I know this is a nitpick that's been expressed many times before, but it
bears repeating.
See the message below. What is wrong with it? I will tell you. There
are 4 lines of reply, and 50+ of original, irrelevant message. Why?
I ask again: why?
Please take the two seconds it requires to trim your replies, people.
OKAY?
On Fri, 24 Sep 2004, Dan Wright wrote:
> On Wednesday 22 September 2004 09:36 am, Bruce Lane wrote:
> >
> > Perhaps not, but I still don't see any way, in the systems I've
> > encountered to date, to boot from the USB port (for a Jump drive).
>
> Most newer systems (last year-year and a half) will boot any device conforming
> to the USB Mass Storage specification.
>
> Since your talking about booting usb devices at all, I'm assuming you're
> talking about newer systems ;)
>
> > And,
> > while some will boot from the CD-ROM drive (notably Compaq servers), it is
> > NOT as common a thing as PC manufacturers would have us believe!
> >
> > Floppies are still my A-number-one choice for booting low-level
> > diagnostics, and getting installations started for open-source OS's such as
> > the BSD family. They will remain in that position until (1), someone comes
> > up with a means to boot from a Jump drive. (2), Data I/O manages to convert
> > the Unisite programmer to boot (or allow updates to be loaded) by something
> > other than floppies.
> >
> > Like the horse, as the article says, they're going to be around for a
> > lonnnnnng time to come, methinks.
> >
> > Keep the peace(es).
> >
> > >And good riddance, say some home computer users. The march of technology
> > >must go on.
> > >
> > >Like the penny, the floppy drive is hardly worth the trouble, computer
> > >makers say.
> > >
> > >Dell Computer Corp. stopped including a floppy drive in new computers in
> > >spring 2003, and Gateway Inc. has followed suit on some models. Floppies
> > >are available on request for $10 to $20 extra.
> > >
> > >"To some customers out there, it's like a security blanket," said Dell
> > >spokesman Lionel Menchaca. "Every computer they've ever had has had a
> > >floppy, so they still feel the need to order a floppy drive."
> > >
> > >A few customers have complained when they found their new computers don't
> > >have floppy drives, but it's becoming uncommon as they realize the
> > >benefits of newer technologies, Menchaca said. Almost all new laptops
> > >don't come with a floppy.
> > >
> > >More and more people are willing to say goodbye to the venerable floppy,
> > >said Gateway spokeswoman Lisa Emard.
> > >
> > >"As long as we see customers request it, we'll continue to offer it," she
> > >said. "We'll be happy to move off the floppy once our customers are ready
> > >to make that move."
> > >
> > >Some people may hesitate to abandon the floppy just because they're so
> > >comfortable with it, said Tarun Bhakta, president of Vision Computers
> > >outside Atlanta, one of the largest computer retailers in the South.
> > >
> > >At his store, the basic computer model comes with all necessary
> > >equipment, but no floppy.
> > >
> > >"People say they want a floppy drive, and then I ask them, 'When was the
> > >last time you used it?' A lot of the time, they say, 'Never,'" Bhakta
> > >said.
> > >
> > >But plenty of regular, everyday computer users don't want to let their
> > >floppies go.
> > >
> > >"For my children, they can work at school and at home. I think they're a
> > >pretty good idea," said shopper Mark Ordway.
> > >
> > >"I just want something simple for me and my husband to use," said Pat
> > >Blaisdell.
> > >
> > >The floppy disk has several replacements, including writeable compact
> > >discs and keychain flash memory devices. Both can hold much more data and
> > >are less likely to break.
> > >
> > >Even so, floppies have been around since the late 1970s. People are used
> > >to them. They were the oldest form of removable storage still around.
> > >
> > >"There's always some nostalgia," said Scott Wills, an electrical and
> > >computer engineering professor at Georgia Tech who has held on to an old
> > >8-inch floppy disk. "It's a technology I'm glad to be rid of. I'd never
> > >label them, and I never knew what any of them were until I put them in
> > >and looked."
> > >
> > >In a sense, it's amazing floppy disks have hung around for this long.
> > >
> > >They only hold 1.44 megabytes of space — still enough for word
> > >processing documents but little else. By comparison, CDs store upward of
> > >700 megabytes, and the flash memory drives typically carry between 64 and
> > >256 megabytes.
> > >
> > >And it's been a long time since floppy disks were even floppy. They used
> > >to come in a bendable plastic casing and were 5.25 inches wide, but Apple
> > >Computer Inc. pioneered the smaller, higher density disks with its
> > >Macintosh (news - web sites) computers in the mid-1980s.
> > >
> > >Then Apple become the first mass-market computer manufacturer to stop
> > >including floppy drives altogether with the release of their iMac model
> > >in 1998.
> > >
> > >"It's not officially dead, but there's no question it's a slow demise,"
> > >said Tim Bajarin, principle analyst for Creative Strategies, a technology
> > >consulting firm near San Jose, Calif. "You had a few people ... who were
> > >screaming, but in a short time, they adjusted."
> > >
> > >It may not be too many years before floppy disks are joined by DVDs.
> > >Microsoft founder Bill Gates (news - web sites) recently predicted the
> > >DVD would be obsolete within a decade.
> > >
> > >--
> > >
> > >Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer
> > >Festival
> > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >---- International Man of Intrigue and Danger
> > >http://www.vintage.org
> > >
> > >[ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers
> > > ]
> > >[ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at
> > > http://marketplace.vintage.org ]
> >
> > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
> > Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy,
> > Blue Feather Technologies -- http://www.bluefeathertech.com
> > kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m
> > "If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with
> > surreal ports?"
>
>
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
[ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ]
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Received on Fri Sep 24 2004 - 14:19:43 BST