[svlug] LinuxCare BBC

[Derek J. Balling]

:) Agreed. I'm just not sure if it as relevant with newer drives as it used 
to be (or one would think that shapecd would be doing that as well to avoid 
the obvious problems).

Either that or we, as a whole, are used to CD drives failing and have made 
them disposable. :)

D

At 12:42 PM 11/15/99 -0800, Chris J. DiBona wrote:
>I'm not sure, really, but if I were to design one, I'd find a way of
>making it balanced.
>
>  Chris
>
>--
>Linux Community Evangelist, VA Linux Systems            http://www.valinux.com
>President, Silicon Valley Linux Users Group               http://www.svlug.org
>Grant Chair, Linux International.                            http://www.li.org
>Co-editor, Open Sources                                  http://www.dibona.com
>
>On Mon, 15 Nov 1999, Derek J. Balling wrote:
>
> > Chris,
> >
> > How sure are you of that? The only reason I ask is that the company that
> > makes the CD's for Linuxcare (ShapeCD, www.shapecd.com) has a number of
> > examples on their pages of obviously non-symettrical discs... Is that 
> still
> > as crucial as it used to be?
> >
> > I agree that I always believed symmetry to be "pretty damn important", but
> > many of the examples they show are pretty "skewed" off-axis...
> >
> > D
> >
> >
> > At 11:07 AM 11/15/99 -0800, Chris J. DiBona wrote:
> > >It's worth pointing out that the disk really should be symmetrical in at
> > >least 1 axis. A penguin shaped one may look cool but it would probably
> > >throw off your motor pretty quickly.
> > >
> > >  Chris
> > >
> > >--
> > >Linux Community Evangelist, VA Linux 
> Systems            http://www.valinux.com
> > >President, Silicon Valley Linux Users 
> Group               http://www.svlug.org
> > >Grant Chair, Linux 
> International.                            http://www.li.org
> > >Co-editor, Open 
> Sources                                  http://www.dibona.com
> > >
> > >On Mon, 15 Nov 1999, Rafael wrote:
> > >
> > > > On Mon, 15 Nov 1999, Karl F. Larsen wrote:
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >     Trying to understand the bootable Business Card. No problem 
> with a
> > > > > bootable CD, those are common now and most motherboard bios programs
> > > allow
> > > > > you to boot from the CD, if selected. I gather LinuxCare made a very
> > > small
> > > > > CD about the size of a business card. Looking at a CD-Rom disk, 
> about 1
> > > > > 3/4 inches in the center is not used except to rotate the disk. This
> > > makes
> > > > > a large business card already...:-)
> > > > >
> > > > >     Where do you buy blank CD-Rom disks of this size to record? I
> > > >
> > > > I believe that you can make one yourself. First you need to make a
> > > > bootable CD. It's important to know that the mini credit card size CD
> > > > takes only about 30MB of data in 5mm wide "donut shaped" space. 
> Since the
> > > > data on CDs is written from "inside out", i.e. from the center outwards
> > > > you can do this. The mini disc is a poor use of media for data but
> > > > invaluable when it comes to maintenace use since Linux/*BSD can do
> > > > miracles with 30MB of GNU tools. I wonder who came out with this
> > > > brilliant idea?
> > > >
> > > > You could create a CD in any shape actualy. You either need to make
> > > > special tools to cut it into desired shape or do it with a router 
> or other
> > > > plastic shaping tools. Sharp pointed edges might cause problems 
> (jamming
> > > > the drive) so you want to avoid that. Also, the disk needs to be 
> more or
> > > > less simetric for a balanced spin. You need to be careful to 
> protect the
> > > > media from scratches when you work on it, that's all.
> > > >
> > > > How about a CD shaped as a penguin logo? Fat penguin can take a lot of
> > > > data :-)
> > > >
> > > > > think Santa will bring me a CD writer in any case and would like 
> to be
> > > > > able to make this size CD.
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > Yes you can do it. Good luck.
> > > >
> > > > .....
> > > > >
> > > > > Best wishes
> > > > >
> > > > >     - Karl F. Larsen, k5di at totacc.com  (505) 524-3303  -
> > > >
> > > > There are other technologies that are much more efficient as a 
> credit card
> > > > sized CD. Credit card size laser card for example uses whole 
> surface for
> > > > recording without wasting the center like CD does. It requires a 
> special
> > > > drive of course.
> > > >
> > > > Easier to adopt perhaps would be Flash memory in PCMCIA format. You can
> > > > put over 120 MB of data in it. Unfortunately, most PeeCees come with
> > > > floppy and CD drives for a removable media these days and not with 
> PCMCIA
> > > > adapters. Reliable rewritable memory to keep in pocket and uses little
> > > > space when plugged into computer? Naah, too convenient. "We" are 
> too happy
> > > > with floppies. 640 k of memory is enough for most of us.
> > > >
> > > > It's unfortunate that better technologies almost always end up in niche
> > > > environment.
> > > >
> > > > Rafael Skodlar
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
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