Sony Killing Off Floppy Disk Production in 2011
Sony Japan has said it will cease production of floppy disks next year.
Floppy disks might be as old as the hills but Sony still sold over 12 million of them in Japan last year. Unfortunately, Sony Japan has some bad news for those responsible for last year's sales: Come March 2011, you won't be able to buy any more.
According to the Mainichi Daily News, the last man standing in floppy disk production Friday announced that it would discontinue diskettes over the next 12 months. Sony launched the world's first 3.5-inch floppy disk in 1981 and stopped production in most markets last month. With just Japan and India left, it makes sense for the company to hang on until the 30-year anniversary. It just wouldn't be right to kill it off on its 29th birthday.
What are you using your old floppy disks for these days? I find they're good substitutes for coasters and great for fixing wobbly table legs.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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JasonAkkerman People still use these things? I have been using them for skeet. They produce a much more random flight path then a clay pigeon.Reply -
henrystrawn Great leap over 5.25" disks, I will miss you friendly floppy. You were indispensable for our ETC lightboard.Reply -
koss64 I still use them to flash BIOS's on old machines,or as an emegency boot disk when a BIOS gets fried.Reply -
ksampanna I remember the first floppy I ever used was for gaming - Dave 2.Reply
Still remember the drill : Insert diskette --> Open Command Prompt --> cd davedave
These little bastards sure deserve a 12 gun salute & a minute of silence.
Rest in Peace my dear friends. -
magicandy What about Verbatim and Memorex floppies which you can still find around brick and mortar stores in the US? Are those also made by Sony but just re-branded?Reply -
vsgm does ppl have floppy drives in computers now? My mainboard don't even have a floppy drive connector :(Reply