by 
The Curious Bag
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Creating data on a computer has always been easy. Whether it is an abacus or helium-cooled supercomputer, the concept is the same: turn numbers into useful information. Keeping a record of that information is what keeps changing.
FDD or Floppy Disk Drive
The first FDDs became available in 1971. Invented by a technical group at IBM, the FDD was heralded as a giant step forward in data storage.
Why Is It Called a Floppy Disk Drive?
The media the drive reads are disks of very thin and highly flexible--they're "floppy." Covered with an even thinner layer of magnetically sensitive film, the FDD writes to and reads information from the floppy.
How Big Are FDDs?
The first FDDs were huge (8 inches) and not practical for consumer use. The next generation was smaller (5.25 inches). Their final incarnation (3.5 inches) was small enough to be mounted inside a computer and can still be found today.
What Replaced FDDs?
The 3.5-inch drives were the smallest practical size and a single disk was unable to meet the increasing demands for data storage space. High-capacity external hard drives, CDs, flash drives and DVDs were created to meet those needs.
Are FDDs Still in Use?
The FDDs have largely been replaced but can still be found in legacy systems and industrial applications.
Source:
The Architecture of Computer Hardware and System Software; Irv Englander; 2003
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