23FD “Minnow” flexible disk drive (prototype)
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- Details
- Description
- Date Introduced
- ca. 1970
- Photographer
- Richards, Mark
- Dimensions
- overall: 17 in x 16 1/4 in x 10 1/2 in
- Manufacturer
- International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
- Credit Line
- Gift of David Noble
- Copyright Owner
- © Mark Richards
- Location
- US
- Keywords
- magnetic; mechanical
- Object ID
- X1841.2000
- Memory Type
- Magnetic disk
The Minnow was a read-only drive that loaded factory-written microcode into mainframe computers. It was the predecessor of a family of low-cost "floppy" drives which become indispensible for word processors and PCs.
