Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!Bicer.ES%parc-maxc.arpa@csnet-relay.arpa From: Bicer.ES%parc-maxc.arpa@csnet-relay.arpa Newsgroups: net.micro.cpm Subject: Re: FDC Recommendations Message-ID: <17630@sri-arpa.UUCP> Date: Thu, 15-Mar-84 12:32:53 EST Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.17630 Posted: Thu Mar 15 12:32:53 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 19-Mar-84 07:54:38 EST Lines: 28 As a user of Compupro Disk 1 controller for 1.5 years, I can wholehartedly recommend it to anybody (I also have very good things to say about some of their other boards and systems). My only critisism is the system software (BIOS) that comes with it. Being an ex-systems programmer, I can tell that such a good hardware deserves better software. Don't get me wrong, the BIOS is good and it works, but anybody who will use this board with Compupro CPU 88/85, should look at Tommy Lanier's software (Lanier Computer Systems, ALABAMA). Fully interrupt driven BIOS with 4 full track buffers really make a difference in the performance. Contact me for more information. As far as 5" floppies are concerned, I happen to have a slightly different opinion. My experience with 5" floppies have shown me that they are definitely not as reliable as 8" floppies and neither as fast. Therefore using them on Compuro equipment would be like putting a VW engine in a Porshe (Yes, I know their new multiuser machine Compupro-10 uses them, but if you think about it, that machine really needs a hard disk to be really useful. So, floppies, in my opinion, are just for backup). This problem of disk incompatability is nothing new. We had it for the 8 bit CP/M world for years, and solved it mostly by software (remember MODEM7 anyone?). Yes, the 8" IBM standard helped, but everybody had access to Modem7. As far as using MSDOS on Compuro, well, without the graphics and so many different terminals, I wonder how much of the IBM software is useful and not available for CP/M. Ofcourse, for a developement system, there is MSPRO to produce IBM software and diskettes. Jack