Geek Stuff -
While it is true that a number of companies are involved with LS-120, there are more computer manufacturers backing the Zip. IBM, HP, NEC/Packard Bell, Micron, Gateway, Dell, and now Apple all offer Zips as standard equipment on some boxes. The Zips are prevalent especially on newer MMX machines. In addition, Intel, TI, Adaptec and Motorola are in cahoots with Iomega designing custom ICs for Zip and Jaz.
In the meantime, only Compaq yet offers any computer models with LS-120, and even they have recently started selling a MMX computer with a standard Zip. In fact, I saw an ad for that computer in today's Sunday New York Times. J&R Computer World, one of the biggest computer retailers in the city, is featuring the Compaq Presario 4784 in the upper left-hand corner of their full page ad, with a bold flag touting its "100 MB Iomega Zip drive and 4.3 GB hard drive."
My conclusion can only be that overall, the Zip has broader support in the industry.
The LS-120s only advantage over the Zip is its ability to read and write existing floppies. But the combination of a Zip drive and a floppy drive is less expensive than a single LS-120 drive. And as an add-on product for existing computer owners, backward compatibility is completely unnecessary, as all existing computers have floppy drives already.
I've said many times that the notebook market is the only are where the LS-120 has any real advantage over Zip. But we have yet to see even a working prototype of a notebook LS-120. It may not be possible to reduce the more complex mechanisms of the LS-120 to the size necessary for notebooks cost effectively.
As you say, I am biased in favor of Iomega, having had a long position in the stock for over a year now. But can you refute the arguments I've just made?
- Allen |
