# Dell



## BBenve (Feb 7, 2003)

Dell announced today that they will stop shipping machines with floppy drive....they describe this as a huge breaktrough........well.... guess who  did it first ?? lol
They are going to ship 16 MB flash drive instead of the 1.44 Floppy drive...(smart idea here though...i love flash USB drives)

Let's be all happy someone is Making HISTORY here......by...2eh em" copyiing someone and describing it as a breaktrough...


YAYYY go dell....why don't you copy something else now??
What about...SuperDrive??


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## MisterMe (Feb 7, 2003)

> _Originally posted by BBenve _
> *....
> They are going to ship 16 MB flash drive instead of the 1.44 Floppy drive...(smart idea here though...i love flash USB drives)
> 
> .... *


16 MB is not nearly enough. A good rule of thumb is that removeable storage should have enough capacity to boot the computer. You may use other criteria. However, it is difficult to see how 16 MB can meet any of them.


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## lurk (Feb 7, 2003)

I believe that it is a USB dongle so you could not boot from it if you wanted to.  There is a bootable CD/DVD/Whatever for the purpose of getting the thing up and running. 

I figure the flash dongle is for sneaker net file transfers more than anything else.  I have been known to put files on my USB camera to transfer them off my PB to a PC cause it was just the most convenient thing to do at the time.

-Eric


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## MisterMe (Feb 7, 2003)

> _Originally posted by lurk _
> *I believe that it is a USB dongle so you could not boot from it if you wanted to.  There is a bootable CD/DVD/Whatever for the purpose of getting the thing up and running.
> 
> I figure the flash dongle is for sneaker net file transfers more than anything else.  I have been known to put files on my USB camera to transfer them off my PB to a PC cause it was just the most convenient thing to do at the time.
> ...


It is a good idea to have a disk that can boot your specific configuration. As for sneaker net, I used 1.44-Base-floppy to transport files from work to home. As my files became larger and larger, that was no longer possible. Fortunately, I got a new computer at work that sported a ZIP drive. I added a ZIP drive to my home computer and I was set. 100-Base-ZIP drive still serves me well. A 16 MB drive cannot cut it, at least not for me in 2003. It is very much yesterday's technology tomorrow.


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## GulGnu (Feb 7, 2003)

"Let's be all happy someone is Making HISTORY here......by...2eh em" copyiing someone and describing it as a breaktrough... "

Given the cheapness of floppy drives, and the amount of legacy drivers and software that was on floppy, holding off on eliminating the floppies was probably a wise move. Hell, if you are a PC owner who didn't want a floppy, you can always just poke the bugger out. 

"YAYYY go dell....why don't you copy something else now?? 
What about...SuperDrive??"

Dell has been offering 4X DVD / CDRW burners for quite some time. 

Regards / GulGnu

-Stabil som fan!


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## Stridder44 (Feb 7, 2003)

The floppy is dead. It died a long time ago. I dont loke floppys. I am very much against them. Im glad to see dell doing this, but it doesnt change the fact the Apple had the brains to do it first. Therefor, go Apple!


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## Gregita (Feb 7, 2003)

Macnn.com bundled this with news that Microsoft may have to lower software prices due to the popularity of the open source community. The readers had a field day with it...One suggested that Michael Dell do what he said Apple should have done years ago: liquidate everything and give the money back to the stockholders.  I think when the cd-r and cd-r drive were released,  it was only a matter of time before floppies vanished. Some computer companies (okay, well one) realized that years ago.


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## chevy (Feb 7, 2003)

they should include a ZIP instead of Floppy... much easier.


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## mr. k (Feb 7, 2003)

a zip drive is almost exactly the same as a floppy, but zip disks are more expenseve and can hold some more.  I think a 16mb drive is a great ides.  Nobody uses floppies to boot from, or install programs.... you would use them to carry little files to your friends house, to transfer your paper to another computer when your printer gets wrecked the night before its due etc... 16mb flash serves theese purposes perfectly, and i wouldnt mind a little usb drive.


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## ApeintheShell (Feb 7, 2003)

MisterMe does have a point though. People used to boot Windows 3.1 - 98 off of floppy disks. Which means one should have a larger place to store these such as a cd. This usb flash drive is going to be good for a while but most pc people need to exchange their warez in at least 100 mb. Besides, if dell has had dvd/ cd-rw for a while than what usefulness does it have other than warez?
by the way, i recall sun microsystems using the cd-rw long before smell.


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## jeb1138 (Feb 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by GulGnu _
> *Given the cheapness of floppy drives, and the amount of legacy drivers and software that was on floppy, holding off on eliminating the floppies was probably a wise move.*


Yes, because:
1.  Dell is a follower, not a leader.
2.  Dell's boxes are so huge that they could include a legacy hamster & wheel to turn the fan and no one would notice.


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## GulGnu (Feb 8, 2003)

1. Dell is a follower, not a leader. 
2. Dell's boxes are so huge that they could include a legacy hamster & wheel to turn the fan and no one would notice. 

1. Since when is removing functionality that comes really cheap a huge step in the right direction?

2. Mmm. That's nice when it's time to expand em. 

Regards / GulGnu

-Stabil som fan!


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## jeb1138 (Feb 8, 2003)

1.  Yes.
2.  No.

Please see dancing Hamster above.



(sorry, I'm really just tired of debates like these, and my hamster post above was meant to be made in good Apple-loving humor.  I just followed that persistent knee-jerk need to respond.  )


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## kanecorp (Feb 8, 2003)

i wish delll wasn't doing this, its a bad move.
i need my floppy drives on my PCs


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## Darkshadow (Feb 8, 2003)

It's not like you couldn't buy one separately.  They're still around.

'Sides, this doesn't effect you any unless you are actually about to buy a Dell anyway.


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## vanguard (Feb 8, 2003)

It's so lame to rip on Dell for doing this.  I knew the people on this board would poke at Dell for doing something that Apple did first.

When Apple removed the drive the most popular accessory for the iMac was a floppy drive.  Doesn't that make Apple out of touch?

I can't remember the last time I used a drive.  I tend to have good network connectivity everywhere.  So it's probably time to remove the drive now.  Does this make Dell bad?  I think it means that they have good timing.

Yeah, Dell doesn't really innovate, that's true.  Apple's innovation is only skin deep, that's true too.

Vanguard


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## dlloyd (Feb 8, 2003)

Ooooo vanguard, I sense a flame-war coming for that last comment you made. Watch your back!


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## Nummi_G4 (Feb 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by dlloyd _
> *Ooooo vanguard, I sense a flame-war coming for that last comment you made. Watch your back!  *



But he is right.  The floppy was going to phase out anyway. Who cares is Apple did it first.

Adding a zip drive would be an OK idea... but I think that zip will be going the way of floppy in a few years anyway.


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## mightyjlr (Feb 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by vanguard _
> *It's so lame to rip on Dell for doing this.  I knew the people on this board would poke at Dell for doing something that Apple did first.
> 
> When Apple removed the drive the most popular accessory for the iMac was a floppy drive.  Doesn't that make Apple out of touch?
> ...



Well, I wouldn't rip Dell for removing the 3.5 drive.  I think it is a good move.  Yes, Apple did it early... but SOMEONE had to do it.  I don't however think it was too early.  Apple is almost single-handedly responsible for the popularity of USB and firewire.  They also had a lot to do with making other forms of media, such as CDR and CD-RW popular.  You hear a lot of people talk about Apple being innovative.   They certainly are.  I wouldn't call everything they do innovative though.  Much of it can be attributed to Apple being willing to take risks.  Removing a floopy drive isn't really that innovative.  It is a risk no one was willing to take for a looong time however.


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## symphonix (Feb 9, 2003)

Dell have just announced another move that might be seen by the Mac faithful as "following" apple: They will now be offering wireless networking as standard on some of their laptops, with the antenna built-in! I can see the flamewar starting already: "Welcome to Macintosh '99!"   ;-)


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## fryke (Feb 9, 2003)

Okay, so Dell was second to remove the floppy drive (or third or fourth). Did you expect them to say "Today we're following Apple..." or "We're sorry but we have to remove..."? Of _course_ they're pushing this as a step towards the future. And if you say Apple is not a PC maker (as in Windows compatible), Dell might just be the first (first big one at least) to do so. Let's not care too much about Dell but concentrate on Apple. I think it's time Apple thinks about modularity on PowerMac systems. Firewire is cool, but the towers should have better internal options. What about a removable-harddrive-solution that could be shared with Xserve? (Not the solution Xserve has now, but a total FireWire800 solution...) Imagine a slot for harddrive modules that only have a Firewire800 connector. You can attach them externally, if you want, but you also can just pop them into the drive bay (that could also take other modules that connect via Firewire)... Hmm... not too bad, that idea, I think...


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## Cat (Feb 9, 2003)

Modular laptop systems would come in handy too, as an option. 

Want extra storage? Pop in that second HD.

Don't want an optical drive? You can always separately purchase one later.

Want a lighter laptop? Take out HD and optical drive, carry it with you and boot it up from your iPod or use it as a portable terminal (Tablets would be easier for this).


What would be a great idea, is being able to use all the separate parts of your laptop as modules: lift off the keyboard for use at home, where your *Book is on a stand or lift out the trackpad and use it as your mouse, click off the screen and position it were you like. All of this can be done with existing technology, either wirelessly or wiredly. The only question would be whether it would be profitable, i.e. what would it cost, what would it yield (if there is a market at all)?

Seeing that a lot of people use their laptops as desktop replacement, and use it literally on their desk, with an external mouse, keyboard and monitor, I think there would be a market. Costs wouldn't need to be more than 10-15% higher for a completely modular laptop, IMHO (need to do some more research for this).


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## kanecorp (Feb 9, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Darkshadow _
> *It's not like you couldn't buy one separately.  They're still around.
> 
> 'Sides, this doesn't effect you any unless you are actually about to buy a Dell anyway.  *



well i do buy dells...
i have 5


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## fryke (Feb 9, 2003)

yep, but even if 90% of us would have two or three Dells besides our Macs, this would still be a Mac OS X centered forum (hence its name).


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## legacyb4 (Feb 9, 2003)

Well, if you are using Norton Ghost to ghost an office full of PCs for an OS upgrade, a bootable floppy is pretty darn handy...

DOS plus the ghost.exe and related files fit just within the confines of a 1.44 HD floppy!

There are *some* advantages to having cheap, disposable storage...



> _Originally posted by mr. K _
> *Nobody uses floppies to boot from, or install programs.... you would use them to carry little files to your friends house, to transfer your paper to another computer when your printer gets wrecked the night before its due etc... 16mb flash serves theese purposes perfectly, and i wouldnt mind a little usb drive. *


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## BitWit (Feb 9, 2003)

email killed the floppy. You can zip and WEBmail the contents of a floppy in almost the same transfer time. I stopped using my floppy long before Apple excluded them from thier machines. Everyone survived the death of 5-1/2 disks!


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## symphonix (Feb 10, 2003)

> Everyone survived the death of 5-1/2 disks!



Yeah, but I was in counselling about that for several months.


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## HCSwitch (Feb 10, 2003)

"NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Actor Benjamin Curtis, who plays the wise-cracking "Steven" in Dell Computer Corp's  (nasdaq: DELL - news - people) "Dude, yer gettin' a Dell" commercials, was arrested for marijuana possession, officials said on Monday."

source: http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2003/02/10/rtr875578.html


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## dave17lax (Feb 10, 2003)

I have too many zip disks laying around with old files that I'll never use again. If I need to get a file from work, I'll email it or use idisk. If it's something big, I'll burn it to CD or even better, throw it on the ipod. If it's small but to large for email (over 10mb), or I wont be at an internet computer, I'll use my digicam. I want to get a flashram key of sometype for this very purpose. I hope never to use my floppy drive again.


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## BBenve (Feb 11, 2003)

You all missed the point... i was NOT firing at Dell cause they are second.. i was firing ....naah not even firing...pointing oiut an laughting...cause they announced it as the GREATEST thing ever..it seemed like....they invented fire... they saw the light...they removed the floppy drive... i thought that was kinda funny... i was definetly not firing at anyone...

MMMMMAAANNN 


If you lived as a child in the 70's or the 80's, looking 
back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we 
have........ 

We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth and there were no 
lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents? 

Now all people do is....BLAME others...try to sue them ...or just find any readson JUST to fight ... guys i was pointing out something FUNNY.... may be i am the onlyone that sees it that was... but....remember the old days.....HAVE fun ..RELAX...take it easy..... a new thread is not a new fight..sometime..we have also to sit back....and enjoy new post and see them as positive...not always with a negative attitude...


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## drustar (Feb 13, 2003)

this might be off the topic but the steve dude from the dell commercials - was caught doing drugs or something. i will post for more details.


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## Javintosh (Feb 13, 2003)

I read about that. I was LMAO, but only because of the article's headline: 

Dude, you are getting a cell!


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## Rhino_G3 (Feb 13, 2003)

He was taken in for purchasing a small bag of marijuana.
www.thesmokinggun.com has all the details you'll be looking for.

EDIT:  Link directly to the page...  http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/delldude1.html


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## Sirtovin (Feb 13, 2003)

Well what I found funny was the Dell Guy going to jail... for pot lmao... Dude... Your Going to jail... lmao.


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## Rhino_G3 (Feb 13, 2003)

Now that we go back and look at those Dell ads I do have one question...  Was anybody actually genuinely surprised when they heard about this?


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## jeb1138 (Feb 13, 2003)

*waiting for funny switcher and/or dell parody commercials on the subject*


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## f_h_petrone (Feb 14, 2003)

> _Originally posted by BBenve _
> *
> Now all people do is....BLAME others...try to sue them ...or just find any readson JUST to fight ... guys i was pointing out something FUNNY.... may be i am the onlyone that sees it that was... but....remember the old days.....HAVE fun ..RELAX...take it easy..... a new thread is not a new fight..sometime..we have also to sit back....and enjoy new post and see them as positive...not always with a negative attitude... *



BBenve for PRESIDENT! or for MODERATOR!!




I absolutely ADORE this kind of post.

Its just unbelievable how people want to fight aver everything....

and I find it also very sad


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## MDLarson (Feb 17, 2003)

Somebody posted a comment on how flash USB drives aren't adequate.  Well, maybe 16 MB isn't that big, but I got a 128 MB one for free from a MS Office upgrade.  It's nice!

We're also developing a product here at work which will include USB - These small flash drives will be perfect for software updates.  The fact that this thing can plug right into a USB port without a clunky drive or extra media is ideal in our situation.

Dell should've included higher capacity drives IMO.  They go up to 512 MB and I've heard of 1 GB models!  Of course, the read / write will suck over USB 1.1


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## evildan (Feb 17, 2003)

*Death to the Floppy drive!*

Come on people, really! The floppy drive has been in computers for far too long!

Who here remembers the "punch hole" trick to turn a single sided 5 1/4" floppy into a double sided disk? If you do, you know what I'm talking about. 

Part of technology is innovation. Development will not occur as long as there's an acceptable solution in the market place. Since floppy disks were limited by speed and the amount of data that could be stored on them, it was only a matter of time before the information had to be moved to a new medium. It's been a long time since and application could be installed using a floppy. 

It probably costs the companies more money to put their program on a series of floppies then it would to burn a CD. So this is good for the companies that are trying to sell their software to the masses. (Because they will be forced to have at least a CD-ROM.).

I think DELL is safe in removing their floppy drives, it leaves more room for other media, which is what the kids want.


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