Writer breaks down floppy drive history in detail, recalls the good sectors and the bad

There's been a lot of nostalgia circulating around the PC world in the past year, but there's only one element of early home computing history that everyone shares in common: the floppy drive. A guest writer posting at HP's Input Output blog, Steve Vaughan-Nichols, is acknowledging our shared sentimentality with a rare retrospective of those skinny magnetic disks from their beginning to their (effective) end. Many of us are familiar with the floppies that fed our Amigas, early Macs and IBM PCs; Vaughan-Nichols goes beyond that to address the frustrations that led to the first 8-inch floppy at IBM in 1967, the esoteric reasons behind the 5.25-inch size and other tidbits that might normally escape our memory. Don't be sad knowing that the floppy's story ends with a whimper, rather than a bang. Instead, be glad for the look back at a technology that arguably greased the wheels of the PC era, even if it sometimes led to getting more disks than you could ever use. Sorry about that. [Image credit: Al Pavangkanan, Flickr]Filed under: Storage, AltWriter breaks down floppy drive history in detail, recalls the good sectors and the bad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 01:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Reddit  |  Input Output  | Email this | Commentsbetter discount coupons just for instruments 1188 2 microray infrared thermomete better discount coupons just for wallyball suction cups ea buy cheap 2012 amazon better discount coupons to receive otc4743 motorcycle brake caliper spreader buy better discount coupons to receive phoenix systems fascar 1 100 strip strips buy better discounts available for bushwacker 10045 02 pocket style fender buy cheap better discounts just for ford mustang carpet floor mats buy cheap 2012 amazon better discounts just for neiko cordless 24 volt 2 inch impact buy cheap 2012 am better discount to obtain cardone 19 137 remanufactured friction unloaded buy ch better discount to obtain oes genuine holder select models buy cheap 2012 amazon better e coupons on bushwacker 50904 02 dodge extend a fender flare buy cheap 20 better e coupons on pit pal products 129 s universal buy cheap 2012 amazon better electronic coupons of all sales 9201dm door plate buy cheap 2012 amazon better extreme coupons to obtain keysco tools alc33003 portable masker buy cheap better free coupon for many cardone 16 4070 remanufactured brake caliper buy che better free coupon for many shop vac 9621210 professional commercial vacuum buy better free coupons of ingersoll rand 244a 2 2 inch pnuematic extended buy cheap better free coupons online suitable for machine silver 2005 2008 corvette housin better free coupons printable suitable for g floor garage shop floor coverings b better free coupons to otc 6539 1 import truck adapter buy cheap 2012 amazon better free coupons to otc 6539 1 import truck adapter buy cheap 2012 amazon better free coupons to unitec go jack pair buy cheap 2012 amazon better free online coupons for wards natural science est grinder polisher buy ch better free printable coupons at bushwacker 40052 02 chevrolet cut out fender bu better free printable coupons at electric impact wrench metric sockets buy cheap better free printable coupons of performance accessories 6525 guard 78 80 buy ch better free shipping codes of mastercool 90066 a vacuum pump buy cheap 2012 amaz better free shipping codes of precision 875b dual display meter buy cheap 2012 a better google coupons for many ingersoll 2132g 2 inch series impactool buy cheap better highstreet voucher codes on otc 7180 universal bearing installer buy chea better internet coupons at cardone 16 4075 remanufactured domestic caliper buy c