Here’s a trip down memory lane to the time when software had to be installed by 3.5 inch floppy disks. Microsoft MS-DOS was an operating system for PCs in the 1980s and 1990s. DOS stood for “disk operating system”. By the time CD-ROMs came around, the idea of installing software using floppy disks was already seen as ancient and obsolete. CDs could hold more data and applications could be installed much quicker. But now as we’re in the third decade of the 21st century, CD-ROMs are of course considered prehistoric too.
By the 2000s, many companies removed the floppy disk drive from their laptops. And as time progressed the CD-ROM drive or optical drive was also removed. Nowadays most software is downloaded from the internet, and some companies still make use of USB drives.
Seeing floppy disks can initiate a trip down memory lane, reigniting memories of floppy disk drives attempting to read the contents of a disk, and other memories such as the sound of connecting to the internet with your 28.8k modem and the iconic words, “You’ve got mail.”
While floppy disks are considered a relic of the past, in some circumstances, they still have their uses. In May 2016 the United States Government Accountability Office published a report, Federal Agencies Need to Address Aging Legacy Systems, which revealed that coordination of the “operational functions of the nation’s nuclear forces” still uses 8 inch floppy disks!
