Floppy Disk Definition
Now, finding a floppy disk is a rarity that you can encounter in someone’s attic or markets with retro things, but these items used to be in high demand in different walks of life. A floppy disk is a portable media storage designed for repeated recording and data storage, located in a protective plastic case—a flexible magnetic disk covered with a ferromagnetic layer.
It became extremely popular as one of the most widely used devices for data storage during the 1970s to 2000s. That is why floppy disks were widely applied to store different data.
The first floppy disk had relatively low memory size, usually 8 inches and only as large as 1.2 megabytes. The smaller versions came out over time with a significant flow, such as the 5.25-inch and current 3.5-inch versions.
For example, they both had volume from as low as 720 kilobytes to as high as 1.44 megabytes. Because while CDs and DVDs were very powerful and intuitive, their power match came with a much more convenient storage medium—supplemented by flash drives and cloud services—floppy disks no longer topped the list.
How were floppy disks used?
Speaking of today, there are not many ways you can use these items as, whatever you need, you can download from the Internet. However, about 30-40 years ago, they were vital for many businesses, institutions and regular users, because they gave opportunities to:
- Sell and spread software. Owing to the ability to store information, floppy disks could be sold to households that, in return, served as a great booster of the industry. It empowered IT companies to develop more utilities and drive revenue.
- Redefine diagnostic. Apart from releasing new applications, development companies created tools that allowed them to repair computers, scan them to detect threats and viruses and so on.
- Store and transfer information. Businesses and private users had the chance to save their information, such as texts, photos, videos. That’s how people could reduce storage spaces and keep important information safe.
- Entertain. With the appearance of disks, the game industry received the needed boost to flourish. There weren’t games with good graphics, but it was the start of future improvement. The disks usually needed to be flipped from one side to the other due to low memory.
- Educate. Floppy disks made it possible for students to create projects at home and share them with their teachers. Educators, at the same time, could distribute lessons, make recordings and videos for better understanding.
Interesting facts about floppy disks
As they became history, we can now highlight some significant details about these storage tools you may never have heard about before.
- IBM invented floppy disks. This invention was done in San Jose by David L. Noble’s team. Between initial research and the first presentation, 4 years passed.
- At first, the creators didn’t understand the scale and importance of their invention. They were directed at replacing punched cards utilized in programming back then. One disk could be used instead of 3000 cards.
- The concept of a disk and its realization are perceived by many as the beginning of the software industry.
We can say that floppy disks were the spark that enabled the scale of digitalization we have and that they became a part of the tech legacy.