game & gear
packing it away
25-pack floppy disks
Capacity: 1.44 MB
Cost: $8.99
Size: 3.5-by-3.5 inches
System requirements: Floppy drive
Notes: Low price but low capacity. Most
computers have floppy drives
New drives offer fashion and size advantages over the old floppy disk. BY KIM ELSHAM & BECKY ROGERS
Long gone are the days of handwritten papers and handmade visual aids. College now demands that your work be in an electronic format. It is cleaner, more professional, easier to read, or whatever reason your teacher gives you. Storing your assignments electronically is imperative to your college success. When it comes to storage, bigger is better. Zip disks and removable flash drives are starting to replace the outdated 3.5-inch floppy disks in students' hearts and backpacks.
However, the cost can be a deterrent for some. While most computers come with a standard 3.5-inch disk drive, a Zip drive needs to be purchased separately. The drives are easy to install, requiring only a USB cord and a power outlet. The new 750 MB drive goes for about $180 at Best Buy, 2020 W. 31st St., while 750 MB disks usually cost about $13 a piece.
For starters, Zip disks can hold a wealth of information compared to the measly 1.44 MB a standard floppy holds. 100,250 and now even 750 MB of information can be stored on Zip disks. While floppy disks are fine for your everyday papers and assignments,Zip disks are a must-have for that big project you have been working on for months. It also makes them ideal to back-up important files from your hard drive. Zip disks don't take up much space either. They are about the size of two floppies stacked together.
Photo Illustration by Eric Breem/Kansas Computer users have more options available every year when it comes to digital storage. Though it is difficult to combine large capacities and small dimensions, companies are getting closer.
Floppy disks usually run about $.30 a same amount of information it would piece. The price of the Zip disk is easily take 521 floppy disks and cost $157. If offset if you consider that to store the the cost of the drive is going to break your
16 jayplay
thursday, october 2. 2003