This FAQ is aimed at uncovering sources of inexpensive CD-ROM's. A FAQ for frequently discussed topics is needed too. However, my boss thinks I spend too much time on Usenet already. If you find other sources of inexpensive CD-ROM's, please let me know. Due to requests from outside the USA, I am re-posting this information for world distribution. I've added a couple more references. I have no association with any of these sources, except sometimes as a customer. Here is an expanded re-posting of some possibly useful references on the medium. These should give new subscribers some ideas about what is going on presently. Old subscribers please forgive me. Addresses, telephone numbers, and prices are all USA. SOURCES OF INFORMATION The MSCDEX interface documentation is available on the Microsoft Programmer's Library CD-ROM. This also has detailed specifications for drivers that talk to MSCDEX. It even provides solutions to a number of sticky problems. Most current CD-ROM disks are manufactured to the ISO 9660 standard. This standard is available from ANSI, 11 West 42nd Street, New York City, New York 10036 Cost to US destinations is $49, plus $5 shipping. Telephone 212-642-4900 Computer Shopper Magazine is a nice source of ads for CD-ROM stuff. The June 1991 (I think) Computer Shopper has several articles on CD-ROM. So do the October 1991 and February 1992 issues. The February 1992 issue says the ComputAbility bundle at $379 is a superior deal. This includes the slow 700 ms Magnavox CDD461RS drive, PC Globe's atlas, Grolier encyclopedia, Microsoft Bookshelf, and PC-SIG shareware. The drive is an AUDIO drive modified for CD-ROM, probably unfit for multimedia due to not being able to deliver 150K of data per second at the bus (for animation). The software is sure nice, and the audio should be great. The Thursday, November 21, 1991 Wall Street Journal has a nice article on CD-ROM. They mention Phonedisc USA's $1000 (ouch!) phone listings and UMI's newspaper text CD-ROM's (including WSJ) for $1000 to $2500 each. Bureau of Electronic Publishing also has two kinds of phone books on CD-ROM (at similar prices). Too bad the phone companies don't look at CD-ROM as a cost saving measure. They could replace thousands of paper directories with CD-ROM's and make a profit instead of loss at $15. NEC CD-ROM drive information can be FAX'ed to you. Call NEC Fastfacts at 800-366-0476. The MSCDEX documentation refers to the Sony/Phillips Red Book recording standard. Several others have been mentioned in recent postings. So far, I have been unable to locate a source for these standards. Anyone know the sources? SOURCES OF INEXPENSIVE PRODUCTS, CD-ROM DESCRIPTIONS, AND GENERAL INFO Nice article in the 12-1-91 Design News magazine (for engineers) on CD-ROM. This mentions the National Technical Information Service at 703-487-4650. The service supplies data on behalf of the US federal government. Ask for their CD-ROM products catalog, along with their regular catalog. A catalog describing CD-ROM publications and a newsletter is available from Future Systems, Post Office Box 26, Falls Church, Virginia 22040 Telephone 800-323-DISC or 703-241-1799 One of their books contains a list of about 1500 CD-ROM's. (This is the first supplier of books on CD-ROM that I've seen.) Computer Direct has an interesting CD-ROM bundle offer. They offer a Magnavox CDD461RS external drive (the cruddy one I think) with PC Globe, PC Sig, Microsoft Bookshelf, and Grolier Encyclopedia for $500. Nice software bundle. I sent the ad to DAK. Fred Bellamy runs an IBM-PC (only) CD-ROM users group and has an interesting newsletter. He also scrounges outdated, demo, and surplus CD-ROM's, then bundles them for an average $10 each to subscribers to his standing order group. CD-ROM User's Group, Post Office Box 2400, Santa Barbara, California 93120. Telephone 805-965-0265 A ham radio callbook database and 5000 public domain programs is available for $50 from Buckmaster Publishing. I plan to recycle my old copy next April (1992) for $25. Anyone interested? Buckmaster Publishing, Route 3, Box 56, Mineral, Virginia 23117 Telephone 703-894-5777 or 800-282-5628 A catalog describing CD-ROM products and the uses of CD-ROM is available from DAK Industries Incorporated, 8200 Remmet Avenue, Canoga Park, California 91304 Telephone 818-888-8220 or 800-DAK-0800 (This contains the "famous" DAK offer--a BSR (aka Sony) CD-ROM player, Microsoft Bookshelf 1991, and two other CD-ROM's for $399. The catalog has an incredible amount of CD-ROM hype.) A catalog describing CD-ROM products and the uses of CD-ROM is available from Bureau of Electronic Publishing, 141 New Road, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054 Telephone 201-808-2700 or 800-828-4766 A catalog describing CD-ROM products and the uses of CD-ROM is available from Laser Resources Incorporated, 6285 East Spring Street, Suite 103, Long Beach, California 90808 Telephone 213-521-9701 or 800-535-2737 A Software Encyclopedia catalog mostly for Mac is available from Educorp, 531 Stevens Avenue #B, Solana Beach, California 92075 Telephone 619-259-0255 or 800-843-9497 A catalog describing quite a number of companies and products mentioned in the alt.cd-rom news group is available from CD ROM, Inc. Includes CD-I, CD-ROM, M-O, WORM, Multimedia, and information. Some expensive, some not. CD-ROM, Inc, Suite 400, 1667 Cole Boulevard, Golden, Colorado 80401 The 1985 Congessional Record (everything congressmen said or wished they'd said in 1985) is available from the Government Printing Office. I sure wish they'd publish later years on CD-ROM, especially at $40. Telephone 202-275-3030 A USA 1:2000000 topological map on CD-ROM is available for $32 from US Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, 507 National Center, Reston, Virginia 22092. They may have a Florida CD-ROM with more detail. Now if they'd put an interesting state like Utah on a larger-scale CD-ROM... Telephone 703-648-6045 or 800-USA-MAPS then press 5 About 50 Magellan mapping CD-ROM's of Venus as well as 12 older Voyager and other space CD-ROM's are available from NSSDC. They also have the GRIPS program to display them. See also SIMTEL20 archive for the IMDISP77 program. They also have the IRAS infrared sky map on 4 CD-ROM's for $38, and the Viking orbiter images on 8 CD-ROM's for $62. Add $2.50 shipping each order. (Their prices are $20 for one volume in a set, $6 each added volume in a given set per order) National Space Science Data Center 933.4 Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 Telephone 301-286-6695 The 25,000 raw Voyager photos in 800x800 256-color format and display software (specify computer, PC or Mac) are available for $120 for the 12-volume set from Randy Davis, University of Colorado LASS, 1234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, Colorado 80303 Telephone 303-492-6867 Includes 3 disks of Uranus, 4 of Neptune, 3 of Jupiter, 2 of Saturn. You can also get the Voyager CD-ROM's from this source. The CD-RDx standard for interoperability of CD-ROM's for US Government use is available on a prototype disk for $15. This also includes selections from about a dozen databases. Ask for the private sector version. Telephone 703-237-0682. Bob Bruce has put lots of files from the SIMTEL20 FTP archive on CD-ROM for $25 for the first copy (plus $5 shipping). He also has the X11R5 GNU source for $40, Windows stuff for $25, and a SIMTEL20 source code CD-ROM for $40. A SIMTEL20 update may be made in May. He also is willing to provide information on producing CD-ROM's. Bob Bruce, 1547 Palos Verdes, Suite 260, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. Telephone +1-510-674-0783. The cheapest CD-ROM manufacturer I've seen is Disc Manufacturing, Inc. Pre-mastering $100 to $800, mastering $800 + $1.30/disk for 15-day turnaround. Telephone Shogo Karitani at 205-859-4236 The Pioneer DRM-600 6-disk changer drive is available for $979 from Kintronics Computer Products, 3 Westchester Plaza, Elmsford, New York 10523 Telephone 914-347-2530 or 800-431-1658 attention Neal Allen Nautilus provides a CD-ROM of the month subscription. 13 CD-ROM's for $138. Nautilus, 7001 Discovery Blvd, Dublin, Ohio 43017-8066 Telephone 800-637-3472 CD-ROM Professional Magazine is available for $39.95 per year from CD-ROM Professional, Subscription Department, 11 Tannery Lane, Weston, Connecticut 06883 Telephone 800-248-8466 (I'd like to see postings for other magazine addresses, too.) CD-ROM caddies are available from Tom Tech Computers, 4613 Main Avenue, Ashtabula, Ohio 44004. 2 for $15. They also have drives, etc. EXPENSIVE BUT INTERESTING Prime Time Freeware Vol 1 has 1500 MB of compressed tar(1) UNIX source. Over 100 packages including X11R5. $60 each up to 9, $42 each 10+ ($5 ship). Prime Time Freeware, 415-112 North Mary Avenue, Suite 50, Sunnyvale, California 94086 Telephone 408-738-4832 A USA street map CD-ROM is available for $99 from Delorme Mapping, PO Box 298, Lower Main Street, Freeport, Maine 04032 Telephone 207-865-1234 Nice map CD-ROM for travelers or those with lots of money for toys that are outdated in a few months. FAQ QUESTIONS ANSWERED You must use SETVER with MS-DOS 5.0, to make MSCDEX 2.20 work properly. Otherwise you will get an incorrect DOS version message. See the MS-DOS 5.0 documentation on how to use SETVER. MSCDEX 2.21 works with MS-DOS 5.0 without SETVER. Call MS BBS at 206-936-4082. Choose F for file library, S UPDATES, F to list files, then D MSCDEX.ZIP to download the file. (Microsoft may have deleted this file.) Good luck ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Jim Raehl (801) 224-6400 * "See 5th amendment, US constitution ..." WICAT Systems, Incorporated * 1875 South State Street * Packet radio: N7KXI@N7KXI.UT.USA.NA Orem, Utah 84058 (USA) * (Morse code NOT required for license)