Next message: Daniel L. Schwartz: "Re: [WinMac] Re: CD read Write for Mac running Softwindows"
>I need to add a CD recorder to my Mac G4 system. Most of the other users in
>the work group use PC's running Win98 or 2000. I need to be able to produce
>CD's that run on either MacOS or Windows machines. Any suggestions? I
>currently run Softwindows v5 with Win98 second edition, and MacOS 9.
A couple of thoughts to follow up on Dan's note...
You mention CD recorder and later mention CD-RW. Though I'm not up
on the current issues, there's a difference between CD-R and CD-RW.
I burn data CDs for archival purposes on a CD-R using a 68040
machine. My understanding is that CD-R (CD-RECORDABLE)can be read on
almost any CD-ROM drive but that is not the case with CD-RW
(CD-READ/WRITE).
When I last did my research 2-3 years ago, the CD-RW media were pretty
much limited to being read on CD-RW units.
My impression from scanning the offerings and specs on sites like
APS Tech
http://www.apstech.com/
is that some of these units will record/operate as either CD-R or
CD-RW.
As for FireWire vs USB, I'd go for the faster FireWire to insure
fast data transfer. Dan has a good point about SCSI. As I noted
above I use a 68040 Mac and a SCSI connection with Toast, and it
works very well. On the other hand, if you were to find a quality
machine with FireWire without a great price differential over a
SCSI drive, I'd be inclined to go with the FireWire. SCSI is
great but IMHO FireWire is the future and why spend the money on
an additional card if there isn't a need for it. OTOH, looking
at the APS Tech offerings, I don't see any FireWire units.
You can't go wrong with SCSI. (I must have three hands because
I used OTOH twice)
In the past, NewMedia magazine had reviews of CD-R hardware and
their article helped me decide on which unit to get. Incidentally,
the biggest factor is the manufacturer of the internal mechanism
and there were only about 4. Companies like APS Tech buy the
mechanisms, put them into cases, perhaps enhance the hardware
a bit, and bundle them with software.
I'd check some reviews to see what the current views are on the
manufacturers. Check the standard periodical sites like
MacWeek, etc. NewMedia is at...
http://www.newmedia.com
As for Mac versus Windows, I can't tell you about Windows but
I can say that using a Mac and Toast is incredibly easy.
But a couple of things that seem to make the recording go
smoother and create fewer drink coasters:
1 - Watchout for programs that may put invisible files
on your source drive. I had an optimizer that
put an invisible file on the drive. Turning the
optimizer off fixed the problem of the verification
step finding a difference between the source and the
final CD-R product
2 - I rebuild the desktop of the source hard drive
3 - Run a disk check program like Norton on the source drive
before you begin recording.
- Hank
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: Fri Mar 31 2000 - 08:52:22 PST