Try the Yamaha 400 CDR.  It is the only 4X CDR right now and supports UDF
packet writing.  It should come with a program called Adaptec DirectCD
which allows the CDR to be used more or less like any other device.  You
can finalize the disk as ISO9660 and read it on any CD reader including
Mac I think.  The unfilled disk can be reopened and more data added as
often as necessary but 20-40 Mb are lost each time.  There is no need for
"mastering" the disc beforehand. We run PCs over a network to Sun Unix
server using Hummingbird Maestro NFS software.  We can FTP from any client
in our lab network to the CDR and can also FTP from remote servers to the
CDR.  If you can see the directory, files can be dropped on the CDR.  The
machine containing the CDR runs, in addition to DirectCD, a little server
program from Hummingbird which allows the system to accept data from other
clients and servers by FTP.
The best thing is you get the CD readers almost for free with each new
computer and each worker can use the archives and data at its own PC/MAC.
Finally, making the CD seems really easy with UDF and DirectCD.

We will be trying to get all our users onto this system soon and off WORM
and DAT.

Milton Charlton
UNiversity of Toronto


On Wed, 23 Jul 1997, Tom Phillips wrote:

> Our multi-user facility is currently archiving our confocal and LM digital
> images on Panasonic optical disks (re-writable, very stable @ about $125
> for 1 GB).  The disadvantage is that few of our users have their own
> Panasonic drives so most people simply archive the images at our core and
> then move the ones they want by FTP as needed.  I would like to switch to a
> more universal medium - namely CD ROM's.  My understanding is that CD's can
> now be written to in multiple sessions so you don't need to fill an entire
> disk at once.  Furthermore, it is my understanding that a disk of TIFF
> images should be readable by both IBM/WINTEL and Mac/PowerPC types
> computers.  Is anybody actually doing this?  Comments on how reliable are
> the recorders, which ones are best, pitfalls, etc would be appreciated.
> Before I get a dozen advocates of ZIP/Jazz drives, I don't want to go that
> route since that they are not as ubiquitous as CD drives.    Thanks in
> advance.
>
> Thomas E. Phillips, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
> Director, Molecular Cytology Core Facility
> 3 Tucker Hall
> University of Missouri
> Columbia, MO 65211
> (573)-882-4712 (voice)
> (573)-882-0123 (fax)
>