When did you stop using floppy disks? Are you too young to have ever used a floppy disk? Do you wonder what the hell is the thing in that icon that you tap on to save things? Some people, of course, are still using them. And, the BBC reports, there are many who have no choice.
There are also those who depend on them. Various legacy industrial and government systems around the world still use floppy disks. Even some city transport systems run on them. And while these users are slowly dying out, a handful cling on, despite the fact that the last brand new floppy disk manufactured by Sony was back in 2011. No-one makes them anymore, meaning there is a finite number of floppy disks in the world – a scattered resource that is gradually dwindling. One day, they might disappear entirely. But not yet.
I really like the form of the 3.5" floppy. I think it'll have another technostalgic renaissance soon. The smallest phones are about 3 cubic inches; a floppy is just shy of 2. A phone that looks like a floppy disk! That you can fling like shuriken!
There are thumbdrives in the shape of floppy disks you can buy, albeit pitched as bulk marketing products. More hackingly, check out 66Mhz Brain's SSD floppy:
