My thoughts on Iomega's ZIP and Jaz Drives:
I currently own one ZIP (parallel) and one Jaz (SCSI) drive. I purchased my ZIP drive about a year ago after seeing one at my friend's office (who happens to be a writer). My first impression was the little drive was very cool looking (I've never saw a computer peripheral look as good - striking blue/purple color, nice moldings, integrated rubber feet that allows for horizontal as well as vertical placement). My friend showed me how he used it with his desktop and laptop PC. He would transfer a bunch of files he downloaded off the Internet, on his desktop PC which had a T1 connection to the Internet, to his laptop using the ZIP drive. This was a daily routine for him.
He complained that prior to the ZIP drive he would PKZIP all the files he downloaded onto about 20 to 30 diskettes which took forever and was bulky to carry home. The ZIP was fast and very convenient with one ZIP disk holding as much as 80 diskettes.
I use my ZIP drive everyday primarily to transfer files from my office
PC to my home PC. At home I also use it to backup important data. I have a tape backup but the thing is way too slow!!! I know that you can install programs onto a ZIP disk but the transfer rate is really not fast enough to run substantial Windows `95 programs
or games. This is where my Jaz drive comes in. In the course of a year I have dropped my ZIP Drive from a four feet distance onto a hard wood floor and it still runs fine. The disk that was in the drive when I dropped it also had no errors after I did a scandisk. I have recommended the ZIP drive to both of my roommates who are computer programmers. They both purchased ZIP drives for themselves and consider it as the ***IDEAL*** method for sharing files with their friends and collegues. The things I like about the ZIP drive is that it's reliable, easy set up, fast enough for backup purposes, inexpensive and great software compatibility with DOS, Windows 3.11 and Windows `95. The only minor thing I don't like about the ZIP is the AC adapter is rather large.
I purchased my Jaz drive two months ago for $529 mail order. It was extremely difficult to get a hold of one (it's still is). Just about every retailer and mail order firms were backordered. As you read this
Iomega has dropped the price of the internal Jaz from $499 to $399 and
the external Jaz from $599 to $499. The 1GB Jaz disks unfortunately are still $129 (very expensive IMO - they should be around $79). The primary factor in my decision to buy the Jaz was the ZIP disk capacity
wasn't really enough. I needed more storage especially for large movie
clips, graphic images and games that I downloaded off the internet.
The near hard drive speed of the Jaz was another important factor. I can honestly say the speed of my Jaz drive is on par with my Western
Digital 1.6GB IDE hard drive. I've timed them copying both large and small files with a stop watch. The Jaz setup took about 15 minutes. The cool looking dark green 3.5" drive easily installs to any available 3.5" drive bay. I just attached the included SCSI cable to my Adaptec PCI SCSI controller. There was no need to install any software since my Adaptec controller and Windows `95 automatically recognizes the drive as a 1GB removable storage device. I've installed Office Pro`95 onto one of my Jaz disks and it runs great - no problems. I have another Jaz disk filled with games - again no problems running them off the Jaz drive. The things I like about my Jaz drive are it works like a hard drive, fast as hard drive, enough storage for all my needs, removable media idea is great!, easy setup and no compatibility problems with OSs that I use. The things I don't like about my Jaz include kinda noisy operation especially the first time you put a disk in (louder than my hard drive), too pricey it should sell for $299, the 1GB media should sell for $79. Other than that I love the Jaz - great storage solution.
OK, I probably babbled on too much. This post was in response to the person (sorry can't remember your name) who mentioned that he didn't know too many people who owned or used Iomega products. I own both
the ZIP & JAZ drives and really like using them a lot. I feel Iomega
has a great product line and they definitely know how to market their products. That's why I bought the stock at $37.
Hyun Yoo
LONG on IOMG |
