To most of us the floppy disk has been dead for some time. However, Sony has still been producing and apparently even selling this old media medium and has recently made a public announcement that they will no longer be manufacturing the floppy diskette.

The floppy disk has been outdated for some time, however it seems that state agencies in particular are fond of holding on to this ancient technology and continue to use the floppy disk for many data storage applications.  The biggest problem with a floppy disk opposed to newer usb, cd and dvd storage is the fact that they are magnetic media and often loose data when they come in close contact with magnetized surfaces.  This can be a huge problem for some people.

So this is your chance to say goodbye to the floppy disk forever.  Sony has finally let us know that it is time to let the days of the floppy come to an end.  May the floppy disk rest in peace.

Here are some more thoughts on the death of the floppy disk and Sony.

Quoted From CNET.com

The days of the 3.5-inch floppy disk are now officially numbered.

Sony, which boasts 70 percent of the anemic market, announced Friday that it would end Japanese sales of the ancient storage medium in March 2011, according to a report in the Mainichi Daily newspaper.

The 3.5-inch floppy was a ubiquitous and necessary component for storing and transferring files between personal computers for nearly three decades. Sony pioneered the 3.5-inch floppy disk in 1981, eventually replacing the 5.25-inch floppy disk that had previously been the popular storage format.

However, as the size of files and programs grew, the floppy disk was pushed aside by inexpensive and larger-format storage medium. Thanks to the creation of storage methods such as CDs, DVDs, Zip, and USB drives, Sony saw its Japanese sales of floppies decline from a record 47 million disks in fiscal 2002 to 12 million in fiscal 2009.

Most other floppy disk manufacturers had long since pulled out of the market, and Sony itself has already ceased sales to most of its overseas markets.

Certainly the writing had been on the walls for years. With the release of the iMac in 1998, Apple was the first computer maker to take the plunge and eliminate the floppy completely. Dell followed suit in 2003 when it dropped the floppy as standard equipment on one of its Dimension desktops.

Tech Bloq finds it hard to believe that people are still using these things, but then again some people are still wearing bell bottom jeans, so I guess anything is possible.

RIP Floppies!

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