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So have I. But I also remember plenty of floppies that I’ve written data to not even surviving the 30 minute cycle to college back in the 90s. Maybe consumer f

So have I. But I also remember plenty of floppies that I’ve written data to not even surviving the 30 minute cycle to college back in the 90s. Maybe consumer floppies were of a lower quality than published ones? I don’t know if that’s true but I do remember having a really low success rate with consumer floppies (it got so bad I’d often write two floppies just in case).

WalterBright 5y ago
I'd cut a notch in the floppies so I could turn them over and use them. The back sides worked fine, too!
- laumars 5y ago
  I’d have still expected them be writable because unlike CDs, writing a magnetic field isn’t destructive. But what I meant was whether cheap blank disks used a slightly different (cheaper) magnetic alloy with a shorter read/write limit than commercial software where they maybe spent a little more knowing it needed to be read often? I do remember cassettes had different quality magnetic strips but I don’t know if the same was ever true for disks too… so it’s probably bonkers. I’m just throwing some ideas around without much thought. :) It might just be a case that college kid me was less careful with his disks than you were. More recently though, I have unboxed my old collection of 3” (not 3.5” but literally 3 inch) floppies for the Amstrad CPC 464 and they almost all worked despite being nearly 40 years old. So I definitely believe you when you post about your success rate.
  - evilDagmar 5y ago
    It depended on which brands of floppies you bought. Some vendors were more profit-oriented than others and would skimp on the binding agent or just the amount of magnetic material without which the signal can become so weak they could become corrupted by being the the same room as a Wooly Willy.
- noizejoy 5y ago
  That was one of the earliest instances I remember, where superior functionality was shipped with a product but kind of locked up. And like some other such “locks” they were easily defeated.
reaperducer 5y ago
I also remember plenty of floppies that I’ve written data to not even surviving the 30 minute cycle to college back in the 90s. I think stray magnetic fields were more of a problem back then. Fridge magnets, magnetic clasps on wallets and bags, magnetic clasps on notebooks and binders, etc. There were lots of hidden opportunities for corruption. These days, nobody worries about the mag stripe on their credit card getting wiped. But it was an active concern back then.
- easrng 5y ago
  To be fair, basically nobody uses magstripe anymore.
  - reaperducer 5y ago
    Plenty still do. The Home Depots near me don't do chip. They're magstripe only. I'm more annoyed when a store doesn't take Apple Pay. The clerks always seem embarrassed when I ask because I'm sure I'm the 900,000th person to inquire. I find it so odd that the Krogers in two cities I've been to recently don't do contactless payments at all.

WalterBright 5y ago

I'd cut a notch in the floppies so I could turn them over and use them. The back sides worked fine, too!

laumars 5y ago
I’d have still expected them be writable because unlike CDs, writing a magnetic field isn’t destructive. But what I meant was whether cheap blank disks used a slightly different (cheaper) magnetic alloy with a shorter read/write limit than commercial software where they maybe spent a little more knowing it needed to be read often? I do remember cassettes had different quality magnetic strips but I don’t know if the same was ever true for disks too… so it’s probably bonkers. I’m just throwing some ideas around without much thought. :) It might just be a case that college kid me was less careful with his disks than you were. More recently though, I have unboxed my old collection of 3” (not 3.5” but literally 3 inch) floppies for the Amstrad CPC 464 and they almost all worked despite being nearly 40 years old. So I definitely believe you when you post about your success rate.
- evilDagmar 5y ago
  It depended on which brands of floppies you bought. Some vendors were more profit-oriented than others and would skimp on the binding agent or just the amount of magnetic material without which the signal can become so weak they could become corrupted by being the the same room as a Wooly Willy.
noizejoy 5y ago
That was one of the earliest instances I remember, where superior functionality was shipped with a product but kind of locked up. And like some other such “locks” they were easily defeated.

reaperducer 5y ago

I also remember plenty of floppies that I’ve written data to not even surviving the 30 minute cycle to college back in the 90s. I think stray magnetic fields were more of a problem back then. Fridge magnets, magnetic clasps on wallets and bags, magnetic clasps on notebooks and binders, etc. There were lots of hidden opportunities for corruption. These days, nobody worries about the mag stripe on their credit card getting wiped. But it was an active concern back then.

easrng 5y ago
To be fair, basically nobody uses magstripe anymore.
- reaperducer 5y ago
  Plenty still do. The Home Depots near me don't do chip. They're magstripe only. I'm more annoyed when a store doesn't take Apple Pay. The clerks always seem embarrassed when I ask because I'm sure I'm the 900,000th person to inquire. I find it so odd that the Krogers in two cities I've been to recently don't do contactless payments at all.