Potted History
of CALonCDPotted History
of CALonCDLate 1994, Wessex Dental PG Department IT unit ordered a CD ROM cutter. After a few months of irritating teething problems we found that we could use this in a number of useful ways such as secure archiving of data and bulk storage of data-intensive scanned documents and slides.
Equally useful, we found that a single CD ROM can store ready-to-run installations of all the available CAL programs. This proved very handy since loading five CAL programs from floppy, prior to a lecture - with their differing installation routines was simply too time consuming.
In March 1996, we were asked by the Department of Health to produce a prototype that Dentists could load themselves. Originally, we intended to include a bundle of other software with the CAL programs. CD ROM boasts a staggering 650 MB data storage - the equivalent of over 400 high density floppy disks! All the CAL programs, plus all our add-ons still left us enough room for three audio tracks and several complete Websites!
However, following suggestions made by a number of CAL developers attending the 1997 March 5 British Society for CAL In Dentistry meeting in Newcastle, we have split the Wessex Wizard Project into two separate CD ROM's...
Having obtained the necessary permissions from the various CAL developers, and put out a tender for the best value-for-money bulk duplication, the master CD went off to European High Speed, in Northamptonshire, England in November 1997.