Cartridge tape questions

[Witold Paluszynski]

In article <1989Oct30.220321.25394 at chx400.switch.ch> poole at chx400.switch.ch (Simon Poole) writes:
>.....
>[complaining that you can't write 60MB cartridges in a 150MB drive]
>>What I would expect is the sort of upwards compatibility as with
>>9 track tapes, where even the newest drives can write 800 bpi tapes.

>You must be joking, to be able to write 800 bpi with a new drive,
>you generally have to go and buy an expensive trispeed tape. The 800
>bpi format is completly incompatible with the one for 1600/6250 bpi.

Oh, pardon me for not making myself more clear.  When I said the
9 track drives were compatible I meant that the COMPATIBLE drives
were compatible.  Sure you can buy an incompatible drive.  But
you can also buy a compatible one.  No such luck with QIC.

Right now these things are new and hot so who would pay any
attention.  But in a few years the manufacturers will all switch
to 150 MB, then to 250 MB, 500 MB, etc., and you will soon be
left alone in the cold.  Unless you can afford to keep up,
throwing away your old drives and buying new ones, thank you.

Actually, I don't demand perfect compatibility.  400 bpi drives
are gone for good but the time span is so much longer that it is
comparable with the lifetime of the drive.  The compatibility
spans 3 generations, that would be more than enough for QIC.
Right now, however, the compatibility is non-existent.

Witold