Spectre GCR Manual Manuals - Atari Documentation Archive

J{ard 'Dis t
J{orror Stones
.,
ry to imagine your
;. ) ffoppy disk§ as ty
. . reaffy are. rzTiat
fittfe 3 1/2 h piece
of pfastic lias some goo on its surface
wliicli can 6e magnetized.
'Teclinicaf writers cal[ it "iron
or 1e rris oi(jde h if ty Ire
real[y sliowing off.
Comman peopfe cal[ it "rust h.
rzTiat s riglit - tliat s wliy t disk§
are tliat cofar. (9fey, perliaps tliat s
wliy ?&if 'Young work§ - t
af6um name is "Live 'lWst! h).
.9lnyway, tre are 400,000
cliaracters crammed in per side of
tliat disK.,
'Try to tliink..of eacli cliaracter
as 8 separate magnetic fieU
transiticms (8 6its) on tliat disK.,
%us, we Ire tafking 2,400,000 fittfe
magnetic jiefds on a dou6fe sided
fToppy.
Sort of Iiorrifyitrg to consider
Iiow tiny ty must 6e, riglit?
('J{pw, imagine Iiow mucli
lnterfzufe :Five
mayonnaise 6eing smeared on m
does for m .. )
'J{pw, ffoppies rotate at 300
'1('PJv{, wliicli means eacli 6yte
spins 6y read/write adwitliin
32 mif{iontlis of a second of
eacli otr. (%us, eacli hit tak.,es 4
mif{iontlis of a second).
%fiat s un6elieva6fe is tliat
y Ire fairfy re£i.a6fe!
'J{pw, t '1(rpM up to
3600 '1(P'M, twelve times faster.
Instead of ru66ing ad on t
refatively ffe6fe surface of t
ffoppy dist fet s ffy t ad over
a rigid pfatter (sti£[ coated witli
Live 'lWst, tliougli) . .9lnd fet s put
five mi{{ion 6ytes per disk..instead
of a mere 400,000 - forty mi£[ion
magnetic foUls .
rzTiat s a "liard disk..h•
If t ad ever touc
disk..pfatter, you liave wliat is
k..nown as a "ad crasft. h' %e
sound of tliis wi£[ curdfe your
Mood; it sounds a Cot fif.:! a cat
6eing arawn and quartered. .9lnd
you can k..iss off t data on tliat
liard disK.,
% crasft. a liard dist merely
fean 6ack.in your cft.air, and gently
kick.. desk. tliat your sr is
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