#63

CD Nightmares...

Fred Showker
All CDs are NOT created equal...
I'd like to know what's going on.

Those of you who know me, know that I sometimes move very slowly. It took me almost three years to buy my new printer, and over two years to finally break down and buy a CD-ROM drive.

I made the purchase this past Christmas. I'm now on my 4th CD-ROM drive.

What's going on?

After much reading, asking around and agonizing over which CD to buy I settled on the $289 Panasonic drive, which had identical specs to the Apple 300c -- same mechanism, etc., but with slightly better throughput. It arrived well built, and competently configured, but would not run nearly half of the ($200 worth of) CDs I purchased at the same time. It was sent back, and after a lengthy wait was replaced with one that did read most of the CDs.

About that time, another mail order house had gotten to me with their triple-speed wonder at $199. So I ordered one of those, thinking I'd send the slowest one back. Hey, don't ever let anyone tell you that 195mls access is "blazing fast." The PowerUser arrived, along with third party software, and yes, seemed slightly faster than the Panasonic. This one however refused to run about half of the CDs. By this time I had accumulated, found or borrowed another twenty or so CDs and was discovering that what runs on the Panasonic has problems on the PowerUser.

The biggest shock is the PowerUser flatly refused to run the Grollier Multimedia Encyclopedia! Since this happens to be one of the CDs they promote with the purchase of the drive, I called MacWarehouse for an explanation. Yes, they knew of the problem and are working on a fix. Until a fix was available, they promised to send out an NEC (over night) at no additional charge. That was nice, so I sent the PowerUser back and waited... and waited.

Several weeks later a letter arrives telling me that the drive is back-ordered and would be 30 days until shipment. I waited for a few days then decided to cancell the order. Yesterday, just when I was going to call them back, a package arrived. Surprise: another PowerUser. Nothing had changed, except a slightly later rev date on the driver software. Give it a try, and sure enough it does now run Grollier -- but very badly, and not nearly as fast as the double-speed Panasonic. (Pulling up the initial screen takes 7 minutes!)

Now everything is okay, I guess, and I've decided to keep both drives. What I'd like to know is how come the CD producing community can get away without clear-cut standards. I now have three sets of extension files that have to be exchanged depending on which CD I'm running. Some require QuickTime 2.0, others require 1.65. Some require the Sound Manager. Some won't run with the Sound Manager installed. Others won't run with QuickTime 2.0. It seems that every new CD that comes along has a new set of utilities that need to be placed in the system folder.

Now with the promise of quad-speed (and beyond) CD Drives I'm wondering what evils we'll have to overcome to gain some more speed.

I'd also like to know why. With all the awesome new advances in speed and connectivity in computers, why can't the manufacturers of CDs get their act together, and deliver a product that works?

Just say why!

Fred
PS: By the way,
If you run across two CDs called "Audubon Birds" or "Audubon Mammals" by Creative Multimedia don't for a moment let them fool you into thinking they're multimedia. They're not, with the slight exception that there are a few sounds once you find them. The interface and the actual "front-end" if you can call it that is probably the worst piece of software I've seen since Compuserve's Navigator. There's no excuse for putting out that kind of product with so many good development tools at our fingertips. Don't get me wrong -- the information is good, the pictures are truly wonderful, and it's a good addition to any home library. Just be prepared to be disappointed in the way the CD was put together.

On the other hand, if you have the opportunity to pick up the San Diego Zoo CD, by Mindscape, do so - particularly if you have children in the house. It's wonderfully implemented, beautifully produced and runs quickly. You won't be disappointed! Bravo: Mindscape!

The Design & Publishing Main Page. | . The Design & Publishing Map

Fred Showker, nationally recognized designer author and speaker, is a 25-year veteran of the graphics industry, with his own firm Showker Graphic Arts & Design. He's an associate editor for the Home & School Mac.
You can see Fred in action at any of his Design & Graphics workshops around the country sponsored by Dynamic Graphics Educational Foundation, InHouse Graphics, PrintFest and others. You can chat with him directly on most any service...
just key in SHOWKER and the service designation for America OnLine (@AOL.com) where he is "AFA Shwkr", a forum assistant in the User Group Forum (UGF), or in eWorld (@eWorld.com) where he also conducts the DT&G forum!
Product names listed are the trademarks of their respective owners.