h a l f b a k e r yIt's as much a hovercraft as a pancake is a waffle.
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The thing would change CD-ROMs when they needed to be changed. You could use it for games that require multiple CDs, VCD movies that span discs, audio CDs, MP3 CDs (for MONSTER playlists), etc. The software that runs the thing could let you switch discs with a mouse-click. Or, it could scan the discs
and create “virtual” discs (e.g., drives D: thru G:), so when the system wants a particular file on a particular disc, it will automagically switch. You could make MP3s, four discs at a time. Of course, the unit would have to be bigger than your standard CD-ROM drive (maybe take up 2 drive bays?). It would probably have the same sort of mechanics as those front-loading CD changers. The same idea could be applied to DVD-ROMs, or CD writers (for burning multiple copies of a CD).
cd-rom changer
http://search.ebay....uery=cd-rom+changer
If it exists, it's on eBay... [egnor, Jun 26 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]
(?) Mike's CD 1000 jukebox
http://www.netcomuk...~wwl/cdjukebox.html
It exists, but it isn't on Ebay. [StarChaser, Jun 26 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]
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NEC and Pioneer have both made multi CD-ROM drives. One of my coworkers has one on his desk right now, in fact. |
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I first had this idea back in about '90, in the last century (I know, I know, the new century doesn't start till next year, but I once heard that idioms are always correct). It was only a matter of time till somebody with more drive than I do came up with a real one - as I recall I first saw ten disk cassettes a couple of years later . |
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There was more to my idea though - I wanted a pc interface/server with a thin client in every room of the house where one could peruse a music database - searching by artist, style, period etc, compile playlists, control volume etc. I also had an idea about a programmable ai that would segue songs seamlessly, via a beat analyzer, and even guess your mood and choose music accordingly. This is all do-able, mp3 players already contain much of this functionality, and I'm willing to bet that a few people even have something like it (Bill Gates, if he's really that hip). The best part of it though, is the availability of liner notes, lyrics, graphics etc, which might restore some of the charm of vinyl, were electronic liner notes included on special cd/dvds. Imagine parties, with a touch screen embedded in your coffee table. |
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Royalty checks can be addressed to me care of this web site. |
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CD Libraries are widely used within organisation that require storage of large amounts of information with rapid access - often in conjunction with writers/rewriters. But it's not something that most home users need. I used to have a CD-changer, and the delays where it changed discs, or when it decided to reset itself, were infuriating at times. Its time may come again... |
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The usefulness of carousels or changers depends on the customer's perception of near-line storage. |
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Home users, for the most part, want their information devices to work immediately. Why do video stores charge extra if a tape you rented isn't returned rewound? The next guy's pissed if he has to wait. |
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I know plenty of people with tape backup at home, but I only see robotic tape libraries in corporate or internet data centers. Of course, my willingness to wait 5 minutes for a backup tape for a restore to load is probably also influenced by the fact that I'm being paid good money while waiting for that tape to be positioned :) |
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I've had a four disc NEC drive that had a four CD capacity, I'm somewhat against it becuase the drive was very unreliable, it often jammed and would take about 20 seconds to switch discs. Perhaps if well made, it would be useful to many, especially if DVD instead of CD. |
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[Semi-]baked with the invention of MP3s. Heck, uncompressed audio can be stored on a PC if you have enough disk space. So can uncompressed DVD video, if you have 10 gigabytes to spare. |
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[Completely-] unbaked. Like Apple Pie before it goes in the oven. |
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Apple has had such a device out for some time. The Powerfile C200. http://www.dvdchanger.com/
Lots of IBM/Windows folks have been making use it of since firewire became available for the IBM clones. |
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Cyberguys has something close, but not quite there in their CD caraousel. It's really just an organizer. http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?T1=134+1360 |
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These things "are" on ebay. :) A friend just bought his Powerfile there. |
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Once upon a time, when the Macintosh still used 3.5" floppies, a company came up with a gizmo called "Jukebox Five". It was relatively simple: the user inserts a stack of disks and the Jukebox would slide the first one into the computer. When that disk was ejected, the unit would slide in the next one, and so forth. |
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Mechanically much simpler than most multi-disk-loading systems; much more limitted too, but adequate for either mass-duplication or backup purposes. |
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The biggest weaknesses I can see using such a system for CD backups would be -1- most CD drives don't "eject" disks the way a Macintosh does floppies; -2- Unless there were some sort of automated labeling system, having stacks of unlabeled disks could be a bother. |
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Overcoming these two difficulties should not be especially difficult, and would make CD's or DVD's a much nicer medium for large backup tasks. |
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