4 ms·
> 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 y
by 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 agoIn 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 agoWhen 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.