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[ THE KAY*FOG RBBS | Filename=CPM-CC23.ART | posted 07/05/86 | 201 lines 11k ]


          The CP/M Connection                   Originally published in
                  by                               Computer Currents
             Ted Silveira                         5720 Hollis Street
  (copyright and all rights reserved)            Emeryville, CA  94608

                                March 25, 1986
                             HARD DISKS FOR CP/M

     Is there a floppy disk user alive who doesn't sometimes long for a
hard disk, something huge and fast to cure the floppy shuffle?  And is
there a CP/M user anywhere who hasn't watched with envy and frustration
as hard disk prices for IBM-compatibles dropped down and down and down--
$1000, $800, $500--while the price of CP/M hard disks stayed nailed at
$1500?

     I wish I could tell you that CP/M hard disks were going to be as
cheap as PC hard disks starting today, but it isn't so.  And I don't
think it's ever going to be so.  First, the CP/M market may be two
million (depending on your source) but the MS-DOS market is twice that
or more . . . and still growing like mad.  The more you can sell, the
less profit you need on each one.

     Second, to market a hard disk for IBM-compatibles, you need only
one standard set of hardware that plugs into a standard slot and one
standard set of software to control it.  To market a hard disk for CP/M
computers, you not only need different software for each different brand
of computer (sometimes even for different models of the same brand) but
also special adapter boards, interfaces, and other expensive junk for
each different computer, since most CP/M machines were never designed to
be expandable.

     Put it all together and it means that the economy of scale is on
the IBM-compatible's side and always will be, until the next wave comes
along.

     But all the same, things are looking up for the CP/M user.  The
price of hard disks for CP/M is dropping, not to the garage sale prices
of IBM-compatible hard disks perhaps, but down to discount store prices
at least.  What's more, several CP/M hardware developers have come out
with universal (almost) interfaces that make it relatively easy to
install a hard disk on a wide variety of CP/M computers.  If you thought
a hard disk was out of your range before, it's time to reconsider.

[Pros and Cons]

     A hard disk gives you two advantages--space and speed.  Even a 5
megabyte hard disk, a runt by today's standards, gives space undreamed
of by any floppy disk user (5,242,880 bytes to be exact).  And now 10
and 20 megabyte hard disks are the standard, the 20 being a better deal
since it usually sells for only $100 or so more than the 10.  As for
speed, even a relatively slow hard disk will read and write several
times faster than a floppy, and in the CP/M world, where the 64K memory
limit forces programs to use the disk a lot, that translates into a big
performance boost.

     In practical terms, you gain several things from this extra space
and speed.  You get the convenience of having all your files immediately
available--no more shuffling floppies in and out of your system.  You
can work on larger files because you're not limited by the capacity of a
single floppy, particularly important if you're working with a large
database.  You get more work done in less time and with less frustration
because programs like dBase II and WordStar run faster.  And you'll be
able to automate more of your computing by using features such as menus
and batch files, features that are usually too clumsy or too slow on a
floppy-based system.

     Hard disks also have their disadvantages.  First, they cost.  When
the used computer market says your machine is only worth $500-600, it's
hard to spend $800-1200 on a hard disk when the same money will buy a
Taiwanese or Korean IBM clone.  Second, hard disks are more vulnerable
than floppies to crashes caused by physical mistreatment and power
failures (you need either a back-up power supply or a hard disk that
won't let its head crash into the disk platter if the power fails).

     Third, a crash of any kind is a much bigger disaster on a hard disk
than on a floppy because you have so much more data that can be
affected.  Scramble the disk directory on a floppy and you'll have cause
for agitation; do the same thing on a 20 megabyte hard disk and you'll
be ready for a rest home.  Fourth, because of this extra vulnerability,
you have to create a systematic back-up procedure and stick to it.

[Hard Choices]

     To give you an idea of what's available, here's a quick rundown of
features on two hard disk systems with "universal" interfaces, one high
end and one low end.  All this information is from the manufacturers--I
haven't had my hands on either system (yet).

     [WestWind]  The WestWind system isn't the cheapest you'll find, but
it's a true modular system, one you can expand to meet almost any need.
The key to the system is the WestWind interface ($100) that plugs into
your computer via the Z80 socket.  At the moment, this interface (and
hence the rest of the system) is available for Osborne, Kaypro, Morrow,
Televideo TPC-1, Xerox, and Eagle II or IV CP/M computers, as well as
for IBM-compatible MS-DOS computers.

     With the interface installed, you can plug in an external Trantor
hard disk system--$995 for 21 megabytes, $1895 for 45 megabytes, and
$2895 for 110 megabytes, plus options for removable cartridge drives and
tape back-up.  You can daisy chain several of these drives and even
split drive space between CP/M and MS-DOS (a nice feature if you have
both systems).

     Or, instead of a hard disk, you can plug a DriveC 2 RAM disk into
the interface--$349 for 512K, $499 for 1 megabyte.  The RAM disk can be
daisy-chained up to three megabytes, and part can be set aside as a
print buffer.  The RAM disk comes with Supersize SuperCalc2, a special
version of SuperCalc2 that uses the RAM disk to let you create giant
spreadsheets--WestWind claims you can create spreadsheets over 512K with
the 1 megabyte RAM disk.

     If you just can't choose between the RAM disk and the hard disk,
you can use both together.  With this system, you can even use part of
the RAM disk is used as a cache buffer for the hard disk, speeding up
disk accesses still more.

     Finally, if you've got several computers and money left over, you
can add the Web ($1295), WestWind's own star-type network for up to four
computers.  The Web is a dedicated network computer to which other
computers and peripherals are attached allowing users to share printers,
hard disks, and data and to send electronic mail.  WestWind plans to
allow mixing CP/M and MS-DOS computers on the Web soon.

     One drawback--the WestWind operating system software is apparently
not compatible with ZCPR3 and the Z-System, a souped-up CP/M
replacement.  Those of you who, like me, are hooked on ZCPR3 may want to
start prodding people to change this situation.  (I don't know about
other CP/M replacements and modifications--make sure you ask if you use
one.)

     [Mini-Winnie]  In contrast to WestWind, the Mini-Winnie by Advanced
Concepts Engineering & Consulting is definitely the lo-ball candidate.
Using their own plug-in adapter and disk controller, ACEC offers
external hard disks for Kaypro (including the U ROM that gives
developers so much trouble), Morrow MD2 and MD3, Osborne, Zorba, Sanyo,
Big Board, Xerox 820, Eagle AVL, Alspa II, and the hotshot MicroMint SB-
180 (using the HD64180 superchip).  The prices, including case, power
supply, etc., are $790 for 20 megabytes, $665 for 10 megabytes, and a
while-stock-lasts special of $465 for 5 megabytes.  (Did your eyes light
up?)

     A Mini-Winnie hooked to a Kaypro 10 is twice as fast as the
standard Kaypro hard disk, ACEC claims.  In addition, they claim their
installation is compatible with ZCPR (1, 2, and 3), MicroShell, and
other CP/M enhancements.  Currently, the only known incompatibility is
with Plu-Perfect's modified CP/M for the Kaypro (and Tony Nicotra of
ACEC says they expect to fix that as soon as they get their hands on the
system).

     ACEC also offers an internal installation for Kaypros ($790 for 10
megabytes and $845 for 20 megabytes) that doesn't require removing a
floppy disk drive.  These internal installations use a Latine 3 1/2"
hard disk drive that draws little power and has an added safety feature
that never lets the drive head touch the disk platter surface under any
conditions.  (I assume this drive accounts for the slightly higher price
of these installations.)

     The operating system installation is menu-driven, and the package
includes source code for those interested.

     The Mini-Winnie comes with a 30 day return privilege.  When I
talked to Tony Nicotra on the phone, he also said that they're ready to
talk to people with CP/M computers not on the list above and expressed
confidence that they could hang a Mini-Winnie on "almost anything."  For
the price, it sounds hard to beat.

     Let me remind you that I haven't tested either of these systems
myself--my information comes from talking to the manufacturers.  I
expect to have the chance to test a WestWind system before too long, and
I'll let you know what I find out then.  If you have access to
CompuServe, you can find a couple of Mini-Winnie users in the Kaypro
forum (PCS-25)--Jack Crenshaw (72325,1321) and Paul Bennet (76555,20).

[Acceler8/16 Update]

     Last issue, when I covered the Acceler8/16 package from
Intersecting Concepts, I mentioned that the disk conversion program
(Media Master) had a problem dealing with some Morrow disk formats.
This bug was limited to Media Master version 3.0 and has now been fixed.
I've tested the new version and it works fine on all the formats I've
tried.  Owners of version 3.0 should contact Intersecting Concepts for a
free update.

WestWind hard disk system      Mini-Winnie hard disk
WestWind Computer              Advanced Concepts Engineering & Consulting
1690 65th Street               8926 S.W. 17 Street
Emeryville, CA  94608          Boca Raton, FL  33433
415/652-3222                   305/482-7302

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Ted Silveira is a freelance writer and contributing editor to several
   computer-oriented publications.  He appreciates suggestions or feedback
   and can be reached through the KAY*FOG RBBS [phone] and CompuServe
   (72135,1447) or by mail to 2756 Mattison Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95065.

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