First, a little background.
HANDS OFF THOSE MICE!
I’ll keep it quick.
Beth is a smart, 15 year old kid who has been using computers at home for most of those 15 years. When she was a little over one we bought an original iMac. ‘Twas the day after Thanksgiving (in 1998) and all through the store, folks were swinging mice like weapons, crying the holiday motto: MORE! Then, like now, folks were questioning the wisdom of selling a consumer computer without a critical piece of hardware.
The current scene: Kauffman Household (v2.2) family room, earlier today. A father and his daughter are admiring a Mac Plus on the wall of fame.
Beth: What is that slot looking thing under the screen?
Me: That’s a floppy drive.
Beth: (not kidding) What is a floppy drive?
I know floppies are (mostly) gone, but somehow I wasn’t quite ready for them to be forgotten. I’m not sure why. Most of my experiences with them were bad. I’d just as soon forget them myself.
I’m afraid I was too tired to explain why those (mostly) rigid, little plastic squares were “floppies.”