floppy disks, as an innovation example
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FLOPPY DİSKSAs an
innovation example
Nejat Kutup
Some facts• The floppy disk was once
ubiquitous.
• More than five billion were sold per year worldwide at its peak in the mid-1990s.
• Now, the little plastic packages are a fast-fading memory.
Some factsYet the floppy disk will be counted as a singular advance in computing history.
Floppies helped enable the PC revolution and the emergence of an independent software industry that now includes more than 10,000 companies.
A quote“It turned out to be one of
the most influential product introductions ever in the
industry,” says Jim Porter, disk drive
analyst.
History, invention, evolution, diffusion
HistoryThe floppy got its start at IBM’s data storage works in San Jose, California.
In 1967, a small team of engineers under the leadership of David L. Noble started working on developing a reliable and inexpensive system for loading instructions and installing software updates into mainframe computers.
History
The big machines were already equipped with hard disk drives, also invented by IBM engineers, but people used paper punched punch cards for data entry and software programming.
Punch cards
HistoryThe big machines were already equipped with hard disk drives, also invented by IBM engineers, but people used paper punched cards for data entry and software programming.
HistoryThe team considered using magnetic tape first, but then, in a project code-named “Minnow,” they switched to using a flexible Mylar disk coated with magnetic material.
That could be inserted through a slot into a disk drive mechanism and spun on a spindle.
HistoryAfter trying several different options, the team came up with a flexible disk coated with magnetic material.
The original disk had the capacity of 3000 punched cards.
Another quote
“I had no idea how important it would become and how
widespread,”
recalls Warren L. Dalziel, the lead inventor of the floppy
disk drive.
IBMIBM made floppy disk drives for many years, and it continued to innovate.
In 1984, it introduced the high density floppy disk for the PC, which could store 1.2 megabytes of data—capacious at the time.
It produced the 3-½ inch floppy drives that became the mainstay of computing in the 1990s.
Then, as the profit margins for floppy drives shrank, IBM got out of the business.
The EndIn April 2010, Sony, the only company still producing floppy disks, announced it would stop manufacturing them in March 2011.
In response to this announcement, BBC News Magazine asked readers how they use floppy disks today.
Many people responded that they still use floppy disks to update or back up old systems, but others have found more unique uses as drink coasters, spatulas, ice scrapers and clothing accessories.
İMPACTSCompany Logo
Ease of use •When introduced by IBM in 1971, the floppy disk made it possible to easily load software and updates onto mainframe computers.
• As the technology evolved and personal computers became popular, the floppy disk enabled people to share data and programs more easily.
• An office worker could save documents on a disk at the end of the day and load them onto his home computer to finish up that night. A college student could save her research paper on a floppy disk and submit it to her professor to read and grade on his office computer.
MORE İMPACTSCompany Logo
Storage Capacity
• Floppy drives can be used to store documents, graphics-rich files, music, photos, software applications and utility programs.
Portability• Extremely lightweight and compact,
highly portable and can be easily carried in a pocket or a wallet/purse by frequent travelers, mobile workers, academicians, IT technicians, students.
• People weren’t tied to a specific computer anymore. They could easily transfer data and programs from one machine to another.
Work habits• It truly revolutionized the way
people worked, and quickly became the most widely used storage medium for small systems.
Backup and Promotions• Back-up Storage Medium
• Promotional Purposes
Today • Although floppy disks are not used
often in today’s world of gigabytes and terabytes, some companies and individuals still rely on them to update or back up older systems.
• For others, floppy disks have become a common feature in recycled art.
Today
And the icon of a floppy disk remains
the universal symbol for saving files.
THANK YOU