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From: rab@cdrom.com Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom,comp.multimedia,news.answers Subject: alt.cd-rom FAQ Summary: Frequently asked questions about CD-ROMs Message-ID: <1fuiemINN81e@agate.berkeley.edu> Date: 7 Dec 92 04:03:34 GMT Reply-To: rab@cdrom.com Followup-To: alt.cd-rom Organization: University of California, Berkeley Lines: 1567 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu NNTP-Posting-Host: sage.berkeley.edu Archive-name: cdrom-faq Last-modified: 1992/12/06 ========================= 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 (192.153.46.254): /pub/faq. This file is freely redistributable. Disclaimer: I have a direct financial interest in some of the companies mentioned in this posting, and indirect financial interest in several others. ============================================================================ 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 Asia? 1d. 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. How much does it cost to make a CD-ROM? 9. Where can I get a CD-ROM published? 10. Where can I find equipment to make my own CD-ROMs? 11. How much information will fit on a CD-ROM? 12. Why doesn't MSCDEX work with DOS 5.0? 13. Where can I get the latest version of MSCDEX? 14. I bought a used drive at a garage sale. Where can I find a driver for it? 15. What is the difference between `High Sierra' and ISO-9660? 16. Where can I get a copy of the ISO-9660 standard? 17. What is an HFS disc? 18. Can you give a short explaination of ISO-9660? 19. What the heck does `Red Book' and `Yellow Book' mean? 20. What is CD-I? 21. What is CD-ROM/XA? 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. The CD-ROM Users Group (see above) has a diagnostic CD-ROM that will tell you how much information your drive can handle. ========================================================================== 12. 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. ========================================================================== 13. 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:/pub/cdext.exe. ========================================================================== 14. I bought a used drive at a garage sale. Where can I find a driver for it? NEC, Philips and Sony have BBS's where you might be able to find drivers for their drives: NEC BBS: +1 508 635-6328 Philips BBS: +1 310 532-6436 Sony BBS: +1 408 955-5107 or +1 408 372-7426 Toshiba operates a bulletin board in Compuserve. Jim Rohrer, Chief Sysop, 76702,1300@compuserve.com They promise an answer within 24 hours. ========================================================================== 15. 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. ========================================================================== 16. 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, check or money order. ========================================================================== 17. 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). [ If anyone can tell me where the HFS specs can be obtained, I will include that information here. ] ========================================================================== 18. 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. ========================================================================== 19. 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 (212) 642-4900 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 (213) 444-6619 [If anyone can tell me where the other standards are available, I will include that information here.] ========================================================================== 20. 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: 800-845-7301 For nearest store: 800-223-7772 Developers hotline: 800-234-5484 UK: Philips CD-I hotline: 0800-885-885 "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 ========================================================================== 21. 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. ========================================================================== 22. 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 rjn@fc.hp.com, fax 303 229 4545. You can ftp the Rock Ridge specs from cdrom.com: /pub/rockridge. For information on Rock Ridge at Sun, try rrinfo@Eng.Sun.COM or cdgroup@fantasy.eng.sun.com. 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!ayoung@ucrmath.ucr.edu Rock Ridge is expected to be approved as an ISO standard during the first quarter of 1993. ========================================================================== 23. 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. ---- 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. ========================================================================== 24. 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): /pub [ This site is maintained by me. ] cs.uwp.edu (131.210.1.4): /pub/cdrom ========================================================================== 25. 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:/pub/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. ========================================================================== 26. 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:/pub/mount.c ========================================================================== 27. 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. ========================================================================== 28. 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. ========================================================================== 29. 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 two drives with the capability to read audio tracks as date. One is the AppleCD 300, and the other is the CD-ROM drive sold by Silicon Graphics for use with their Indigo workstation. The SGI drive is a modified Toshiba 3301B. 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. ========================================================================== 30. 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. ========================================================================== 31. 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. ========================================================================== 32. 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: LISTSERV@UCCVMA.BITNET or the Internet form of address: LISTSERV@UCCVMA.UCOP.EDU 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. ========================================================================== 33. 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. ========================================================================== 34. 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 radius 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 (215) 441-1624 FAX (215) 441-7271 ========================================================================== 35. Which drives will work with Kodak Photo CD? According to Kodak, the following drives are compatible: Magnavox CDD461 Sony CDU-6205 CDU-535 NEC CDR-73 CDR-37 The NEC CDR-83 is probably OK, too, but there are problems with the NEC CDR-74 and CDR-84 drives. To view more than just the first recorded session, you need a multisession drive. Apparently these drives are single session only. ========================================================================== 36. 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. The issues of CD-WO and how multsessions are recorded are addressed in the European Computer Manufacture Association (ECMA) new standard ECMA 168, which became a standard in June of this year. 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. ========================================================================== 37. 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. ========================================================================== 38. 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:/pub/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. The maximum resolution is 3072 X 2048, 24 bit color. ========================================================================== 39. 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 ========================================================================== 40. 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. --------- 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. ========================================================================== 41. 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 ========================================================================== 42. 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 (219) 824-4963 ------ 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. ========================================================================== 43. 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(416) 578-3966 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, (913) 827-0685, FAX(913) 827-6023 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, (519) 884-4412 ==========================================================================