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Non-Tech : Any info about Iomega (IOM)?
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To: Ed Zhao who wrote (6060)8/15/1996 12:50:00 PM
From: Christopher A. Smith   of 58324
 
Hi Ed,

Thanks for the positive spin on MO. Now for a little technical diversion.

To be clear, though there is an implementation of MO that is write once, it is 90% used as a re-writable technology. The write once version is achieved simply by placing an extra control byte in the disk information sectors which are then read by the drive at spinup. Upon reading the the write once designation, the drive firmware disallows erasures. It is purely a software implementation that prevents data overwrite.

For those who do not understand MO technology, the write process is thermo magnetic - the laser heats the recording film, the bias mag field orients it. The erase is the same with the bias field in the opposite direction. Reading is magneto optic where the polarized laser beam is rotated by the Kerr effect either +/- a fraction of a degree. This is sensed by the differential detection and seen as ones and zeros - very cool.

So again, Trakker, the 90 mm MO at 640 MB/ $35/cartridge is the system of choice as compared to Zip (if you are storing many 100's of MB), and the 130 mm MO at 2.6 GB is the system of choice as compared to Jaz (if you storing many GBs).

The only thing attractive about IOMG disk products is the low cost of entry for the drive. They get you later with the media.

Yoroshiku

Chris
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