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[OM] Re: Back up your data.

Subject: [OM] Re: Back up your data.
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 13:30:48 -0400
Peter Leyssens wrote:

> But your point is of course very valid regarding laptop use.  I drag my 
> laptop to the other room sometimes, because my printer is there & it's 
> not connected to the network.  I tend to be very careful when moving 
> laptops, but I've seen other people behave differently (don't compute & 
> drive !).  Not to mention laptops that accidentally power on while in a 
> backpack...
----------------------------------------------------------

Modern drives aren't nearly as fragile as people think.  I recall 
attending the Comdex show in Las Vegas circa 1986 when Seagate 
introduced the first 3-1/2 hard drive.  It was 20MB and was constructed 
using the (then) new gray oxide coatings with a hardened surface that 
looked like a mirror (they still do).  No more ugly red oxide recording 
surface.

Anyhow, I talked to the Seagate rep about this drive for about 5 
minutes.  The drive was being used on a running machine to read a file 
(line by line) which was being continuously printed as we spoke.  The 
drive was out of the machine on a rather longish cable.  He was holding 
the drive in his hand and every 10 seconds or so he would allow the 
drive to fall out of his hand onto the table about 4" below.

Everytime the drive would hit the table the computer would report an I/O 
error and the printing might pause briefly but then all would pick up 
and continue where it left off.  The printout was correct and the drive 
was undamaged.

I'm sure they're even more rugged today than they were nearly 20 years 
ago.  I'm pretty sure the year was 1986 (possibly 1985) as I was working 
in OS/2 development at the time and the IBM PS/2 announced in April 1987 
used that same Seagate 20 MB drive.

Chuck Norcutt


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