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    <title><![CDATA[Discussion on Don't be too quick to dump the floppy ]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333]]></link>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Don't be too quick to dump the floppy]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-3329051]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Just use a USB stick, they have a capacity of gigabytes and they're bootable too.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-3329051]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[darkavengr]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:14:03 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[What if...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-2012813]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[You get UBCD?  Comes in both DOS (http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/) and Windows (http://www.ubcd4win.com/)flavors and is a perfect floppy replacement for tech support work.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-2012813]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[one_of_bunch@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 18 May 2006 14:47:35 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Simple...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-2012811]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[It's called a bootable CD.  Most PCs young enough to run have that capability.  (Before you come back with &quot;OMFG My 8088 still runs n00b!&quot;, note that there was a bit of sarcasm there....)In any case, UBCD is a great tool for repairing / troubleshooting PCs.  It comes in several OS flavors (mine being the Win version at: http://www.ubcd4win.com/).]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-2012811]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[one_of_bunch@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 18 May 2006 14:30:02 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[You'll love this ...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1672209]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Of course all PC users know that Macintosh is not a brand of computer, but a religion.I will illustrate this with an encounter I had with a committed Mac user.It was at a garage sale, and there was an early model Mac for sale, so this guy started waxing lyrical about how amazing his newest Mac was compared to a PC.I asked him: &quot;What do you do with your older files that are on floppies?&quot;Now wait for this ......&quot;Oh that's no problem. I burn them onto CDs on another computer.&quot;LONG LIVE THE FLOPPY !!!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1672209]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jardinier]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2004 21:46:15 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Keep you eyes open]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1672024]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I've been able to get 25-pack CD-R's for free, after rebate. They seem to have these deals around Chritmas time every year. But I have noticed that these tend to be low quality CD's and I have to throw out almost half of them.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1672024]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jdmercha]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2004 11:11:43 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Try hitting F6 in XP setup..]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1671939]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[..and finding your flash drive to install SATA or RAID drivers...]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1671939]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[adamme@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2004 08:42:11 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Yup..same thing happened to me..]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1671923]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I bought a Dell and I *insisted* that they put a floppy drive in there even though they said I'd &quot;never&quot; need one.Well, this system came with SATA drives and guess what?  In order to re-install XP (it came with Home but I wanted to re-install Pro on it), it requires the drivers to be installed on an FDD to loaded via the F6 option during Windows install.And not only that but the read.me file in the Resources disk *specifically* states that the SATA drivers need to be installed via FDD in order for Windows to recognize the drive!Seems Dell doesn't even read their own documentation.-aki]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1671923]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[adamme@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2004 08:21:12 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Is Everybody Crazy?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1671825]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[USB flash-memory drives are as cheap as floppies and 100 times the capacity.Why in the world would anyone use a floppy when they could pop in a $20 memory stick and have so much more storage and flexibility?Steve]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1671825]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[swawa3@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2004 04:58:24 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[I agree about the floppy]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1668804]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[How about those pesky self extracing flash BIOS upgrades. Many of them require and will only work with a floppy. I've never had the setup program say &quot;Please insert a blank formatted CD-R.&quot;]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1668804]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[rich.lemley@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 28 Oct 2004 20:44:25 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Key Disk on software updates gone bad.]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1646691]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I recently spent a day installing a software version update on a friends business computer. It seems that this software required key disk to install. It took a phone call to the supplier to find out that the update was the third this year and it required the key disk (floppies) for installation. Naturally as organized as my friend was, it took another hour and a half of searching to locate the disks.Finally I've got the disk and insert the first one to do the upgrade. Guess what ... error reading drive A:. This computer sits in a auto garage and had succumbed to the dirt, and humidity of the environment. I drive all over the local area, every computer shop, Radio Shack, Best buy, you name it and nobody has a floppy drive cleaner. So I left and told them I would be back with the necessary tools and a replacement floppy should the drive be defective rather than dirty. Two hours later I'm back from my house where I still have some old PC's from the DOS day's of yesteryear, armed with a cleaner diskette, a floppy cable, and drive. It turns out the drive is bad, this is a name brand computer and the drive doors are not exchangeable in the case. Ultimately I got the machine repaired minus the drive door and installed the software. But I had to think, new PC's don't all ship with floppy drives. What would he do if the PC didn't have a floppy drive? Well, there in writing for the system spec's it stated PC with floppy drive. I expect this problem will be revisited in the near future when they replace the five year old PC with a newer model per my suggestion.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1646691]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[carterdn@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2004 08:59:32 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[File storage when access is limited]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1646604]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[For security reasons, the computer I use at my workplace denies users like me access to some folders such as Control Panel and Windows. Although non-IT employees are not allowed to install anything, saving files is obviously okay. The only storage option included in our computers is a 3.5 floppy drive. The disc drive is read-only. As far as I know, external storage devices would require the access we do not have. I have not seen any external ones not requiring, say, driver installation. Doing so would require me to contact IT or the Help Desk, which take a lot of time to respond. Thank goodness they consider file storage a legitimate business need; personal needs would not convince them to help. We do have shared network drives, but those do not help if the saved file is to be used on an unconnected computer or at home. We do have laptops or notebooks, but those are too much trouble for small, infrequent documents.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1646604]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[mmanalo@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2004 07:36:22 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[File storage when access is limited]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1646601]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[For security reasons, the computer I use at my workplace denies users like me access to some folders such as Control Panel and Windows. Although non-IT employees are not allowed to install anything, saving files is obviously okay. The only storage option included in our computers is a 3.5 floppy drive. The disc drive is read-only. As far as I know, external storage devices would require the access we do not have. I have not seen any external ones not requiring, say, driver installation. Doing so would require me to contact IT or the Help Desk, which take a lot of time to respond. Thank goodness they consider file storage a legitimate business need; personal needs would not convince them to help. We do have shared network drives, but those do not help if the saved file is to be used on an unconnected computer or at home. We do have laptops or notebooks, but those are too much trouble for small, infrequent documents.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1646601]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[mmanalo@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2004 07:32:20 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[floppy moppy!]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1537402]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[What ever happened to the LS120?Also, I am unwilling to completely convert to CDR/RW untill they can come up wiht a way that make them as easy to use as a floppy.  I mean, DirectCD may enable you to drag-n-drop, but it's one of the most annoying things I've ever used!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-1537402]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[calloway]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2003 10:52:23 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Hail to the Floppies]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-781929]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Altogether now! Hip, hip hooray!!! Floppies are here to stay... For a little while longer at least....]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-781929]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[deando_au@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2003 16:53:09 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Re: An old computer with an old OS]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-766918]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[&gt;&gt;All five points listed can be done by CD unless you are using an old computer with an old OS. What if you have to fix an old PC?  Will you turn down the job just for lack of a floppy drive?And what if you are installing W2K on an IBM Intellistation (a new PC), with a SCSI hard drive?  You HAVE to have a floppy drive in order to load the SCSI driver, so that W2K can see the hard drive!  It forces you to load the driver from A:.  There is no other way to do it.  So if you have no other PC with a floppy drive, you can't load the SCSI driver, and therefore you can't use your hard drive.BIOS upgrades -- some of them REQUIRE a floppy drive.  They won't work any other way.What about Compaq service paks?  You download the disk-making program, you make a floppy disk containing the service pak, and then you reboot with the floppy in the drive.PAY ATTENTION, ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DO AWAY WITH THE FLOPPY DRIVE -- SOMETIMES THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO PERFORM A TASK, EXCEPT WITH A FLOPPY DRIVE!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-766918]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jim Phelps]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 13 May 2003 06:18:36 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Different concerns]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-756933]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Jim,Remember, the manufacture is NOT concerned with supporting older hardware.As long as they have a method that works for the new hardware, that is the limit of their concern.Yes, many support issues will come up.Keep in mind also, that Dell is starting out by making floppy drives an option.Only if few users exercise the option is Dell likely to take the next step, and eliminate the floppy drive.As I have posted elsewhere in these discussions, I believe that the death of the floppy drive will be tied to the switch to serial ATA for hard drives.I am certain that by the end of 2003 there will be motherboards with only the serial ATA drive interface.E-Machines, HP, Compaq, and the rest will drop the floppy to save manufacturing costs, and stay cost competitive.Chas]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-756933]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[TheChas]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2003 10:30:54 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Cost Conscious]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-756927]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Just because I can, doesn't mean I do.The fact is that CD-R blanks are just more cost effective than blank floppies.For most file transfers, I use CD-RW disks.They are at least as reliable as a floppy with 400 times the capacity.Chas]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-756927]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[TheChas]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2003 10:21:46 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Shop the specials]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-756926]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I admit that 5 cent CD-Rs are not common, but I often find deals at or near that price.The last deal that I can bring up the cost on was 2 50 packs for $10 at Office Depot.So that is 10 Cents each.I think the 5 cent deal was a 2 for 1 at Comp USA on their bulk pack CD-R disks.If you include rebates, I have paid even less 'net' per CD on occasion.Chas]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-756926]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[TheChas]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2003 10:16:54 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Coat tails?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-755760]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[&quot;I do understand the advantages of keeping the floppy on our coat tails&quot;No you don't, or you wouldn't make a statement like that.Sounds like you are always in the server room, with all new equipment which always works right.  However, those of us in the real world, who deal with lots of PCs of every variety (because the average person can't keep upgrading everytime some new technology comes along), do need to sometimes use a floppy drive.There are probably ways around the floppy in every case, but the floppy is a great time saver when it comes to PC maintenance.&quot;this only will weight us down and will cement us into current standards instead of encourage new products&quot;I guess we should have pulled carburetors out of cars long ago; that would have encouraged fuel injection.  Of course, lots of people would have had to invest lots of money in order to follow that new standard which was forced upon them.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-755760]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jim Phelps]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 22 Apr 2003 07:21:29 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Forcing the issue]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-755749]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Chas:The thing that gripes me is that they are forcing the issue before all of the issues are resolved.Jim]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/12-122333-755749]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jim Phelps]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 22 Apr 2003 07:09:43 -0700</pubDate>
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