From floppy to SuperDisk

2002/03/31 Mendiburu, Joana - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Multimedia
• Periferikoak

Reduced floppy capacity

The capacity of a floppy disk is 1.44 Megabytes (Mb). A character, in theory, without extra layouts takes about 8 hit. This means that 500 pages of 3,000 characters can access a floppy disk (3,000. 500 = 1.5Mb). It's not a little, but multimedia asks for much more than that.

On a floppy, for example, it is impossible to record a song that lasts more than a minute and a half or 640. Store a photo with more than 480 pixels in Tiff format. Therefore, for those who not only use the computer to write texts, the floppy disk is of little value.

In addition, although PC computers still have a floppy disk reader, Macintosh disappeared long ago and, therefore, if a friend leaves a floppy disk, it is better not to have Macintosha at home. It is also true that through the Internet more and more information is sent back and forth, but other solutions are needed.

In addition, the function of the floppy disk and its substitutes is not only to transport information from one side to the other, but they are also very useful for lightening the hard drive. At the floppy disk, therefore, old age has arrived earlier than expected and the most prosperous time of its spare parts, its zips (100 and 250) and SuperDisks has arrived.

Individual advantages

The Zip 100 floppy was replaced by the market in 1995, and since the diskette capacity was insufficient, so it had no difficulty absorbing the market. He achieved great success and is currently integrated into several Macintosh. The price of the zip 100 is 13.57 euros, being the cheapest having the lowest capacity in the spare parts. But proportionally the Zip 100 is more expensive than the rest – each Mb costs 0.13 euros.

The Zip 250 has been on the market for a year and replaces the Zip 100 directly. Its shape is more rounded than the zip 100, being the main change the design. Easier to transport than the previous one. However, even if you change shape, you can read the Zip 100 recordings. As for the recording speed, there are no differences between the two.

The market clearly bets on these two zips. Recording the information in a Zip 100 almost certainly you go wherever you go, you will not have any problem reading it. About the Zip 250 still can not be said as much, since it is mostly used by professionals.

Despite the success of the zips, the SuperDisk 240 is the only substitute able to read the old diskettes, so it was thought that it would be the right substitute. But the course of the market has not changed. The new reader is able to record up to 22 times more information than the usual reader. Thus, only 1.44 Mb could be recorded on the disk.

This capacity is due to the compressive capacity of the information. Those before the SuperDisk already had that capacity, but it is clear that it is not as good argument as to get the top positions in sales. Not at least enough to justify its slowness.

While Zip 100 and 250 record 10 Mb in five seconds, the SuperDisk takes ten times longer. And while it is true that it can record 32 Mb on a floppy disk, it takes 3 minutes to record 10 Mb!

It is not surprising, therefore, that in these times when speed is the main argument for good sales, compression capacity is not successful.

New changes in sight

The old floppy had long passed that it had to give, and although some of its substitutes have had a great success, soon it will be time to retire. The names of the novelties that will revolutionize this field of computing are already known: One of them is the DataPlay.

The DataPlay minidiskettes and their corresponding recorder/reader were presented last January at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. They will be available on the market during the first quarter of the year. The main novelty, as its name suggests, is the size of the floppy disk. The floppy is slightly larger than the size of a water bottle.

DataPlay is a large capacity minidisk that can be used on the peripheries of computers, such as digital photo and video cameras. The DataPlay will have two versions, a capacity of 250 Mb of 5 euros and 500 Mb sold to 12 euros. It is clear that we are still far from the limits of computing.

Zip 100Zip 250SuperDiskaDisketeaCD-ROMaStorage capacity 100 Mb250 Mb240 Mb1,44 Mb650- 800 Mb Average support price 13,50 E18,10 E15 E0,38 E1,07 Mb 650Mb/800 Average support price for other 120MacPcsMackms recording

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