[rescue] Sun 3's Tape Drives and Mac Mini's

[Mike Meredith]

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 09:50:23 +0300, Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 21, 2007 at 07:22:58AM +0100, Mike Meredith wrote:
>
> > However the tape thingy in question is I believe a capstan (or
> > capstans).
>
> I don't think so.

I've heard 'capstan' used in relation to tape drives; this is the first
time I've heard 'pulleys' used in relation to tape drives.

> I'm no going to quote dubious sources here, anyone have a URL for
> a good online dictionary?

Dictionaries may not give the best answer. AskOxford :-

pulley

  b" noun (pl. pulleys) a wheel with a grooved rim around which a rope,
    chain, or belt passes, used to raise heavy weights.

(implies a horizontal axis)

capstan

/kapstn/

  b" noun a broad revolving cylinder with a vertical axis, used for
    winding a rope or cable.

> While QIC drives tend to be horizontal, I've seen many kinds of tape
> drives (for example 7 and 9 track tape and casettes) that were

Just to muddy the waters more, I've seen vertical QIC drives and
horizontal 9 track drives :)

I'll stick to 'thingies'