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Is The Floppy Dead?

Background

USB Flash Drives are a small keychain size device that is typically a plug and play device. Meaning it plugs into your USB port and Windows recognizes its presence and makes it available for use immediately. Once you are done with it, you just remove it, put the cover back on, and drop it into your pocket or backpack. Most current models are USB 1.1 but more and more USB 2.0 models are becoming available on the market. Densities range from 16MB (megabytes) all the way up to 1GB and even 2GB (gigabytes). Compared to a floppy's max storage size of 1.44MB that's a huge difference.

Benefits

The most obvious benefit of a USB Flash Drive is its storage size. Even a 16MB drive holds a tremendous amount more in files and pictures and whatever than a floppy drive ever could. Next benefit is the size of the drive itself. Many retailers sell it as a keychain or with a clip to attach it to your shirt pocket like a pen. Most drives are about 2 to 3 inches long, less than 1 inch wide, and just a few centimeters in thickness. Small enough to easily fit into your pocket. As mentioned previously, these drives are just plug and play or another way to look at it is it's hot-swappable. You don't have to reboot your machine to get Windows to recognize it and have it show up and be useable. Another benefit as compared to the floppy drive is protection. I can't think of the number of times I have been unable to read a file on a floppy disk because some foreign object or fingerprint is on the disk. USB Flash Drives are completely protected because the storage area itself is completely contained and closed off from fingers.

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