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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!ut-sally!oakhill!davet
From: davet@oakhill.UUCP (Dave Trissel)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Junkware
Message-ID: <481@oakhill.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 13-Aug-85 00:34:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: oakhill.481
Posted: Tue Aug 13 00:34:57 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 14-Aug-85 21:22:37 EDT
References: <2957@seismo.UUCP>
Reply-To: davet@oakhill.UUCP (Dave Trissel)
Organization: Motorola Inc. Austin, Tx
Lines: 19
Keywords: Busted Software

In article <2957@seismo.UUCP> mo@seismo.UUCP (Mike O'Dell) writes:
>
>Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the little button on the disk is OPEN
>the disk is write-protected, no??  ...

Well - sort of.  The problem is that it's only *SOFTWARE* write protected.
It seems the Mac drives themselves do not inhibit writes no matter what
the position of the tabs.  The Mac O/S gets a signal about the tab position
and sets up flags which are supposed to not allow any writes.

So don't think the tab will protect you from program/machine malfunction.
(I learned this the NASTY way.)

Here's hoping future Mac drives are smart enough to just plain refuse to
write data if the tab says so regardless of what the OS tells it.  Of course,
banning the bomb (i.e. memory protection so programs cannot clobber the OS)
is a far bette solution.  Actually, both should be implemented.

  --  Dave Trissel       {ihnp4,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!oakhill!davet