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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
- Path: sparky!uunet!usc!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!nntp-server.caltech.edu!toddpw
- From: toddpw@cco.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel)
- Subject: Re: Ramfast and Tape Backup units..
- Message-ID: <1992Sep1.065420.5127@cco.caltech.edu>
- Sender: news@cco.caltech.edu
- Nntp-Posting-Host: punisher
- Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
- References: <m0mOQFo-0000R6C@crash.cts.com> <behrenss.715307581@hphalle6>
- Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 06:54:20 GMT
- Lines: 19
-
- behrenss@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (Soenke Behrens) writes:
-
- >b) tape units can be used for other things than backing up some MB of data.
- > I'd like to use it for exchanging data with friends in tar format.
- > Of course, I can't, because I cannot write to the tape. *Sigh*
-
- Here is the fallacy. You CAN write to the tape; just not the way you think you
- should be able to. I said this before: Tape Drives Are Not Random Access. You
- can't treat them just like disks -- however you can fake it if you are only
- going to read from them, and the RF lets you do that, but only that.
-
- You have essentially three options, in order of increasing feasability:
- 1. order the RF programmers docs and write your own tape driver into
- your program.
- 2. wait for CVT to write a GS/OS tape driver for the RF.
- 3. buy an Apple DMA SCSI and use the SCSITAPE driver.
-
- Todd Whitesel
- toddpw @ cco.caltech.edu
-