Is the end near for floppies?

[MacBytes]

Category: Opinion/Interviews
Link: Is the end near for floppies? (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20040424171514)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

[Mudbug]

I thought the end had come and gone... long ago..

[stoid]

Apple is ahead of it's time, again. A shocker :rollseyes: There are sometimes though that I wish my Mac had a floppy drive. With the number of times floppies have lost my data I say good bye and good riddance!

[crenz]

I thought the end had come and gone... long ago..

You beat me to it -- I think the article is rather funny. Even when I still used PCs without CD burners, I rarely used floppies. They are just too unreliable and too slow. In my house and at the University, the net is ubiquitous, so it makes more sense to upload stuff to a server to transfer it. I've been doing that for years now.

I didn't even need a USB stick yet, although I can see how it can helpful sometimes.

[stoid]

One thing to the floppy's credit though, it's so cheap that you can throw your data on one and give it to someone else. You can't just hand off your keychain drive. :eek:

[Moonlight]

Wow, I didn't even know they made floppies anymore, man are PC's stupid.

[Victoriatus]

One thing to the floppy's credit though, it's so cheap that you can throw your data on one and give it to someone else.

Sure. But floppies are almost as expensive as CD-R discs. In a couple of years, almost as expensive as DVD-R discs. Floppies aren't very cheap to manufacture because of the mechanical structure.

So how do you compare 1.44 MB to 650 MB or 4.7 GB? Floppies aren't environmentally better either, because they a more complex and for the same amount of data it takes a pile of floppies to match one CD-R. CD-RWs and DVD-RWs exist of course.

[stoid]

Sure. But floppies are almost as expensive as CD-R discs. In a couple of years, almost as expensive as DVD-R discs. Floppies aren't very cheap to manufacture because of the mechanical structure.

So how do you compare 1.44 MB to 650 MB or 4.7 GB? Floppies aren't environmentally better either, because they a more complex and for the same amount of data it takes a pile of floppies to match one CD-R. CD-RWs and DVD-RWs exist of course.

Good point, although, CD-R drives are not standard, and from at least one standpoint, it does you no good to bring a paper to class on a CD-R if you can't save your changes to take back home. That's the other nice thing about floppies, you make changes, you save, you eject. Mac OS X isn't too bad, but from what I've heard, the Windows CD burning is messy.

For me, it just feels like overkill to put a 20KB Word .doc on a 650MB CD-R and it would be nice to have a floppy for those cases.

Either way, I don't see the pen drives replacing floppies, and if CDs were going to, I think they would have a while ago. I think the technology with the best chance of replacing floppies is Iomega's Zip drives or something along those lines.

[adamfilip]

For me, it just feels like overkill to put a 20KB Word .doc on a 650MB CD-R and it would be nice to have a floppy for those cases.



If a CD held 5 megs instead of 650 would it make you feel better

[stoid]

If a CD held 5 megs instead of 650 would it make you feel better

Yeah, i think so. But that still doesn't fix the issue of hassles burning files on windows.

The other thing that floppies have on CDs is that they are smaller. Floppies are a perfect companion for a shirt pocket. CDs are just a bit too large.

[killmoms]

By the same token, I could say that if Zip disks were going to replace floppies, they would have years ago. Zips were affordable before burnable CDs were, but they're hardly ubiquitous. For my generation, the Zip is hardly used anymore.

I haven't used a Floppy or owned an Iomega Zip in years. Anything I need to transfer I've moved using the 'net (AIM or FTP). I'm considering getting a little USB pen drive (128MB or less) for little files, and an external FW drive for video files on my Mac.

The USB pen drive will almost certainly replace the floppy; it stores more, it's cheap, you can keep it on a key ring, it's solid state so it's harder to break, it's easy, and it works in both Mac and PCs. I'd say it's safe to assume that USB is nearly ubiquitous now; average companies have gone through two upgrade cycles since USB appeared on the scene, and most personal computer users have had USB 1.1 for some time (since the original iMac, and slightly later for PCs). USB 2.0 is now standard on all new computers—Macs and PCs—and most have front-access ports.

I'm not seeing a lot of impediments to this technology.

--Cless

[Photorun]

What is this "floppy" they speak of? Oh, those, why would someone still use one of those? Ewww!

[Nny]

I think Apple did the right thing by getting rid of floppies, but I think they did it just a little too early. They got rid of them before the computers they were shipping had CD-RW drives. So you bought a computer with no floppy or cd-rw and you either bought an external drive or used iTools. Apple corrected that flaw when they started including CD-RW drives in their computers. In the long run, it worked out great. Everyone uses CDs or just e-mails files anyway nowadays. Floppies are very very very dead. Apple was certainly ahead of their time, as usual.

[FattyMembrane]

the floppy is dead and has been for some time. i would say that pen drives will replace floppies, but i think it's more appropriate to say they will replace the hassle of emailing yourself a 2 meg file or uploading it to your preferred free web space. i bought a 64 meg pen drive about 7 months ago because i found a deal on one that was free after rebate. i only purchased it because it was *free* and because i thought it would be a neat toy. i now use it almost every day and it has really become a necessity. it's faster than a floppy, more reliable than a floppy, and holds more than a floppy. it also fixes the immutability and size problem of cds. i really think that with the far-reaching presence of broadband, the need for a cheap "throw away" medium you can give to your friend has vanished for files under 10 megs and is solved with a cd-r for files any bigger.

[eazyway]

Both of these are great for file transfer and travel. The firewire drives are a fabulous transfer and carry storage device.

I own a LaCie 20 GB pocket drive and a 40 Gb iPod.

[Fiveos22]

All the computers in the major computer labs on our campus are s/ floppy drives. If you want to use a floppy, you have to check out a USB floppy drive from the Media Center desks. I'm glad to see those unreliable artifacts disappear.

[Bendit]

Until CD-Rs continue work as they are floppies will never die.

You all sound like you've been sheltered from the world saying that floppy disks are already did. I assure you they are not. Offices use them alot.

Until CDs become truly rewritable (as in you can insert a file without erasing the entire disc and rewriting it from scratch) people will always need something quick and cheap like a floppy disk.

Even with 52x cd burners it still takes a while to burn a single document to a cd thanks for the closing of the and other things. Plus can you just throw a cd in your pocket? no. Or a bag? Yeah if you get a cd case.

They are too big. A real floppy disk replacement needs to come by. Like really cheap memory cards. The sony memory stick could do this if they were much cheaper as all sony computers, laptops (and even some of their mice) have memorystick readers. But alas Sony would have to open up the specs on memory stick.

Anyway, you get the idea.

If no one wants a new format then the next best thing is to have mini cd-rom drives. That's right. CD-Rom drives that ONLY read and write the little discs. And have all these drives slot loading. This makes the drive easy to use, just slap it in the slot, has potential to have cheaper discs (if they ever begin to make mini-cds by the mass, as of right now they are more expensive then the full sized one). But even then cd writing has to be much more improved within the OS to make this work. I am still shocked at the ****ty support for CD burning in both Mac OS X and Windows XP. It should be transparent like using a floppy disk. You should not have to go through a process of making a cd, it should be a matter of putting it on the cd. But again, rewriting a cd takes forever.

[JamesDPS]

the floppy is dead and has been for some time. i would say that pen drives will replace floppies, but i think it's more appropriate to say they will replace the hassle of emailing yourself a 2 meg file or uploading it to your preferred free web space. i bought a 64 meg pen drive about 7 months ago because i found a deal on one that was free after rebate. i only purchased it because it was *free* and because i thought it would be a neat toy. i now use it almost every day and it has really become a necessity. it's faster than a floppy, more reliable than a floppy, and holds more than a floppy. it also fixes the immutability and size problem of cds. i really think that with the far-reaching presence of broadband, the need for a cheap "throw away" medium you can give to your friend has vanished for files under 10 megs and is solved with a cd-r for files any bigger.

I totally agree -- I have a 128 USB stick just because someone bought it for my dad for Christmas and when I visited him a couple weeks ago I noticed that he hadn't even opened the package, but now I use it on nearly a daily basis, to keep current versions of my thesis, work hours, etc.

Sure beats the hell out of a floppy (I haven't used one of those in about 7 years, I think) and faster and easier than using FTP.... I'd recommend the USB stick since it's supported by nearly every computer made within the last 5 years or so (at least, works on Mac and Win.. not so sure about Linux, etc.), it seems to be reliable, and it's fast (esp. with USB 2.0). Only down side is it needs power, so won't work plugged into the spare port on a keyboard -- that would be REALLY convenient :) iPod works great as a portable larger drive but harder to use with PCs if the unpleasant necessity ever occurs...

[dubbz]

It's been a while since I've used a floppy.. Last time I did a major upgrade on my PC (or maybe it was prior to that, even) I didn't bother putting in the floppy drive. I wasn't actually sure if it worked, since I hadn't used it for months or years. I still don't know if it works, and I don't care. I hope I never have to find out.

CD-RW, DVD-/+RW and/or USB is a far better, and reliable, solution :)

[bennetsaysargh]

i like using my usb stick./ it's just easier than cds. cds are a hassle, but at least you dont need drivers installed to use them on windows like you do with the usb sticks :rolleyes:

[Trowaman]

Floppies are a flop.

*feel free to join in on cheezy laughter. :D

[Mav451]

i like using my usb stick./ it's just easier than cds. cds are a hassle, but at least you dont need drivers installed to use them on windows like you do with the usb sticks :rolleyes:

Haha the funny part is I've used 3 different USB sticks, from the 256 to the 1 gig. NONE of them required a driver to use. None of them. Stop spreading the FUD and stereotypes and actually use a PC once in a while before making stuff up.

[uefigs139]

I thought floppies died in the supper of 98?


Yeah, i think so. But that still doesn't fix the issue of hassles burning files on windows.

The other thing that floppies have on CDs is that they are smaller. Floppies are a perfect companion for a shirt pocket. CDs are just a bit too large.

Have any of you seen these? They work in any CD-RW drive (except for slot loading drives)

http://www.memorex.com/images/products/upload/pocketcd-r2_lg.jpg
Mini CD-R (http://www.memorex.com/products/product_display.php?cid=21&pid=21&oid=25)

[dubbz]

i like using my usb stick./ it's just easier than cds. cds are a hassle, but at least you dont need drivers installed to use them on windows like you do with the usb sticks :rolleyes:

Not true in WinXP.

It's true that Win98 require drivers, but it's not that hard to install.

[stoid]

I thought floppies died in the supper of 98?




Have any of you seen these? They work in any CD-RW drive (except for slot loading drives)

http://www.memorex.com/images/products/upload/pocketcd-r2_lg.jpg
Mini CD-R (http://www.memorex.com/products/product_display.php?cid=21&pid=21&oid=25)

Guess what kind of drive my laptop, and many Apple computers have.

[JereIC]

"Is the end near for floppies?"

More articles in this series:
Is the iPod cool?
Is Bill Gates rich?
Is the pope Catholic?
Am I a smart-alek? :D

[stoid]

"Is the end near for floppies?"

More articles in this series:
Is the iPod cool?
Is Bill Gates rich?
Is the pope Catholic?
Am I a smart-alek? :D

You forgot one:

Is this post nothing but spam?

[iMeowbot]

I thought floppies died in the supper of 98?

It was closer to lunch time.

Have any of you seen these? They work in any CD-RW drive (except for slot loading drives)

You can get them in a credit card form factor too.

The little CDs were originally envisioned as a replacement for 45 RPM records, and there are adapters available to get them to work in drives crippled to only handle the larger CD format. One example is Memorex model 3018-3001

[stoid]

It was closer to lunch time.



You can get them in a credit card form factor too.

The little CDs were originally envisioned as a replacement for 45 RPM records, and there are adapters available to get them to work in drives crippled to only handle the larger CD format. One example is Memorex model 3018-3001

OMG, YES!!!!

*orders a memorex adaptor*

OK, floppies is dead now, 'fficialy!

[requies]

You forgot one:

Is this post nothing but spam?

lighten up.


anyway, i work in several computer labs here on campus. tons of people still use floppies. i have to tell somebody really often: "floppies are notoriously flaky. it probably ate your data. always save a copy to your h-drive (network drive)." most people are too stupid to burn a cd. zip disks had their time in the sun, but are now fading. it was very stupid of iomega to break backward compatibility with their zip 750 drives. i don't know anybody who even has a zip750 disk, much less a drive. personally i have an external zip drive for my old mac and an internal in my g4. it has been useful, but that usefulness is waning. the computer labs here are upgrading to zip750 drives, forcing people to stop using their zip100 disks. (and also the zip platform altogether) also, recently i've been perturbed by old machines in the engineering building that don't even have zip drives. i usually ftp in to my network drive, but the engineering labs use a different network drive and only allow ssh. yes, i could download a client, but i haven't, so i've been using sneakernet. oh, and in my vhdl lab the computers are only equipped with floppy drives and we aren't allowed access to the network drive. annoying. i've actually been using my floppy a lot this semester in that class. ok, and finally... i've seen a lot of people using the flash drives. people seem to like them. and as all the computers on campus have usb ports, flash drives are the most ubiquitous solution aside from the floppy. most people don't know how to ftp in to their network drive. if i didn't know how to ftp in to the network drive i would totally have a flash drive. so their increasing popularity is not surprising. i expect the trend to continue.

[stoid]

lighten up. <snip>

whoops, forgot to add a :D or a ;) or whatever to the end of that post, I was j/k

Anyway, whatever happened to the SuperDisk drives? The drives that were 100% backward compatible with the older floppies, but also use 120MB, and I think a revision upped it to 240MB? My brother bought one with his Lime iMac back in the day. I think Imation made them...

edit: Looks like the drives got discontinued. (http://www.imation.com/en_US/product.jhtml?Id=IM_FAM122) I wonder why? Not enough interest? That seems like it would have been the way to go.

[requies]

whoops, forgot to add a :D or a ;) or whatever to the end of that post, I was j/k

Anyway, whatever happened to the SuperDisk drives? The drives that were 100% backward compatible with the older floppies, but also use 120MB, and I think a revision upped it to 240MB? My brother bought one with his Lime iMac back in the day. I think Imation made them...

edit: Looks like the drives got discontinued. (http://www.imation.com/en_US/product.jhtml?Id=IM_FAM122) I wonder why? Not enough interest? That seems like it would have been the way to go.

yeah, i remember considering that back when i was in the market. if i recall correctly it was because zip struck first and was cheaper. institutions like unlv had already standardized on zip as the next gen floppy and the disks were cheap enough i had a huge stockpile.

[simX]

I don't get it. I really don't remember the last time I used a floppy. Even when I bought the original iMac back in August 1998, I bought an external floppy drive, but I don't think I ever actually used it that often.

The one time I need to use floppies is when I want to access data on an old disk or something, and what *REALLY* annoys the heck out of me is that all the USB floppy drives don't read 400K floppies. ARG! I have a game stored on a 400K floppy and I need to find an old Mac with a working floppy drive that can also get access to the internet to send it to me. I have an old IIsi, but the floppy drive is shot.

Oh, well. I'll figure it out sometime.

[Stella]

You can now, its called Multisession...

Until CDs become truly rewritable (as in you can insert a file without erasing the entire disc and rewriting it from scratch) people will always need something quick and cheap like a floppy disk..

[Rower_CPU]

Haha the funny part is I've used 3 different USB sticks, from the 256 to the 1 gig. NONE of them required a driver to use. None of them. Stop spreading the FUD and stereotypes and actually use a PC once in a while before making stuff up.

Easy there tiger. Like others have said, XP comes with the drivers, but other versions of Windows don't.

I've also noticed with XP and several different sticks (name brand and generic) that it still has to recognize the device and do some setup before it'll work. Sure, it's not a lot of effort on your part or time, but it's still one more step than plugging the thing into a Mac. ;)

[Mav451]

Rower, I know that. Its just that when most people do PC vs. Mac, they love comparing it to XP (seriously, just try to remember how many times "Fisher Price" is brought up in the context of a PC vs. Mac comparison).

So presumably, I thought it was more uniformed blanket statements from someone with no experience with XP; who refers to his old '95/'98 memories and labels it as "my PC experience, (even if its outdated) I'll use it anyway", thinking that's how it is--but it ISN'T.

i like using my usb stick./ it's just easier than cds. cds are a hassle, but at least you dont need drivers installed to use them on windows like you do with the usb sticks :rolleyes:

Upon closer inspection, I see he just said windows. Now I ask this: Would a USB drive work, without drivers (or respective equal in Mac OS)...in say OS8.6? OS 9? (comparative to 95/98 timeline).

[areyouwishing]

You know, why didn't the Zip 100 replace floppies, it had a chance at one point, and iomega was lic. the tech to other companies... they could have gotten some nice royalities and wouldn't be hurting like they are today.


So what happened?

[iMeowbot]

So what happened?

I think that the "click of death" meme done killed it dead. I know that's still the first thing that comes to mind when I see or hear Zip drives discussed.

[Golem]

You know, why didn't the Zip 100 replace floppies, it had a chance at one point, and iomega was lic. the tech to other companies... they could have gotten some nice royalities and wouldn't be hurting like they are today.


So what happened?

Well we almost got their for a while mb 1 zip drive for every 2 people. But once you lose a drive or disk a couple of times it hurts:) So CD'r,portable firewire drives including ipods. ftp etc, I would say we havent used a floppy in years except 6 months ago we had a new employee who had here contacts on floppy. Floppy--> old PC-->Mac server--> 15'' Laptop. Got their in the end bah!
Mind you one time when I got a bit desperate I had to use my Digital camera to transfer files from an ancient 300mhz pc laptop on to my apple laptop while on holiday in a small town.

[guytoronto]

In the PC world, USB Memory Sticks work just fine with Windows ME and up (ME, 2000, and XP). Hardware manufacturers need to make their own drivers for Windows 98, and don't even dream about trying to get them to work under Windows 95 or NT.

Therefore, sometimes, a floppy drive IS required, for people still stuck using prehistoric hardware and/or software.

Mac OS 8.6 and higher support USB Mass Storage fine, but again, anything pre-8.6, or lacking a USB port (beige machines), still requires a floppy drive (or they can just install a USB card, but that's too easy).

Also, people are STUPID, and have depended on floppies for, well, since the beginning of time, and people are opposed to change, so trying to tell an ignorant computer user that there is a better, more efficient and reliable way is often a waste of time. They still need their floppies.

CD-R's are NOT a replacement for floppies. Most computers DON'T have them, so making document changes are impossible in some cases. The school I went had upgraded hardware so I was able to use my Memory Stick 2 years ago, but come schools/offices are slow to upgrade. The computer at the desk I sit at has the USB port at the BACK of the machine, making it awkward to use a memory stick. I use e-mail and ftp typically anyway.

I just ripped the floppy drive out of my PC at home (I own both a Mac and PC), to install an 80gb hard-drive. If anyone gives me a floppy, I have a USB floppy drive I can use. I bought it when I got my iBook 3 years ago. I think I've used it less than a dozen times.

Floppies will be around for a while, but they are dying. There aren't dead yet. Heck, I've even seen people using 5.25" floppies!

Using audio cassettes as computer data storage? That's dead!

[idkew]

Haha the funny part is I've used 3 different USB sticks, from the 256 to the 1 gig. NONE of them required a driver to use. None of them. Stop spreading the FUD and stereotypes and actually use a PC once in a while before making stuff up.


maybe you are the exception.


i have used two different usb drives on PCs, and both required drivers.

neither did on my mac in 9 or X.

[idkew]

You forgot one:

Is this post nothing but spam?

and yours is what?

[andrewm]

What of thos MiniDiscs (or however the capitalisation works)? Almost twice as large as a CD, I believe (two hours of music to a CD's one or so) and very small, in its own protective caddy. Not anywhere near standard yet, but if used for data--heck, Apple could add a MiniDisc drive the the G6 (or even the G5, in some later incarnation) in an attempt to make it standard; although I admit that their attempt with a Zip drive in the G4s did not work out so well in that regard.

[bennetsaysargh]

Haha the funny part is I've used 3 different USB sticks, from the 256 to the 1 gig. NONE of them required a driver to use. None of them. Stop spreading the FUD and stereotypes and actually use a PC once in a while before making stuff up.

well i actually do use pcs sometimes, but not ones with windows XP, so sorry if i was wrong about it. and i'm not trying to spread fud.

[bennetsaysargh]

Upon closer inspection, I see he just said windows. Now I ask this: Would a USB drive work, without drivers (or respective equal in Mac OS)...in say OS8.6? OS 9? (comparative to 95/98 timeline).

i never had to install nay drivers for it to be recognized in system 9, and i skipped right from system 7.5 to 9.1, so im not sure about system 8.

[gerardrj]

What of thos MiniDiscs (or however the capitalisation works)? Almost twice as large as a CD, I believe (two hours of music to a CD's one or so) and very small, in its own protective caddy. Not anywhere near standard yet, but if used for data--heck, Apple could add a MiniDisc drive the the G6 (or even the G5, in some later incarnation) in an attempt to make it standard; although I admit that their attempt with a Zip drive in the G4s did not work out so well in that regard.

The MiniDisc is a Sony product, in typical Sony fashion it isn't compatible with anything else on the market, hardware or format wise.
A recent upgrade to the format is HD-MD, which allows the disks to hold up to 1GB, vs a CD's 700MB and the vanilla MD's held a paltry 177MB.

If you compare the amount of music you can fit on an MD vs an MP3-CD, the CD will win handily, getting up to 10 hours of rather high quality music. Sony's literature says this about music storage: “Hi-MD” Realizes a Maximum Recording Time of up to 45 Hours of Music, and Raises the Potential for Versatile Storage". It's the "up to" that you have to catch. At 1GB capacity you would have to compress each song down to less than 1.5MB each to fit (average song length 4 minutes).

As for speed, the HD-MD transfer at about the speed of a 8xCD, and the plain MD transfers at about a 1xCD.

Price: BestBuy sells a pack of
15 MD: $25 ($1.60/disc)
50 DVD-R: $50 for 50(on sale for $1 each)
50 CD-R: $17 ($.034)

For speed, cost, built-in driver/support, ubiquity, and open nature, I'll choose CD-R any day.

[requies]

I don't get it. I really don't remember the last time I used a floppy. Even when I bought the original iMac back in August 1998, I bought an external floppy drive, but I don't think I ever actually used it that often.

The one time I need to use floppies is when I want to access data on an old disk or something, and what *REALLY* annoys the heck out of me is that all the USB floppy drives don't read 400K floppies. ARG! I have a game stored on a 400K floppy and I need to find an old Mac with a working floppy drive that can also get access to the internet to send it to me. I have an old IIsi, but the floppy drive is shot.

Oh, well. I'll figure it out sometime.

or you could just download it from here: http://mac.the-underdogs.org/

[wrldwzrd89]

Gosh, I thought floppies were declared dead in 1998, when the original iMac was released. I haven't used floppies very much since then, and try to avoid them whenever possible, preferring to use USB flash drives instead. I have 2 right now - a 64 MB drive and a 128 MB drive. I think USB flash drives have many advantages over floppies: they don't break as easily, they store more data, they access that data faster, and they work on most computers these days. Of course, if you're stuck with a pre-USB system and/or OS, USB flash drives are of no use to you (I happen to have such a system - a PowerMac 7200/75).

[SiliconAddict]

Wow, I didn't even know they made floppies anymore, man are PC's stupid.

Excuse me? More like you are ignorant. Floppies still have their place. It’s still a PITA to try and create a bootable CD when you are in a time crunch. Floppies I simply have to format with the option "Create an MS-DOS startup disk" checkmarked, transfer any system utils I want onto said disk, and I have a useful tool in my hands so much so it’s saved someone's computer when a hard drive has partially crashed.
Even in the NT/2K/XP era with NTFS file system the boot disk is still a very useful tool. There are paid tools out there that will allow me to boot into a NTFS partition and repair a system simply with a floppy. A floppy disk is the easiest low level method of allowing a system to boot to an OS. CD’s can now do it as well but since they are purely ROM based you sometimes run into problems. Thank god for RAM drives in those instances.
From a typical user standpoint ya there are very few uses. From an IT pro standpoint it’s still a valuable tool. And until Windows 9x fully dies off, not for a hell of a long time I’m afraid, the bootdisk is going to remain in the IT pros arsenal of tools.

[SiliconAddict]

well i actually do use pcs sometimes, but not ones with windows XP, so sorry if i was wrong about it. and i'm not trying to spread fud.


Windows 98SE or below required drivers. Windows ME (**Vomits from mentioning the OS**), 2000, and XP all have native support for these thumb drives. Note though that if the manufacturer makes some funky hardware you may still be required to install drives but in that case its the manufacturers fault for being an idiot. :p

[Mav451]

Haha SiliconAddict, I believe if you look around for a post in the past few days, a Mac user says he likes Me more than XP (in relation to usability). I honestly thought he was kidding, but he was dead serious. I'll see if i can find it.

[SiliconAddict]

I think Apple did the right thing by getting rid of floppies, but I think they did it just a little too early. They got rid of them before the computers they were shipping had CD-RW drives.


Apple did it to save some cash. Period. There isn't anything overly innovative by throwing out the floppy. It a pretty good bet it was more of a business decision more then anything else. Lets see:
-The computer looks "cleaner" without a floppy
-Probably saved in development costs by removing a device.
-removing a piece of hardware even $20-$30 is always a good thing.
-One less item that can break on the system.
-and on and on and on.


Apple made a decision to be the first. I don't agree with it since home networking wasn't NEARLY as pervasive as it is today, nor did they have these thumb drives available. Today it makes more sense what with the overwhelming methods on the market to transfer data from A to B. WIFI, BT, CF/SD/Memory Stick cards, PDA’s, iPods, LAN’s, WAN’s, Internet. And one final thing. Data transfer rates have gone through the roof since Apple abandoned the floppy. At the time broadband in the home was still just barley catching on. Today last I heard, I might be wrong, 63% of America is broadband enabled. Sending a file via e-mail, SSH, online disk vault, etc is trivial now a days. This was one of those times Apple was ahead of the game but not in a good way. IMHO of course. :p

[SiliconAddict]

Haha SiliconAddict, I believe if you look around for a post in the past few days, a Mac user says he likes Me more than XP (in relation to usability). I honestly thought he was kidding, but he was dead serious. I'll see if i can find it.

:eek: WTH?!?! Is he a masochist or something? ME crashes more often then most NFL players. My Tosh came with ME. I booted up the first time to register it with Tosh and it....wait for it....BSoDed on me. First boot out of the box it crashed. I mean even for MS that is impressive. After reging it I loaded 2K. Anyone who uses ME enjoys pain. :p

[Nermal]

Today last I heard, I might be wrong, 63% of America is broadband enabled.

Last I heard, less than 20% of Americans had broadband. Maybe the 63% is the amount that can actually get broadband, but I'd expect it to be higher than that (it's in the 90s here).

Edit: Oh yeah, regarding the USB memory sticks and drivers etc, I saw a friend plug his USB stick into a Windows 2000 machine. It automatically detected it, installed the drivers automatically, asked to reboot the computer, copied some more files, then rebooted again :rolleyes:

[wrldwzrd89]

Oh yeah, regarding the USB memory sticks and drivers etc, I saw a friend plug his USB stick into a Windows 2000 machine. It automatically detected it, installed the drivers automatically, asked to reboot the computer, copied some more files, then rebooted again :rolleyes:
Yes, but did it do that every time the USB memory stick was inserted? In an ideal case, Win2K should go through this process only once, then use the installed drivers on subsequent insertions. I use Win2K at work and never had to go through this hardship just to use a USB flash drive (someone in the IT department must have installed the drivers before I got the computer, I suspect).

[Bhennies]

What is a floppy? :p

[Golem]

Excuse me? More like you are ignorant. Floppies still have their place. It’s still a PITA to try and create a bootable CD when you are in a time crunch. Floppies I simply have to format with the option "Create an MS-DOS startup disk" checkmarked, transfer any system utils I want onto said disk, and I have a useful tool in my hands so much so it’s saved someone's computer when a hard drive has partially crashed.



Ahh but you are talking about apple and oranges here. As an "IT Pro" if I build a PC I would chuck a floppy drive in it because the $30 it costs is cheaper than my time and frustration if I ever need a floppy drive to get the P.O.S box working.The fact i would ever need 1 is 100% MS fault:(. As a User the floppy drive is useless and outdated and I would never transfer a file that small.As a software developer I will still keep a floppy drive machine on the network for a long time just like I will keep an OS9 bootable box for next 2-3 years and I still have a nt4,win2000 boxes around in addition to XP for normal use.