Philips CDI-601 E - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-722-6224 Philips CDI-602 E - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-722-6224 Pioneer DRM-600 E O 600 150 Y S - - - - - 925 1/0 bbs4087482150 jukebox(x6) Pioneer DRM-604X E O --- 300 Y S - - - - - --- 1/0 bbs4087482150 jukebox(x6) Sanyo ROM 3000 E S 650 40 N N N N N N - --- 0/1 ------------ slow Sony CDU-531 I S --- 150 N S - - - - - --- 0/0 800-352-7669 Sony CDU-535 I - 340 150 - - - - - - - --- 0/0 408-944-4335 Sony CDU-541 - S --- 150 Y - - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644 Sony CDU-561 - S 300 300 Y M - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644 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 Sony CDU-8012 - S --- 150 Y S - - - - - --- 0/0 408-434-6644 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 ------------ Nice, Cheap Texel DM3021 - - 340 --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 800-886-3935 Texel DM3024 I - 265 300 Y S - - - - - 439 0/0 800-886-3935 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 S - - Y - - 499 2/0 714-455-0407 Works great Toshiba XM3301E1 - - --- --- - - - - - - - --- 0/0 714-455-0407 Trantor T128 B - --- --- Y S - N - - - 100 1/0 ------------ 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 +1 708 487-3333 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, +1 510 947-5996, +1 510 947-1644 FAX Sony caddies "Made in Japan" - $4.95 each, $450 for 100 ========================================================================== 4. Are there any good periodicals and publications on CD-ROMs? ------------------------------------------------------------ A catalog describing CD-ROM publications and a 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 ------------------------------------------------------------ "The CD-ROM Directory" is available on either paper or CD-ROM from UniDisc 3941 Cherryvale Avenue, Soqeul, CA 95073 (408) 464-0707 ------------------------------------------------------------ "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. You can subscribe to CDROM-L by sending the following command to LISTSERV@UCCVMA.UCOP.EDU: SUBSCRIBE CDROM-L Your full name 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 LISTSERV@IDBSU.IDBSU.EDU: 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 LISTSERV@PSUVM.PSU.EDU: SUBSCRIBE GOVDOC-L Your full name Send to LISTSERV%UHUPVM1.BITNET@VM1.NODAK.EDU SUBSCRIBE PACS-L Your full name Discussions of music on CD can be found in rec.music.cd. ========================================================================== 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. 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. ========================================================================== 9. 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:/pub/publshrs. If you only want to make one disc, or just a few copies, there are several companies that offer this service: On-Site CD Saratoga, CA (408) 867-0514 ISO-9660, Mac HFS, Call for price Optical Media International San Jose, CA (408) 376-3511 omi@applelink.apple.com ISO-9660, Mac HFS, Call for price Walnut Creek CDROM 1547 Palos Verdes Mall, Suite 260 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 1-800-786-9907, +1 510 947-5996, FAX: +1 510 947-1644, rab@cdrom.com ISO-9660, $195, $95 each for additional copies Young Minds Inc. 1910 Orange Tree Lane, Suite 300 Redlands, CA 92374 714 335-1350, 714 798-0488 FAX, yngmnds!ayoung@ucrmath.ucr.edu Rock Ridge (Unix), $950 ========================================================================== 10. 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 and Sony. JVC Personal ROM-Maker $12500 (complete system, including software) Philips CDD-521 $5500 (+ $1900 for software) Sony CDW-900E $10000 (???) You can buy the Philips drive with CDGEN software for ISO-9660 discs from DataDisc (1-800-328-2347, FAX: +1 703-347-9085) for $7895. They recommend that you use it with the Adaptec 1542 SCSI Card. Optical Media International (1-408-376-3511, omi@applelink.apple.com) 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.] Here are some phone numbers you can call for more info: JVC Product Information: +1 714 965-2610 Philips Consumer Electronics: +1 615 475-8869 Sony Computer Peripheral Products: +1 800 352-7669 The blank discs for these drives cost about $30 each. They 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 burn pits in the metal film. It takes about half an hour to burn each disc. The cheapest price I have found for 74 minute (650 meg) blanks is $31 quantity ten, $29 quantity 100, and $27 quantity 500 from DataWare (1-510-942-3111, ask for Jeff Caplan). The 68 minute (600 meg) discs are usually about a buck cheaper. ========================================================================== 11. 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.