Flipdiscs

Flipdiscs, also known as flippies, are a type of optical disc storage medium that was popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. They were developed by 3M and introduced in 1978. Flipdiscs are circular discs made of plastic, with a reflective surface that can store data on both sides. The data is recorded using a laser, and the discs can be read using a flipdisc drive.

Flipdiscs have a capacity of 1.44 megabytes per side, which is equivalent to about 700 standard floppy disks. They were used for various purposes, including software distribution, data storage, and even as a backup medium for personal computers. Flipdiscs were particularly popular in the United States and Canada, where they were used extensively in educational settings.

The flipdisc format was eventually replaced by other storage technologies, such as CDs and DVDs, which offered larger storage capacities and faster data transfer rates. Despite their eventual obsolescence, flipdiscs hold a place in computing history as one of the first widely used optical storage formats.