The End of the Floppy Era

TechCrunch reported today that Sony (makers of the PS3 and Blu-Ray!) will stop producing floppy discs in March 2011.

As TC states, "Sony rolled out the world?s first 3.5-inch floppy disc back in 1981," before going on to point out that "demand apparently peaked in 1995 and has shrunk more than 90% since."

I'll tell you what, every high school theme I wrote that was worth its salt landed on a floppy at some point.  And if you never knew the joy of receiving an endless stream of AOL sign-up floppy discs in the mail, well then you never lived, my friend.

I'm not sure why the floppy is dying.  Maybe it's that an entire floppy disc can barely hold half of an average MP3 even at the lowest bit rates.  Or maybe its because people got sick of having to pull back the spring-loaded metal casing to blow on the sweet goodness hidden inside.  Or maybe because you can't even find a floppy disc drive outside of the Detroit Public Schools.

I guess society has moved on.  Add floppy discs to a childhood memory, like original Nintendo, economic prosperity and enjoying the NHL.