I heard it makes a good coffee mug holder.
 ----------
From: owner-hp3000-l
To: Multiple recipients of list HP3000-L
Subject: More CDROM usage for MPE/iX ??
Date: Saturday, September 21, 1996 12:42PM
 
Hi 3000 community,
 
the dusty-rusty CDROM drive in "my" 3000 systems makes me sad.
 
I would like to use it for more than just occasional OS updates. The CD
Extensions/iX was such a nice idea but it is now dying (well, it never got a
real chance for living due to the DOS socket limitation).
 
Looking for ways to change the above, I currently have two ideas/variants...
 
1. Write a 3000-based server job that exports the "raw" CD contents and
   write a PC-based device-driver that can access the server job via
   something like winsock.dll and provides a "network drive" to Windows.
 
This is essentially the CD Extensions model ported to winsock.dll and would
allow PC programs like LaserROM (or successors or other tools for other CDs)
to access the CD contents.
 
As I am not a PC guru, I would need help or at least some hints to good info
on things like winsock.dll and how to write a "device-driver" (or whatever
the correct name is) plus some kind of free PC compiler (GNU??) plus time...
 
2. Write a 3000-based server job that accesses the CD contents, knows about
   the CD file-system structure and exports it to the network via something
   like NFS protocol. The PC might then mount it via (available) NFS client
   software. Even the 3000 might read this with NFS/iX Client (Quest/HP).
 
This approach would only work for CDs with a file system like the LaserROM
CDs are using (I believe this is a pretty common one, though) but has the
advantage (for me) that it is 3000-based work. Yet, I need info on the CDROM
 
file-system and NFS (or other appropriate) protocols. Maybe there are even
pieces of free software somewhere that can be utilized...
 
Having already used Pascal, Cobol, Fortran, Basic, RPG, Transact... on the
3000 (working at the Response Center sometimes _has_ positive sides :-) this
 
seems to be a good chance to try Mark Klein's GNU C++ port to me... as the
result should be made freeware (or at least for 2 users at a time).
 
I am currently just in "think pink" stage, collecting ideas and information.
So if you have ideas or hints re sources for CDFS and NFS documentation or
even places where useful subroutines can be found... drop me a note/post.
 
Thanks for your attention and help.
 
Lars "iX" Appel (just dreaming after wakeup time)
 
([log in to unmask] -- only lappel here, not representing grc or hp.com)