Save a few ounces of weight.
Save a few dollars of cost.
Open up 10 or 12 cubic inches of space that can be used for other pur-
poses, including auxiliary batteries or second hard drives.
If you absolutely insist on having a floppy disk drive, you can buy one that
attaches to the all-purpose USB port.
Getting In the Arena: Floppy Disk Mathematics.......................................
Floppy disks, like hard disks (but unlike CDs and DVDs) have a magnetic per-
sonality. They store information in the form of small notes put in place by an
electromagnet. Inside the outer protective case is a circle of plastic (usually
a tough and durable form called Mylar) that is coated with a compound of
ferric oxide, which is a scientific version of powdered rust.
Okay, let me get my metaphors revved up and running. Think of a floppy disk
as a circular arena, with a hole in the middle where your basic Jennifer-
Christina-Madonna-Alicia is ready to pop up and perform on stage. Actually,
that hole has a square opening and an additional rectangular locating slot
that match corresponding pegs on a motor that sits inside the floppy disk
drive. The pegs and the holes mate when the disk is inserted, allowing the
system to automatically orient itself to a starting point.
Now, the arena surrounds the stage with concentric rows of seats. Each row
is a complete circular — the end of one row does not connect into the row
behind it. So, if you can envision this, you’ll see that the rows that are closest
to the center are much shorter (fewer seats) than the ones that are farthest
away.
Dropping the metaphor for a moment: The rows of the arena are the tracksof
a floppy disk. On what is now a standard 1.4MB floppy disk (called a double
density disk), there are 80 tracks.
Back to symbology: The arena has 9, 12, or 18 aisles that radiate out from the
center hole. The aisles split the rows into wedge-shaped sections which make
it easier for buyers to find their seat; their ticket might tell them they are
located in section 18, row 50, and seat 2. In computer terms, the radiating
spokes split the disk into sectors. Again, visualize: The wedge-shaped sector
may have just a handful of storage spaces (seats) at the very point of the
Chapter 8: Floppy Drives: Relics and Memories ........................................................
