Date: Sat, 20 Jan 1996 22:15:07 -0800 (PST) From: Donald Burr <d_burr@ix.netcom.com> To: FreeBSD Hardware <freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org> Cc: FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Iomega Ditto Easy 800 (Universal TRAVAN) EXTERNAL under FreeBSD? Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.91.960120220958.15008B-100000@ncc-1701-d.starfleet.gov>
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I just purchased one of these drives, because I have to backup a lot of sties and I don't want to worry about if they have a such-and-such interface already, and I don't want to have to open up the computer and install something and have to remove it everytime I back someone up. So I opted for a external parallel-port tape drive. This works great, and I love it, don't get me wrong. But I was curious as to the state of these drives under any of the free UNIXes (especially FreeBSD). Last I heard, the QIC-117 (? - I think that's what it's called) standard for interfacing over the parallel port was a closely-guarded secret, and required huge sums of money and a non-disclosure agreement to get the spec's on. But maybe I heard wrong, or maybe this has changed, or maybe Iomega is a little more generous with their standards than, say, HP/Colorado or something. AT any rate, in general, I'm trying to find out: 1) is a driver for these tape drives under FreeBSD available? 2) is it possible to inexpensively get the spec's for one of these and write a driver for it? (obviously, I'd prefer releasing it as source, but if not possible [ie if they require a NDA] I would consider a binary-only release, since I'm not really planning on GPL'ing it) 3) if the answer to 2) above is "Yes!", who do I contact at Iomega or wherever, and how do I contact them? (email? fax? snail mail?) and what do I say or ask for specifically? Any and all help appreciated. Thanks! Donald Burr [d_burr@ix.netcom.com], PO Box 91212, Santa Barbara CA 93190-1212 TEL (805)564-1871 / FAX 564-2315 / WWW http://www.geopages.com/WallStreet/2072 PGP Public Key available by request (send e-mail) or on Public Key Servers. ** Uphold your right to privacy - Use PGP. **
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