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Even 25 Years Later, the Iomega Zip Is Unforgettable


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Even 25 Years Later, the Iomega Zip Is Unforgettable

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The year is 1995. You’re stuck with slow floppy disks that only hold 1.44 MB of data. But there’s an exciting new technology: Zip drives, which can hold 100 MB and free you from floppy disks!

Now, 25 years later, we look back at Iomega’s Zip technology and its history. Did you know some industries still use Zip drives?

 

Why Zip Drives Were Exciting

Again, in 1995, when compared with the standard floppy disk, the Zip drive felt like a revelation! It allowed people to back up their hard drives and transfer large files with ease. At launch, it retailed for around $199 (about $337 today, when adjusted for inflation), and the disks sold for $19.95 apiece (about $34 today.)

Zip drives were originally available in two versions. One used a Windows- or DOS-based PC’s parallel printer port as its interface. The other used the higher-speed SCSI interface common on Apple Macintosh computers.

Zip proved phenomenally successful during its first year on the market. In fact, Iomega had trouble keeping up with the demand for both drives and disks.

To celebrate its 25th birthday, let’s take a look at what made Zip so zippy, how the brand changed over time, and what eventually killed it.

 

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I had one for my Mac for backup and archiving all the stuff I got off the net. Reliable as heck, 10 disks for a huge 1GB total of storage, better than 700 floppies. Heaven! :)

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I still have one, still not even opened from the papers and plastic, with a 10 Zip packet

Those were the "good" times, and I was a" king"

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All you had to do is look at those damn things, and they would break.

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Much more trust-worthy than the Jaz drive - 1 or 2 GB versions, great when they worked, then the dreaded 'click of death'

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Until they got the infamous click of death ,then your 100MB of files were toast

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I had one of them.. bought it from some shop.. didnt really have choice. i ordered a cdrw drive at the time.. and it broke.. and the company wouldnt refund the money for the cdrw so i ended up as they didnt have any other cdrw drives available I ended up with one of them and 1 disc. 

writing files to the disc.. SLOW.. quicker to write to 100 floppies..

 

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