Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.cd-rom Path: cdrom.com!barrnet.net!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!netcomsv!netcom.com!dce From: dce@netcom.com (David Elliott) Subject: Re: Plextor's quad speed Message-ID: Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) References: <319im6$336@search01.news.aol.com> <31c1rq$2m0@cronkite.cisco.com> <31e7ko$p6@jabba.cybernetics.net> Date: Sun, 31 Jul 1994 17:40:30 GMT Lines: 27 In article <31e7ko$p6@jabba.cybernetics.net> vic@cd.com (Vic Serbe) writes: >The only problem with this, is you're throwing CPU overhead and forward >compatibility out the door as a point of value. I consider both of these to >be of extremely high value in a rapidly moving technology area such as >computing. But remember that the current level of technology doesn't dictate the market as much as what people already own. As a software developer, I would love it if the majority of users out there had 90MHz Pentium PCI machines with high speed 24-bit 1280x1024 graphics systems, 16MB of RAM, 1.6GB of disk space on a PCI SCSI-II adapter, and a 4x CD-ROM drive. I could write killer software much more easily if I didn't have to watch every operation and memory allocation. But the fact is that I have to develop for the machines that exist, so I have to take into account the fact that my next product needs to run on 386DX25 machines with 640x480 screens, 2MB of RAM, and a 1x CD-ROM drive. We're just now getting to a point where there are enough 2x CD-ROM drives available that we can think about developing products that require them. I believe that it will be a couple of years before the mainstream of software development can assume 4x CD-ROM drives. -- David Elliott - dce@netcom.com