Date   : Mon, 06 Jun 2005 20:51:49 +0100
From   : "BeebMaster" <beebmaster@...>
Subject: Re: GoMMC versus hard drive. Which way to go?

I'm definitely in favour of hard drives.

I'm backing 1980s solutions for 1980s machines!  You can't beat a good
old ST-506 hard drive
connected up to the Beeb for that authentic 8-bit feel, not all this new-fangled
modern stuff being
bolted onto the BBC - that's cheating!

Consider this very carefully:  what would you rather have storing all your
Acorn data:

A hard drive the size of a shoe box which weighs the equivalent of a couple
of breeze blocks and
clatters away like nobody's business, beautifully crafted by artisans and
still working after 20
years

or a mass-manufactured bit of plastic the size of a postage stamp you can
shove in a digital camera?

Best wishes,


Ian

----- Original Message -----
From: neil f
To:  <bbc-micro@...>
Sent: Mon, 6 Jun 2005 14:52:26 +0100
Subject: [BBC-Micro] GoMMC versus hard drive. Which way to go?

Which is the better route for bulk, non-volatile memory, and are there
any others? Is the latest hard disc interface mature now or are there
still 'issues'. What do existing GoMMC owners think of their setups?

GoMMC +/-
I like the idea of being able to back-up and install via a card reader
on the PC (gives me web access, of a sort). On the other hand I'm
worried that having to CTRL-BRK to change discs means losing any
program in memory. Can the disc images be any size or do they have to
follow DFS/ADFS disc sizes - e.g. is just one big one possible? Can
GoMMC be installed in a Master rom cartridge so that the MMC card can
be removed and replaced easily? Ditto the ashtray on a Beeb? Expensive
compared with HD solution? May be problems with certain cards - which
have been found to work by users?

HD +/-
No file transfer with PC possible - would have to add a PC 5.25"
floppy to achieve this. Otherwise conventional (hierarchical) HD file
storage is possible. May still be issues with the interface. Low cost
using existing spare HD.

Are there other issues? I'm not sure which way to go but I could
certainly use some more 'open-ended' storage. Views appreciated.

-Neil F.