Regarding the History of data CDs... I did some research. OCLC
Online Computer Library Center, Inc. was adapting this technology
back in 1985-86. Specifically we were interested in multiple player
stacks or jukeboxes for collections of database disks.
Phillips, Hitachi, and Sony, were the first drives out. _at_ $900 - $1000
each
Phillips had a proprietary interface card for the PC bus that could
support two external drives. Hitachi had a card out that supported
multiple configurable I/O Bus Addresses and a parallel bus structure
that could support up to 4 external drives off a single interface
card. (OCLC selected Hitachi)
Each manufacturer also had SCSI cards that could support multiple
drives.
The big thing was the MSCDEX extensions supporting manufacturer
dependent device drivers with their "switches" enabling multiple drives.
Once the High Sierra Data format was adopted in 1985, and the MSCDEX
extensions were widely distributed, CD Drives became more common. Price
fell to $550-$600 ( Later MSCDEX distribution was tied to DOS Version
/ upgrade distribution )
After Windows 3.X software distribution consumed the worlds diskette
production capacity, AT class machines began shipping with CD Drives
installed.($110 price point)
Here is a (google recovered) link that shows a partial reconstructed
history of CD data adaptation:
http://www.itc.nl/~bakker/info/rs-data/cd-family.html
Sincerely
Larry Truthan
Received on Fri Jan 24 2003 - 11:34:01 GMT