== Mass-storage, RTC and network dilemma ==
*The [[Dobbertin Harddisc|Dobbertin HD20]] and with [[Dobbertin Smart Watch]] is the true historical solution. But it's clumsy to use (with 4 partitions of 5MB) each and did not use the no FAT filesystem. While it clearly has historical value, is it still relevant to the community today?*[[X-MassSymbiface II]] IDE/PATA mass-storage or [[X-Mass]] with [[Nova]] NVRAM/RTC or [[Symbiface II]]. It is the historically-plausible solution (as the IDE/PATA interface was created in 1986). But it's a lie as the IDE interface was effectively introduced on the CPC with the [[CPC-IDE]] prototype in 2004, the Symbiface II being available in 2006.
*[[Symbiface 3]], [[Albireo]] and [[M4 Board]] are the modern solutions that feed the CPC a direct file view of the mass-storage instead of a sectors view. So the FAT filesystem does not need to be handled on the CPC itself. Which means there is no need for the [[Nova]] NVRAM to help handling the filesystem. It's overall a simpler, more convenient approach. And it is definitely more future-proof. But that means throwing away historical pretense.
*Symbiface 3 possess an onboard mp3 player. Are we still talking about Amstrad CPC here?