Floppy disk drives phased out of Windows STCs
During summer 2008, the Student Technology Centers (STCs) retired the last floppy disk drives in all Windows Residential Technology Centers (RTCs) and STCs in favor of more practical and cost-effective alternatives. The STCs began phasing out support for floppy disk drives in summer 2006.
The decision to phase out floppy disk drives was not made lightly or without regard to student use of the technology:
- Floppy disks are more expensive and less reliable than any other
electronic storage choice available in the STCs and RTCs.
- By 2006, nearly 25% of IU students already used USB flash drives
for transporting data to and from the STCs and RTCs.
- Further, 64% of IU students were already using recordable CD technology.
- All STC and RTC workstations have easily accessible USB ports for maximum flexibility.
By comparison, newer technologies are inexpensive and more reliable:
- The reliability of flash drives is unsurpassed. These durable
devices are available in a wide range of capacities, and they can be
used and reused indefinitely.
- For archival storage, recordable CDs are similar in cost to blank
floppy disks but offer more than 450 times the storage capacity of
floppies. All STCs and RTCs have CD recording capabilities.
- For even greater storage capacity, recordable DVDs offer 10 to 20 times the storage capacity of CDs. All STCs and RTCs can read DVDs, and a growing number now have DVD recording capabilities.
To facilitate this transition, the STCs offer floppy disk drive equipped "data-transfer" stations in the following Extended Services Locations (ESLs):
At IUB:
- Information Commons
- Lindley Hall 026
- Student Building 222
At IUPUI:
- IT 131
If you rely on floppy disk drives, UITS urges you to visit one of these facilities to move your data files to a more convenient format, such as a USB flash drive or CD.
For more information about the availability of removable media in the STCs at IUB, see In which IUB STCs can I find removable media devices? At IUPUI, see In which IUPUI STCs can I find removable media devices?
If you have questions about the IUB STCs, contact
stcchg@indiana.edu . At IUPUI, contact
stctr@iupui.edu .
Last modified on November 06, 2009.
