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[Barrie Internet]
Dear Doc,
I am thinking of buying a CD Rom before Christmas. What is involved? I have a 386 DX40 with 4 megs of ram and a 1 meg video card.
Fawn, Barrie
Dear Fawn,
Many people that who own a similar computer are wondering the same thing. A CD Rom is rather like an interchangeable 600 meg HARD DRIVE. Since each CD is capable of holding 600 megs, your library can become quite extensive with very few dollars actually spent. With a little research at stores like Babbages in the Geogian Mall, you will find scores of incredible CD applications. You must remember though having a Cd Rom does not allow you to run all Cd software. You still have to have a strong enough processor to run the program you buy. Here is what you need to install a CD rom. 1) An 5 1/4 empty slot in your case 2) A Sound Blaster as an interface or it can be slaved to the hard drive. 3) Someone that is knowledgable in drive configuration for the modification of config.sys & autoexec.bat so it can recognize the new hardware. 4)$200.00 for a Cd drive, asst’d parts & 1 Hour to install.
There are a few different models to choose from: 1) New Nec 4 x 4 speed (about $175.00) 2) Panasonic IDE 8x speed (about $160.00) These are really the only models I would consider as full time support person. Other cheaper makes have given me grief.
These seem to be the most common. Remember if it breaks down; Who fixes it and how long does it take? If you try to install it yourself, is there a valid warranty? If you come across a single speed in your travels, remember they cannot be used for viewing movie clips or Kodak Photo CD. This means many of the new games that span 3 CD's and use real footage will not run. Kodak photo CD is a way for you to input picture files into the computer. Think of all the possibilities. You snap your dog and print it out on an EPSON STYLUS 720 DPI printer, with a caption and some dialogue, on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Or just send a picture of your house to Florida over the Internet to a real estate agent who has a potential buyer in mind! When used as the other half of the multimedia, a sound board will give you hours of pleasure as it converts the .WAV files in programs and games to digital sound (CD quality) Cd players themselves are only input devices; the output is monitor screen and speakers(more commonly known as multimedia). You can easily use the computer as a common Cd player as well. If someone has a more powerful computer, consider the addition of a 3d Video card w/2 meg EDO for playing the actual movies off the Cd’s. In a month or so DVD will be out and many of us will be considering the purchase of this high level CD with 13 gigabytes capacity.
For Now, Doc