QUESTION: Does ZIP Have to Replace the Floppy to Become a Standard?
Everyone here (long and short) has taken the view that in order for ZIP to become the standard, they must replace the floppy. I question that.
Is CD-ROM a standard? I believe so. What did it replace? Nothing. Sure, it replaced a small part of the role of a floppy (some software distribution), but nothing got pulled from the box.
If ZIP were in every box, would we still want a floppy? I would. I would use ZIP (or JAZ) for larger things and some offline storage (I use Ditto for full backups, but have more important things like my My Documents folder backed up on ZIP). But for the minimal cost (under $30) of having a 3 1/2" drive in my computer, I wouldn't have it left out. It will still serve a purpose.
Which would I pick if I could only have one? Although not an issue for desktop users (unless they want internal ZIP and JAZ with no floppy), laptop users will likely have to make this decision. I would hope that IOM addresses this with a swappable ZIP. Just like you can put either another hard drive, a 3 1/2, or an extra battery in a laptop bay, make the ZIP (and maybe eventually the JAZ?) a swappable component. If I were forced to choose, though, I would choose ZIP. I use it more.
So, does ZIP have to replace the floppy to become a standard? Just a thought-provoking question that I'd like to hear some opinions on.
- Michael Coley
- i1.net |
