Re: help: 800k USB floppy drive?

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

william strutts <wrstrutts1@home.com> wrote:

> David Empson wrote:
>
> > The 800K drive mechanism was phased out some time around 1988, but the
> > SuperDrive continued to support 800K disks.
> >
> Excuse me? 1988?  I bought a Mac Plus in 1989 with a 800K floppy drive.

I should have clarified that phrase: "phased out in new Mac models".
The IIx was the first model to use the SuperDrive, and it was released
in 1988 (September, according to Guru).

The Apple 3.5 Drive (800K) was still available as an external drive for
several years - probably up to 1993, when they stopped selling Apple II
models.  It might have been available as a service part beyond that.

My point was to dispute this comment:

> > Wayne Stewart <waynes@intergate.ca> wrote:
> >
> > > Unfotunately there isn't and likely won't be an 800k USB drive. Reason
> > > is it takes a variable speed drive to read 800k floppies. PCs don't use
> > > variable speed drives and the last Mac that used them was last made
> > > about 13 years ago.

"About 13 years ago" is 1988, and the last Macs to use the 800K
mechanism were made around 1988 to 1990, but my point was that the
SuperDrive continued to be used in new models, and it also supports
variable speed GCR encoded disks (400K and 800K).