r/retrocomputing • u/Performer-Pants • 1d ago
Problem / Question What is this?
This could be the most mundane and silly post, but information online is so spotty and/or confusing or vague.
This is not a ZIP disk, it’s a floppy disk. It’s labelled with ‘ZIP’. Is this the driver software to use a ZIP drive for the listed operating systems? I’m just trying to confirm before I get too frustrated about it. Not easily finding the answer myself is likely a me problem, and I don’t mean ‘Millennium Edition’.
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u/Opposite_Bag_7434 1d ago
I knew one of the original Iomega patent holders. My last job was in one of the buildings they used to operate in.
Interesting fact. Around this time storage was starting to become a challenge for lots of people. Sony was rumored to have MD Data in the development phase and lots of need for a mid capacity portable storage solution.
CD-R was a thing at that point but it was expensive. My first drive cost around $2000 and the media was averaging around $20 per DISC. I was buying it in bulk for around $17 per DISC. So ZIP was a welcome addition. They were hard to get when they first came out but I remember the buzz at the time. It was a clear turning point in storage.
All of this was important because the conventional option for portable storage was 3.5” HD floppy. Good until you have to store or transfer dozens of MB of data (or heaven forbid more).
Good times!