Does Your Computer Need A Floppy Drive?
Chances are if you read the title of this article, your response if going to be “No” and then you move on but wait, come back and let us really think, does your computer need a floppy drive? Do you have a need to share data with people who may be using older computers or are you ready to leave the old technology behind and move to larger and easier forms of data transfer? Well, for some the floppy still lives today.
The days of computer programs and data being transferred through floppy drives are over. No long will you be forced to install a computer program by using 50 different floppy disks. But what is you have a small data file that you want to give to someone else? Have you considered giving them a floppy disk with the data on it? Probably not.
Determining if your computer truly needs a floppy drive is entirely dependent upon what you use your computer for. If you spend your entire working day on the internet and in email, chances are the thought of sharing a file with other people through a floppy drive does not enter you mind. However, if you spend the day working for a small business that has limited networking abilities, sharing a file through floppy disk may be the best method available.
Sure, there are flashier and more modern methods of data sharing available today but sometimes the easiest and simple answers are the best. I have several clients that are more interested in keeping their computer systems simple then learning how to use a new data sharing tool. Floppy disks are cheep and work for them. In face one customer I worked with recently, had two computers and the employees simply passes the floppy disks back and forth through a window. The system worked and was understandable to the employees and the client and the floppy disks were cheep, so why mess with the system?
Not everyone needs a floppy drive these days, if you really do not have a business or personal need to share data through floppy disks, consider leaving this component out of your computer. USB thumb drives are cheep these days and will hold a lot more data than the old floppy disk ever could. You can purchase blank CDs for pennies a piece as well and chances if you really need to share data with a computer that is not attached to the internet it will have a CDRom Drive.
When you set out to build your next computer, think hard about your need for a floppy drive. While you may have been including the component in computers you build in the past, the need for a floppy drive is no longer as relevant. If you are building a new computer or recommending systems for someone to purchase make sure you actually discuss their data sharing needs to determine if they need the floppy drive. The floppy drive may be on its way to extinction but it only on the endangered list right now.
The days of computer programs and data being transferred through floppy drives are over. No long will you be forced to install a computer program by using 50 different floppy disks. But what is you have a small data file that you want to give to someone else? Have you considered giving them a floppy disk with the data on it? Probably not.
Determining if your computer truly needs a floppy drive is entirely dependent upon what you use your computer for. If you spend your entire working day on the internet and in email, chances are the thought of sharing a file with other people through a floppy drive does not enter you mind. However, if you spend the day working for a small business that has limited networking abilities, sharing a file through floppy disk may be the best method available.
Sure, there are flashier and more modern methods of data sharing available today but sometimes the easiest and simple answers are the best. I have several clients that are more interested in keeping their computer systems simple then learning how to use a new data sharing tool. Floppy disks are cheep and work for them. In face one customer I worked with recently, had two computers and the employees simply passes the floppy disks back and forth through a window. The system worked and was understandable to the employees and the client and the floppy disks were cheep, so why mess with the system?
Not everyone needs a floppy drive these days, if you really do not have a business or personal need to share data through floppy disks, consider leaving this component out of your computer. USB thumb drives are cheep these days and will hold a lot more data than the old floppy disk ever could. You can purchase blank CDs for pennies a piece as well and chances if you really need to share data with a computer that is not attached to the internet it will have a CDRom Drive.
When you set out to build your next computer, think hard about your need for a floppy drive. While you may have been including the component in computers you build in the past, the need for a floppy drive is no longer as relevant. If you are building a new computer or recommending systems for someone to purchase make sure you actually discuss their data sharing needs to determine if they need the floppy drive. The floppy drive may be on its way to extinction but it only on the endangered list right now.
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