Abstract: ?-Aminobutyric acid is supplied to animal efficiently and inexpensively to effectively enhance stress-relieving effect on the animal. Livestock are allowed to lick ?-Aminobutyric acid mixed with molasses and solidified into feedstuff blocks, so that ?-aminobutyric acid is supplied to livestock together with molasses.

Abstract: This invention is provided to simplify building a personal computer having a CD-ROM apparatus as an external memory and using an IDE-BUS I/F for connecting to the CD-ROM apparatus. Thus, a hard disk unit is connected to a master partition of the IDE-BUS I/F of the personal computer, and the CD-ROM apparatus is connected to a slave partition of the IDE-BUS I/F.

Abstract: A CD-ROM apparatus is provided with an IDE-BUS interface and an ISA-BUS interface and a switching circuit for switching there between. In another embodiment invention is provided to simplify building a personal computer having a CD-ROM apparatus as an external memory and using an IDE-BUS I/F for connecting to the CD-ROM apparatus. Thus a hard disk unit is connected to a master partition of the IDE-BUS I/F of the personal computer, and the CD-ROM apparatus is connected to a slave partition of the IDE-BUS interface.

Abstract: This invention is provided to simplify building a personal computer having a CD-ROM apparatus as an external memory and using an IDE-BUS I/F for connecting to the CD-ROM apparatus. Thus, a hard disk unit is connected to a master partition of the IDE-BUS I/F of the personal computer, and the CD-ROM apparatus is connected to a slave partition of the IDE-BUS I/F.

Abstract: This invention is provided to simplify building a personal computer having a CD-ROM apparatus as an external memory and using an IDE-BUS I/F for connecting to the CD-ROM apparatus. Thus, a hard disk unit is connected to a master partition of the IDE-BUS I/F of the personal computer, and the CD-ROM apparatus is connected to a slave partition of the IDE-BUS I/F.

Abstract: This invention is provided to simplify building a personal computer having a CD-ROM apparatus as an external memory and using an IDE-BUS I/F for connecting to the CD-ROM apparatus. Thus, a hard disk unit is connected to a master partition of the IDE-BUS I/F of the personal computer, and the CD-ROM apparatus is connected to a slave partition of the IDE-BUS I/F.

Abstract: A peripheral device and method are provided for reliably updating and checking firmware or other coded information stored within a nonvolatile memory of the device. The device comprises a microcontroller and a memory with a fixed part and an updateable part. Both the fixed part and the updateable part store firmware. When firmware in the updateable part is updated (such as by using a USB connection with a host PC), a first error detection code is generated and stored in the updateable part. As part of an initialization procedure, the firmware stored in the fixed part generates a second error detection code based on the updated firmware stored in the updateable part and compares the second error detection code to the first error detection code stored in the updateable part.

Abstract: An optical disk writing device includes an optical disk drive recording data into an optical disk and having no harddisk as a data buffer, and a host; computer controlling the optical disk drive and transferring the data to the optical disk drive by using a data storage connected to the host computer as a data buffer for the transferring and the recording.

Abstract: An optical disk writing device includes an optical disk drive recording data into an optical disk and having no harddisk as a data buffer, and a host computer controlling the optical disk drive and transferring the data to the optical disk drive by using a data storage connected to the host computer as a data buffer for the transferring and the recording.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to provide a disk player in which a plurality of disks different in diameter are driven, and can be identified with high accuracy. Disclosed is the disk player, a digital signal processing section applies to a CPU a synchronization signal which is raised to high level when the frequency of a detection signal outputted by a laser pickup reaches a predetermined value which permits a data reading operation, and a sense signal which is raised to high level when the frequency of the detection signal is shifted from a predetermined frequency. The CPU operates to rotate a spindle motor, and to brake the latter when the synchronization signal is raised to high level. The CPU further operates to detect a period of time which lapses from the time instant the motor is braked until the sense signal is fallen to low level, and to identify the loaded disk from the period of time thus detected.