3.5 Floppy Discs

A little more than 8 years ago, I bought a Dell Dimension 4600. When talking to the order-taker over the phone, he asked me if I wanted a floppy disc drive. I said, "Of course I wanted a floppy disc drive." So I got one. But even then it was pretty much behind the times, as I hadn't realized. Flash drives (or memory sticks, they are called by a variety of names) were coming in and rendered the need for the floppies obsolete. But I hadn't heard of 'em.

I haven't bought floppy discs for more than 10 years - I'd had a lot of them. Just unearthed the ones in the enclosed picture out of a box. Tried to give them to the flea market man who is taking my VHS tapes (after I've copied their contents onto DVD-R) and he wouldn't take them, and suggested the trask. So into the trash they go.

Originally, IMB computers used 5-and-a-half-inch floppies, a floppy disc sealed in black plastic. The Macintosh used the smaller 3-and-a-half inch floppies, which were encased in hard plastic. Then the IBMs and compatibles got rid of the 5-inchers and started using the 3-inchers as well.

The floppy discs evolved. First they were single sided, to handle the needs of the earliest Macintoshes. Then they became double-sided. Then they became HD - high density, and computers were sold that could only use them, so of course the earlier models - and the data on them - became inaccessible.