@~With the current growth in CD-ROM, I was very interested in @~this article when Brian told me about it, even though it isn't @~adventure-related. I have edited it a bit too, taking out some @~American/BBS references/phone numbers etc, amending the section @~numbers as necessary. Please note that, as the original article @~was American, phone numbers are sometimes given using @~international dialling codes. CD-ROM - INFORMATION OVERKILL from Brian Burke Herewith a vast amount of information relating to CD-ROM. I am not the author, I have edited the original document which I received via various routes and understand it has come from the CIX Bulletin Board. Some of the content is dated but I've deleted most of it and left in that which I think is of interest. I hope you find it useful. ================================================================== 0. What is a CD-ROM? CD-ROM means "Compact Disc Read Only Memory". A CD-ROM is physically identical to a Digital Audio Compact Disc used in a CD player, but the bits recorded on it are interpreted as computer data instead of music. You need to buy a "CD-ROM Drive" and attach it to your computer in order to use CD-ROMs. A CD-ROM has several advantages over other forms of data storage, and a few disadvantages. A CD-ROM can hold about 650 megabytes of data, the equivalent of thousands of floppy discs. CD-ROMs are not damaged by magnetic fields or the x-rays in airport scanners. The data on a CD-ROM can be accessed much faster than a tape, but CD-ROMs are 10 to 20 times slower than hard discs. You cannot write to a CD-ROM. You buy a disc with the data already recorded on it. There are thousands of titles available. ================================================================== 1. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs? 1a. What are some good sources of CD-ROM discs in Europe? ------------------------------------ Apex Software PO Box 174 Battle East Sussex TN33 9AQ UK: 0424-830025 (voice or fax) ------------------------------------ BECO Link Ltd. Jindrisska 276 530 02 Pardubice Czech Republic Tel/Fax: +42 40-518 566 ------------------------------------ British Software Licensing 280 (T/L) West Princes Street Woodlands Glasgow G4 9EU United Kingdom +44-41-339-7264, Fax +44-41-334-1675 ------------------------------------ CD-ROM Jacob Aarstrasse 98 CH-3005 Bern Switzerland ------------------------------------ CD ROM (UK) Ltd 8 Sheep St, Highworth Swindon, Wiltshire SN6 7AA United Kingdom 44-0793-861146, 44-0793-765331 (Fax) @~A bit of useless info from me; I was born at 4 Sheep Street and @~lived there until I was 2 1/2! ... Sue ------------------------------------ EBSCO Subscription Services 3 Tyers Gate London SE1 3HX United Kingdom 44-71-357-7516 ------------------------------------ Faxon Europe, B.V. Postbus 197 1000 AD Amsterdam The Netherlands 31 (20) 91-05-91, 31 (20) 91-17-35 (Fax) ------------------------------------ Micro Haus Limited P.O. Box 149 Gloucester GL3 4EF United Kingdom ------------------------------------ Mountain Rose Multi Media Kikkerveen 331 3205 XC Spijkenisse The Netherlands Phone: +31 1880 33083 / Fax: +31 1880 41551 ------------------------------------ Public Domain & Shareware Library Winscombe House, Beacon Road, Crowborough, Sussex, TN6 1UL, United Kingdom +44 892 663298, +44 892 667473 FAX Libris Britannia, an entire library of PD/Shareware on CD-ROM ------------------------------------ STARCOM International Computer Services Limburggasse 45 A-9073 Klagenfurt-Viktring Austria +43 (463) 29 67 22, +43 (463) 29 67 24 FAX ------------------------------------ UNICA Ltd 39a Hall St, Stockport Cheshire, SK1 4DA, UK +44 61 429 0241, +44 61 477 2910 FAX ------------------------------------ WasaWare Oy Palosaarentie 31 SF-65200 VAASA Finland Telephone & Fax: +358 61 173 025 ================================================================== 2. Can you recommend a good CD-ROM drive? NEC CD-ROM drive information can be FAX'ed to you. Call NEC Fastfacts at 800-366-0476, and then follow the directions. You will be prompted for a Catalog or Product Number. Catalog Number 2 is for CD-ROM. You will be prompted for your 10-digit FAX number and your local voice telephone number. If you haven't received your FAX with 30 minutes try again. For international callers, the Fastfacts FAX number is +1 708 860-9500x2621. You can get documents and drivers from the NEC BBS at +1 508 635-6328. ------------------------------------ You can get information on Mitsumi drives by calling their US HQ at (516) 752-7730. The Mitsumi office dealing with the SouthEast is in Dallas. (214) 550-7300, FAX: (214) 550-7424. In California, call (408) 970-0700. ----------------------------------- Here is a list of CD-ROM Suppliers + Phone numbers. Column A - Manufacturer Column P - Phone # A P ===== ======== Apple 408-996-1010 CDRM Inc 303-231-9373 Chinon 310-533-0274 Denon 201-575-7810 Hitachi 415-589-8300 UK 081-849-2000 A P ===== ======== Magnavox ------------ Matsushit ------------ Mitsumi 516-752-7730 UK 081-523-4020 MtOptech 303-444-2851 NEC 508-264-8000 UK 0345-300403 Orchid UK 0256-479898 Panasonic UK 0344-853551 Philips 615-521-4499 UK 081-689-4444 Pioneer 408-988-1702 UK 0753-789789 Sanyo 801-225-6888 Sony 800-352-7669 UK 0932-816000 Talon ------------ Tandy 817-390-3700 Texel 800-886-3935 Toshiba UK 0782-577677 Trantor 415-770-1400 ================================================================== 3. Are there any good periodicals and publications on CD-ROMs? A catalog describing CD-ROM publications and the "Multimedia and Videodisc Monitor" newsletter is available from Future Systems P.O. Box 26 Falls Church, VA 22040 Telephone 800-323-DISC or 703-241-1799 One of their books contains a list of about 1500 CD-ROMs. ------------------------------------------------------------ CD-ROM Professional is a bi-monthly magazine with product reviews, technical articles, industry news, etc. This is a "must read" for anyone in the CD-ROM business. $39.95/year CD-ROM Professional Magazine 462 Danbury Road Wilton, CT 06897 1 800 248-8466 ------------------------------------------------------------ "CD-ROM Collection Builder's Toolkit, 1992 Edition" Paul T. Nicholls Eight Bit Books, Weston, CT ISBN: 0-910-96502-1 $39.95 ------------------------------------------------------------ CD-ROMS IN PRINT 1992 An International Guide to CD-ROM, CD-I, CDTV & Electronic Book Products Meckler Publishing 11 Ferry Lane West Westport, CT 06880 ================================================================== 4. Why are CD-ROM drives so slow? Compact discs were originally designed for music. When you are listening to "Willie Nelson's Greatest Hits", you are accessing the data sequentially and at a very regular speed. The only time you need to seek is when you decide to skip over a song, or back up and listen to "Always on my Mind" one more time. In order to fit as much music as possible onto the disc, the data is recorded at the same linear density near the outer edge of the disc as it is near the center, so there is more information in the outside tracks than in the inside tracks. In order to deliver a steady rate of data, the linear velocity of the disc moving under the head is constant, so the angular velocity of the disc changes when the head moves from the center toward the outside tracks. This is no big deal when you are playing music, but when you are trying to do random access to a CD-ROM, the need to accelerate and decelerate the disc is the biggest obstacle to making it faster. Most magnetic discs spin at a constant angular velocity, so the data density decreases toward the outside of the disk, but seeks are faster. A few other reasons that CD-ROMs are slow: Optical disc heads tend to be heavier than magnetic disk heads, so they have more inertia, and take longer to stabilize onto a new track. Many CD-ROMs contain too much data to make effective use of RAM caches. As time goes by, CD-ROM drives will get a little faster, but don't expect any miracles. ================================================================== 5. Is it important to have a fast CD-ROM? It depends on what applications you will be using. Many CD-ROMs are just big archives of stuff, and you can copy individual programs to your hard disk before using them so speed is not really very important. But if you are going to be using large random-access databases, or any kind of interactive multi-media applications, then the speed difference is very noticeable. @~To be continued next issue. - o -