2001-12-16
Well, Carleton, it is obvious from your research and his answer that he doesn't know his own product. It is also obvious he is a liar. He claims not to know how long 80 mm is and also claims to know how long 3 inches is. Yet, his statement that the Nintendo disks are smaller that 80 mm CD's was in fact an admission that he does know that 3 inches is smaller than 80 mm. Unless he is not aware of the 80 mm mini CD and considers "Normal" to mean the 120 mm size. It also proves he doesn't know his own inches if he can't see the difference from 76 mm and 80 mm. I think you need to contact Nintendo again, but a different customer service rep and not only restste you claim but indicate that one of their other service reps is insulting the intelligence of the American people, including yourself, by inferring we are too dumb to understand what metric units are. Just because he might be, doesn't mean everyone is. I have the feeling they will never drop the inches. Maybe you can convince them to state the size of the disks as "ISO-9660; 80 mm disk (3.15 in)". Make it stand out that metric is the preferred and actual and inches are just the conversion. Is your last response shown on the top just to us, or was it also sent back to Nintendo. If you only sent it to us, you might want to send it to them and see what they say. The more I re-read his comments, the more I sense he is confusing the 120 mm CD, which is normal, and the 80 mm CD, which he thinks is really 3 inches. If this practice of naming metric products with inch names does not stop, we will have another metric product thought to be an FFU product. We will see the CD's end up just like floppy disks. It wouldn't be so bad, if the practice didn't leave the US borders, but it does and it most likely does make the world's people think that "up-to-date" technology is done in inches, thus inches must be better. The only consolation in all this is that the actual metric sizes converted to FFU don't equal the names they are called and it gives the users of FFU erroneous references for the sizes. John ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, 2001-12-16 00:04 Subject: [USMA:16642] Game Cube disk size discussion > Nintendo has a new game unit called Game Cube. It uses 80 mm compact disks > instead of a cartridge. However, on their web site, they are callingi these > "3 inch" disks. I wrote to them about this and the dialogue follows. > > Start reading from the bottom to get the discussion in order. > > Pathetic. > > Carleton > > I hate to mention this but I did some checking. > > ISO 9660 (ISO = International Standards Organization) specifies two sizes > for compact disks; these are the only two sizes, and they are a worldwide > standard: > > 120 mm (music, DVD, computer software, etc.) > > 80 mm (mini-CD, used for a variety of applications where size is an issue > and lower capacity is OK) > > Most CD players and computer disk readers have a smaller depression in the > tray for the 80 mm disk. > > The Game Cube uses the 80 mm disk. I know because I opened one of the game > packages and measured it; we also received a preview mini-CD from Nintendo > (since my son subscribes to Nintendo GamePower) and I measured that also -- > 80 mm exactly. > > There is absolutely no such thing called a "3-inch" CD. Any description > along those lines is a dumbing down of a worldwide standard for certain > members of the American public, who probably understand the confusing and > convoluted inch-pound measurement "system" even less than they do metric. > Moreover, 3 inches (3 x 25.4 mm = 76.2 mm) isn't even close to 80 mm. > > If you must, it's OK to describe the size of the game device itself in > inches, since the size of the box isn't any kind of standard -- but not the > disk in it. > > You do your customers a disservice by incorrectly describing the disk media > used in GameCube. > > Carleton MacDonald > > -----Original Message----- > From: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 03:32 > To: MacDonald, Carleton > Subject: Re : GameCube specs > > > > > Message(#6851-000028-4572\284572) > > Hello, > > We do not claim that Nintendo GameCube games are "CDs", as they are optical > discs. They are in fact, three inches in diameter, so they are smaller than > normal CDs. If someone told me something was 80 millimeters long, I would > have no idea how long this is, but if you say something is three inches, > then I can get a better picture. Since the U.S. doesn't use "metric" > measurements, there's no need for us to go into meters, centimeters, or > millimeters. > > Nintendo of America Inc. > Stephen Scott > > Nintendo's home page: http://www.nintendo.com/ > Power Line (Automated Product Info): (425) 885-7529 > > ----- > ORIGINAL MESSAGE: > ----------------- > > > From: "MacDonald, Carleton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Posted At: 12:15:02.000 12/11/2001 > Posted To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: GameCube specs > > We got lucky and found a GameCube at a local store last weekend, so our kids > will be quite happy in a couple of weeks. > One minor issue with the specifications: > Specifications for Nintendo's Next-Generation Console System > Size: Approximate Height 4.3" / Width 5.9" / Depth 6.3". Media: Three-inch > NINTENDO GAMECUBE Disc based on Matsushita's Optical Disc Technology, with > approx. 1.5GB Capacity. > Comment: > CD's come in only two standardized sizes: 80 mm (exactly) - used in Game > Cube, and 120 mm (exactly) - audio/DVD etc. There is no "three-inch" CD at > all; they are purely metric, and always have been. It would be good not to > confuse the public by using an incorrect measurement, even though some may > feel that Americans need it dumbed down for them. > Carleton MacDonald > >
