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> 5.25-inch minifloppy disk (1976 - early 1990s) I mean, no one ever called it a “mini floppy”. I never heard that term until I visited this website, and I spe

> 5.25-inch minifloppy disk (1976 - early 1990s) I mean, no one ever called it a “mini floppy”. I never heard that term until I visited this website, and I spent more than a decade using 5.25” floppies. I realize they are smaller than 8” floppies, but they were still called floppies.

Tor3 4y ago
They were in fact called mini floppies (or, to be correct, "minifloppy") when they were introduced. You just didn't start using them early enough. The term disappeared relatively early. I'm now looking at an article about Shugart (the floppy drive maker) in the December issue of Byte Magazine, and I quote: "The latest news from Silicon Valley, now confirmed from its source, is the Shugart Associates Minifloppy ["minifloppy" is a Shugart trademark] disk drive for small systems." This is about the new 5 1/4" floppies. I see the term used as late as in the Byte issue about the IBM PC in 1982, and possibly later. It wasn't before the 3.5" floppy arrived that the term completely fell out of use about the 5 1/4" floppy. (Edit: Reworded slightly)
- Tor3 4y ago
  Eh, December issue for 1976, I don't know how I failed to include the year. (Too late to edit original post)
- einr 4y ago
  I see the term used as late as in the Byte issue about the IBM PC in 1982, and possibly later. It wasn't before the 3.5" floppy arrived that the term completely fell out of use about the 5 1/4" floppy. It lived on even longer in marketing and packaging. The image below is of a pack of HD 5,25" disks -- judging by the overall design of it I would wager it's from the very late 80s or early 90s. Still Mini Floppy Disks. https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H881c0843bd37476aa487619ee0ad8c79O.jpg https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H881c0843bd37476aa487619ee0ad8c79...
  - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
    Curiously, that box doesn't mention the disk size at all!
    - einr 4y ago
      It would have been fairly obvious from holding it in your hand at the store ;) It does call itself MD2-HD which is the abbreviation for Mini Disk, 2 sided, High Density. Mini disk here means 5.25". 3.5" disks were MF "Micro Floppy", as in MF2-DD or MF2-HD.
- michaelcampbell 4y ago
  > It wasn't before the 3.5" floppy arrived that the term completely fell out of use about the 5 1/4" floppy. I guess it depends on which audience or circles you ran in. I'll admit to have not gotten into computing until 1981, and then as a teen, but in that time, at that place (US, South), in my audience... literally no one used the term "minifloppy". And by "3.5" floppy arrived..." I'm using the phrase to mean in use by something the consumer might see and be able to buy; not "invented". I had an original 1984 Mac hot off the shelf as soon as it was available, and that's the "arrived" point for me.
  - Tor3 4y ago
    In 1984 you would indeed see ads for the Macintosh, with its glorious 3.5" drives. And yes, people in general wouldn't use the term "minifloppy" in normal conversation (except, possibly, old-timers mostly used to "real" floppies, the 8" ones. But even I wouldn't, even though I - just barely - started using computers and floppies before the invention of 5 1/4" drives), you wouldn't say "Please hand me the minifloppy". Just ".. the floppy". You don't use a long term when a short will do. But, as einr said, it lived on for longer in marketing and packaging.
  - TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
    > I guess it depends on which audience or circles you ran in This matches my experience, too. East Coast USA late 70s and early 80s. We called them disks, diskettes, and floppies. i didn't know anyone with the 8" variety, and 3.5" came later.
    - michaelcampbell 4y ago
      When I started it was all 5 1/4"s, and those were "floppies" to me and my peers. I never used an 8", but I have seen one firsthand. Friend of mine from high school had one as his father had some sort of older machine at home that used them. It looked (to me) comically large.
bdhcuidbebe 4y ago
we called the 3,5” floppy fisks and the 5,25 flappy fisks (fladderdisk), 80s sweden
- mikaraento 4y ago
  Korppu (hard cracker/bread) and lerppu (floppy) in 80s-90s Finland :)
- beAbU 4y ago
  We called the 5.25 models "floppy/floppy disks/floppies" 3.5 models were called "stiffy/stiffies" because they were, you know, stiffer than floppies. 80s and 90s South Africa.
TonyTrapp 4y ago
I remember the term being printed on the wrappers the floppies came in, like this: https://wundery-uploads-production.imgix.net/18634a79-e47e-4ea0-b2d7-0e6fa694abfe/189ee8f7.jpg?w=800 https://wundery-uploads-production.imgix.net/18634a79-e47e-4... It may not be the colloquial name but it surely was used. And of course only knowing 5.25s and 3.5s, it sure looked weird that the bigger one was called "mini".
- einr 4y ago
  Similarly 3.5" disks were formally called "micro floppy disks" and often used to often be called that on packaging though, so it all makes sense: minicomputer/microcomputer <-> mini floppy/micro floppy ;) https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ymoAAOSwo8Zizjse/s-l1600.jpg https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ymoAAOSwo8Zizjse/s-l1600.jpg
leidenfrost 4y ago
Remember when we called non-56k internet "broadband"?
dmitrybrant 4y ago
I haven't heard this term, either. I've always heard 5.25" floppies referred to as "diskettes", because they were a smaller diminutive version of 8" disks.

Tor3 4y ago

They were in fact called mini floppies (or, to be correct, "minifloppy") when they were introduced. You just didn't start using them early enough. The term disappeared relatively early. I'm now looking at an article about Shugart (the floppy drive maker) in the December issue of Byte Magazine, and I quote: "The latest news from Silicon Valley, now confirmed from its source, is the Shugart Associates Minifloppy ["minifloppy" is a Shugart trademark] disk drive for small systems." This is about the new 5 1/4" floppies. I see the term used as late as in the Byte issue about the IBM PC in 1982, and possibly later. It wasn't before the 3.5" floppy arrived that the term completely fell out of use about the 5 1/4" floppy. (Edit: Reworded slightly)

Tor3 4y ago
Eh, December issue for 1976, I don't know how I failed to include the year. (Too late to edit original post)
einr 4y ago
I see the term used as late as in the Byte issue about the IBM PC in 1982, and possibly later. It wasn't before the 3.5" floppy arrived that the term completely fell out of use about the 5 1/4" floppy. It lived on even longer in marketing and packaging. The image below is of a pack of HD 5,25" disks -- judging by the overall design of it I would wager it's from the very late 80s or early 90s. Still Mini Floppy Disks. https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H881c0843bd37476aa487619ee0ad8c79O.jpg https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H881c0843bd37476aa487619ee0ad8c79...
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  Curiously, that box doesn't mention the disk size at all!
  - einr 4y ago
    It would have been fairly obvious from holding it in your hand at the store ;) It does call itself MD2-HD which is the abbreviation for Mini Disk, 2 sided, High Density. Mini disk here means 5.25". 3.5" disks were MF "Micro Floppy", as in MF2-DD or MF2-HD.
michaelcampbell 4y ago
> It wasn't before the 3.5" floppy arrived that the term completely fell out of use about the 5 1/4" floppy. I guess it depends on which audience or circles you ran in. I'll admit to have not gotten into computing until 1981, and then as a teen, but in that time, at that place (US, South), in my audience... literally no one used the term "minifloppy". And by "3.5" floppy arrived..." I'm using the phrase to mean in use by something the consumer might see and be able to buy; not "invented". I had an original 1984 Mac hot off the shelf as soon as it was available, and that's the "arrived" point for me.
- Tor3 4y ago
  In 1984 you would indeed see ads for the Macintosh, with its glorious 3.5" drives. And yes, people in general wouldn't use the term "minifloppy" in normal conversation (except, possibly, old-timers mostly used to "real" floppies, the 8" ones. But even I wouldn't, even though I - just barely - started using computers and floppies before the invention of 5 1/4" drives), you wouldn't say "Please hand me the minifloppy". Just ".. the floppy". You don't use a long term when a short will do. But, as einr said, it lived on for longer in marketing and packaging.
- TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
  > I guess it depends on which audience or circles you ran in This matches my experience, too. East Coast USA late 70s and early 80s. We called them disks, diskettes, and floppies. i didn't know anyone with the 8" variety, and 3.5" came later.
  - michaelcampbell 4y ago
    When I started it was all 5 1/4"s, and those were "floppies" to me and my peers. I never used an 8", but I have seen one firsthand. Friend of mine from high school had one as his father had some sort of older machine at home that used them. It looked (to me) comically large.

bdhcuidbebe 4y ago

we called the 3,5” floppy fisks and the 5,25 flappy fisks (fladderdisk), 80s sweden

mikaraento 4y ago
Korppu (hard cracker/bread) and lerppu (floppy) in 80s-90s Finland :)
beAbU 4y ago
We called the 5.25 models "floppy/floppy disks/floppies" 3.5 models were called "stiffy/stiffies" because they were, you know, stiffer than floppies. 80s and 90s South Africa.

TonyTrapp 4y ago

I remember the term being printed on the wrappers the floppies came in, like this: https://wundery-uploads-production.imgix.net/18634a79-e47e-4ea0-b2d7-0e6fa694abfe/189ee8f7.jpg?w=800 https://wundery-uploads-production.imgix.net/18634a79-e47e-4... It may not be the colloquial name but it surely was used. And of course only knowing 5.25s and 3.5s, it sure looked weird that the bigger one was called "mini".

einr 4y ago
Similarly 3.5" disks were formally called "micro floppy disks" and often used to often be called that on packaging though, so it all makes sense: minicomputer/microcomputer <-> mini floppy/micro floppy ;) https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ymoAAOSwo8Zizjse/s-l1600.jpg https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ymoAAOSwo8Zizjse/s-l1600.jpg

leidenfrost 4y ago

Remember when we called non-56k internet "broadband"?

dmitrybrant 4y ago

I haven't heard this term, either. I've always heard 5.25" floppies referred to as "diskettes", because they were a smaller diminutive version of 8" disks.