A note to thank everyone who responded, publicly and privately, to my
request for a Windows NT backup solution. I ended up getting an Adaptec
1522 card and using an existing DAT drive; most people chose an Adaptec
card of one sort or another.
 
Incidentally, I received only one response about the various QIC or Travan
tape solutions, and that one was negative. They seem an ideal midrange
backup solution for "casual" backup despite the high media cost; a 400MB
drive is under $200. I paid $150 for one to put on the old 386 machine, now
converted to Linux.
 
Two further notes: First, since I wanted to do the "upgrade" as cheaply as
possible, I found a 486DX4/100 motherboard for about $160. The board is
reported to be as fast as a 66MHz Pentium, but at about 1/3 the cost. All
the ISA peripherals continue to be useful, so it's a cheap and very
effective upgrade for a 386 machine.
 
Second, according to the DDJ Developer Newsletter, Intel's P6 processor is
being released under the name "Pentium Pro." Wild speculation: either
Intel's marketing people are making a huge mistake -- which seems unlikely
-- or the P7, reported in several places to be the fruit of the Intel/HP
development agreement, is close enough to reality that Intel thinks a major
new marketing campaign would be wasted before it could peak. Remember
Spectrum overtaking Vision in 1984?
 
-- Bruce
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce Toback    Tel: (602) 996-8601| My candle burns at both ends;
OPT, Inc.            (800) 858-4507| It will not last the night;
11801 N. Tatum Blvd. Ste. 142      | But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -
Phoenix AZ 85028                   | It gives a lovely light.
[log in to unmask]                 |     -- Edna St. Vincent Millay