Ouch!

[Mike McCarty]

Tim wrote:
> Ian Malone:
> 
>>>>Alternatively they could just revert to 8.3 support for files, it
>>>>wouldn't affect usb key applications as windows is handling the file
>>>>system then (but it's a blow to interoperability, USB keys wouldn't
>>>>work between Win and Mac or Linux).
> 
> 
> Tim:
> 
>>>They're just a storage medium, so they use what's put on them.  It's up
>>>to the computers using them as to how.  We don't have "FAT" hard drives,
>>>CDs, etc.  We simply have drive and discs.
> 
> 
> Mike McCarty:
> 
>>This is untrue. Many discs and pseudo-discs come pre-formatted.
> 
> 
> Some do, some don't.  That doesn't mean that they're a FAT disk, it's
> just a disk with an obese filesystem on it.  You're, generally, not
> prevented from reformatting them, either.

Certainly true. I wasn't trying to imply otherwise. However,
the reason I wrote that is that I believe that MicroSoft is
trying to get money from people producing preformatted discs
and pseudo-discs. That certainly seems to be the case from
perusing their website.

> An IDE HDD is not a Windows IDE HDD, it's an IDE HDD that can be used on
> a variety of different PCs.  The same goes for floppies, USB disks, etc.

Or non-PCs. Or anything else. But if it has LFNs put on it
on top of a FAT, it looks like whoever put that on there
may have to pay a royalty to MicroSoft.

Mike
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