Then arrived the USB and flash memory generation, now almost everybody has a USB flash drive. The reason why they easily replaced floppy disks is because: they are universal - can be used in almost any computer with a USB port; they don’t easily damage - no more corruptions due to magnetic fields; they hold MUCH more data - welcome to the age of the mp3; they are smaller - far easier to carry around with you; they work out cheaper in the long run - by the time you have finished buying enough floppy disks and replacing them it does work out cheaper.

We’re at the point now where new computers don’t even come with floppy disk drives, however they do come with USB sockets.
So what now for the floppy disk, as it no longer really has a place in the future of computers, so here’s some ideas:

“Press F6 if you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver…”

If you’re similar with the Microsoft Windows installation process you will have seen this message numerous times, and if you have had the pleasure of having to use it to install a SATA drive, then you will realise you NEED a floppy disk to put your motherboard SATA drivers on.

You require the drivers on a floppy disk all RAID/SCSI/SATA hardware unless Microsoft kindly bundled it with their operating system installation disc. It seems that Intel have experienced this issue too many times to mention.

I hope Microsoft fix this in Windows Vista installation.

How to make a starship enterprise out of an old floppy disk

This is a fantastic idea.

Bonnie has offered us a method of creating a starship enterprise (from star trek) out of an old floppy disk.

This should keep the kids out of trouble for an hour right?

Create a floppy disk drive RAID

Ultimately this is a geek idea, but its crazy enough to work.

Th idea is that you get a bunch of USB floppy disk drives, plug them into a USB hub, put a floppy disk in each one, then use your operating system to create a software USB FDD RAID.

A guide on how to achieve this using Apple MAC OS X is provided by Danial Blade Olson, entitled USB Floppy Disk Drive RAID.

Floppy Disk Coasters

Well you may look like a geek when you invite your friends around for a dinner party, but who cares right?

Here’s how to make one:

“Any computer programmer will be familiar with the utilisation of the humble floppy disk to hold their caffeinated beverages as they program deep into the night. However, through over-usage the floppy disk coaster will rapidly deteriorate into a mere shadow of its former self. To protect them, a cover of sticky-back plastic, or laminate, may be applied. A base of felt can also be used to prevent coaster-to-desk slippage.” Source

Make a desk tidy from old floppy disks
Microsoft have really out done themselves here. It seems one of their writers for their website has come up with an ingenious way to make use of those old floppy disks, and that is to make a desk tidy!

See: Make a useful pen caddy out of old disks

Make a Bird Feeder out of floppy disks

Although i’m not aware of how to do this, i’ve found a book that does, its called: Computer Waiting Games, and you can get it from Amazon.

All I could find was this: Building a Basic Birdbox but once you take a look, it becomes a little obvious how to achieve it.

Create a floppy disk bag

I thought this was possibly the best idea yet, a stylish bag made from floppy disks, its a geeks dream!

Check out the floppy disk bag photos.

Create a floppy disk mosaic

You need plenty of different coloured floppy disks for your pallet, but the results are fantastic.

Take a look at this one, 728 floppy disks

Sell them on ebay

I had a look on ebay, and there’s a whole section dedicated to floppy disks. The problem is that nobody seems to buy any on there. Seems to me like this is an absolute last resort.

Also see: http://www.theepiczone.com/floppy.htm

Probably the most popular method of online money transfer is Paypal, this is because it was used a lot on eBay, and was then later purchased by them as part of their growing empire.

The reason for Paypal’s success is because almost everyone has an account these days, and it’s very simple to sign up and begin to use.

How to signup to paypal

1. Visit the Paypal website and click “sign up today”.
2. Select the type of account you want (usually “Personal”), your country. Continue.
3. Enter your personal details (name, address, etc), valid email address, password, agree to the terms and enter the security number. That’s it! (almost).
4. You will be sent an email, which you must then confirm by following the links.

Once you’re signed up you can add a debit or credit card to allow you to send money, and to authenticate your account.

Any further steps you need to take will be detailed by Paypal on their website.

Parking tickets

Most of the time you can get away with loading your vehicle without any hassle (even when there’s a sign saying “no loading in this area”), but of course there is that odd chance that you may get distracted when collecting your items and a traffic wardon comes along and slaps a ticket on your vehicle!

So what can be done in circumstances such as these? Well, more than you think to be honest, you just have to take the time to investigate a little. Don’t forget that the majority of parking tickets are issued by your local council not the police.
Firstly, take a look around, there’s plenty of websites out there with tuns of information about parking tickets…

Times Online has a brilliant article about parking tickets and even includes some loop-holes in the system on the later pages.

There is also a few dedicated websites out there including parkingtickets.co.uk and ticketbusters.co.uk - just be aware that sometimes these sites may want you to signup and pay them money for services and information you can get for free if you do a little research.

Another interesting website to take a look at is appealnow.com, which is a website helping motorists appeal against incorrect or illegal parking tickets and such.

Also have a look at the official government owned National Parking Adjudication Service website, which has information such as what to do if you have received a parking ticket, and how to avoid receiving a parking ticket.

There is even a book called The Motorist’s Guide to Parking Tickets, priced at £9.99 which includes ways to help motorists avoid parking tickets.

The BBC has a short article about parking and speeding tickets, but its not the most helpful article i’ve read.

Once you have enough information, and believe you have a case against your parking ticket, no matter how trivial, you need to request a contest form from your council. Fill in this form, and send it to them.

Many people have asked: What happens if their responce takes longer than expected and I have to pay additional money as I didn’t pay within the original time frame? Well what you need to do is include a cheque for the first amount with the date set for the day before your deadline, this means that you can always cancel the cheque or request a refund should your case get accepted.

Don’t forget to check your local newspaper and local news website(s) for the latest information on parking and parking tickets in your area.

To begin with we will look at a few different websites you can store your images on the internet for sharing…

• yoimg.com
• imageshack.us
• google for image hosting

Each one of these sites has their own limits as to what you can store there, depending on: file size, filename, resolution, file type, media type, copyright, and content. You need to check the individual site to find out their own terms and conditions.

If the issue is to do with resolution or filesize, there’s a simple way to overcome this without using any expensive and complex software. By simply downloading a copy of Image Resizer from the Microsoft website, and following the “Resize digital pictures quickly” guide, also on the Microsoft website, you will discover how simple it really can be.

When you post your image on the site, you should be provided with a few different codes that can be used on different types of websites, (ie: for phpBB forums the code will be similar to: [img]http://imageserver/filename_01.jpg[/img]) which can then be used to paste onto the site of choice to display the appropriate image.

I decided that perhaps the best way to demonstrate my work is to blog it as I proceed on my jouney.
I’m not exactly sure what this blog will be used for yet, however as time goes on it will most likely replace the current page, as business takes a shape, and forms something entirly different.

I intend to document anything that is of direct interest to my business, however only time will tell.

Hopefully this will have an impact on the way I work, and will actually generate more interest, traffic and keep me motivated.

I expect things will be slow at first, so watch this space.