How many of you remember the “sneakernet” days of using floppy disks? At first, the Apple ][ world had 5.25-inch disks that were truly floppy. Then we moved up to 3.5-inch squares that held more, were smaller, but weren’t floppy anymore. Believe it or not, you can still get those relics from the past from that ultimate retailer, Amazon.
We Don’t Have Floppy Drives Anymore, Jeff
Yes, I know, Macs don’t come with floppy disk drives, and haven’t for quite some time. Believe it or not, companies still make them. You can get a pretty sleek-looking 3.5-inch floppy drive that plugs into your USB port for under $15 right now, and it even includes Prime shipping.
Okay, So Are These Floppy Disks New or Used?
That’s a tough one to peg, because Amazon doesn’t really say. Most of the 3.5-inch floppy disks on Amazon are listed as being discontinued by the manufacturer, and the boxes look a bit beat up. Take a look at this 10-pack by Imation, for example.
On the other hand, there are some 5.25-inch floppy disks listed as being brand spanking new. I was able to find this listing on Amazon for a 10-pack of high density 5.25-inch floppies described as “vintage,” which they definitely are.
More Choices Than I’d Imagine
There are lots of listings for floppy disks and drives on Amazon. Just searching for “floppy disk” yields 4,459 results. Pretty amazing, for an accessory that hasn’t really been used in more than a decade.
Well, I repair and refurbish old Macs (and also PC) that I get from friend’s attics mostly and a good floppy disk is always essential for really old hardware. Nothing strange in having them still on sale.
I just recently sold a Mac LC with original monitor after a bit of servicing. Nice machine really, easy to open and service even after all this time.
Cheers
Yes, but they do they sell disk notchers so that Apple II users can use both side? 😀
Very, very few people need floppy disks or a floppy disk drive nowadays. The ones who need them _really_ need them. So I’m quite sure that if you sell these items, you have no competition, and you can charge what you like. Easy money, just not very much of it.
I suppose the typewriters will be bought by movie directors making movies that play in the 80’s or 90’s to create a realistic office of the time, for example.
You haven’t lived until you had to use an 8-inch floppy disk! I used to love the LSI 11-03 with the dual 8-inch floppies. That was a great machine, better than CP/M! I found new-old stock on eBay at https://www.ebay.com/itm/222146371353
Speaking of DEC, can’t forget the PDP 8 that we had to boot and load by paper tape! https://www.ebay.com/itm/172600645882
But I couldn’t find DECTape, which is not a disk but a tape that acted like a disk!
Yes, I grew up with DEC and IBM hardware. That was cool stuff!
I keep a USB Floppy Drive handy.
Don’t know when I’ll need it next, but it’s there against the day I do…
I also have a SE/30 that can access HFS (and even MFS ?) formatted floppies…..
(The SE/30 has a network connection (Ethernet in the PDS Slot))
They have a nice assortment of typewriters too, including a classic Royal Manual!
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=typewriters