Blog 8, Curtis Klein

1. What is the price of an internal floppy drive?

I found an internal floppy drive for $15.00.

2. What types of connections do external floppy disc drives use? What is the price of an external drive?

The external floppy disc drives I saw use UB connectors. The lowest cost I found for an external floppy disc drive is $20.00.

3. Why do you think external drives cost more than internal drives? What are the advantages of external drives? Internal drives?

I believe there are several reasons why external floppy disc drives cost more than internal floppy disc drives. The external drives come with connectors, a more durable case because it will not be protected by the computer case, and must be of the shelf user ready because it will be used by ordinary users and not installed by computer professionals. Also: because an external floppy disc drive can be used by ordinary users and not installed by computer professionals there is more demand for external floppy disc drives, which drives up the price. People would also be willing to pay more for a drive that they do not have to pay a professional to install. The advantages of external drives are that non-professionals do not have to pay to have one installed; they do not take up space or add heat to your computer (especially laptops). Internal drives are more convenient if you are in the currently very rare position f using a floppy drive often. It is more convenient than digging out the drive all the time and connecting it, there is less chance of a mishap (such as dropping it) damaging the drive, you will not use up the limited number of US ports, and cost.

Define these terms:

DMA is “Direct Memory Access”. It is a shortcut for moving data to and from a device or memory that does not involve the processor. It uses a number to identify a channel that can directly pass data from a device to memory.

Low level formatting is the process that creates the hard drive formatting and tests the disc. It is usually done at the factory.

SATA is Serial ATA. It is advancement over Parallel ATA, the older standard. Serial ATA is much faster, may be used internally or externally, and uses more compact cables to improve cooling

ATA is the most used standard for connecting hardware and software to the motherboard. There are 2 types of ATA standards: the older Parallel ATA (EIDE), and the currently used SATA.

IDE is “Integrated Device Electronics”. It is when the disc controller is integrated into the drive or device. This increases the sped and lowers the price of the system.