Kroc Camen
@NanoRaptor There’s no manual in the box, it’s just a solid 12lbs of floppy disks wrapped in a layer of cardboard and plastic
Nov 3, 2023 at 11:21amWeb
Show threadMinaNov 3, 2023
@kroc
@NanoRaptor
So I got curious. The MacOS 14 installer is apparently about 13 gigabytes. So that's 1024*13/1.44 = 9245 3.5" floppies (rounded up). A 3.5" floppy apparently weighs around 20 grams. So 20*9245/1000 = 185 kilograms of floppies (408 lb).
Looked up the dimensions of a 3.5" floppy in mm and worked out the total volume: 93.7*90.0*3.3*9245*(10^−9) = 0.26 cubic metres. So you're looking at a box of floppies very roughly the size and weight of 3 averageish people.
Show threadMinaNov 3, 2023
@kroc
@NanoRaptor
Will measure the weight and dimensions myself if I remember to confirm
Show threadKroc CamenNov 3, 2023
@anperson222 @NanoRaptor Apple finally switched to CD only after the EU started demanding that the box come with weight warnings and Apple Store staff be sent on safe weight handling courses and be provided with lifting equipment. When the American press heard of the CDs, they joked that Europeans were stupid paying for an empty box!
Show threadJeffNov 3, 2023
@anperson222 @kroc @NanoRaptor I suspect roughly half the people on the planet with any hope of picking up that box were in Austin, Texas last weekend for the Rogue Invitational Strongman Competition.
Show threadGranneman 😡Nov 4, 2023
@anperson222 @kroc @NanoRaptor Wait — when they say GB, do they mean gigabytes (1000) or gibibytes (1024)? That makes a difference! Gibibytes is usually abbreviated GiB.
Show threadThomas BrandNov 4, 2023
@anperson222 this never would have happened with Zip disks.
Show threadAlex RosenbergNov 4, 2023

@anperson222 @kroc @NanoRaptor @Cdespinosa I just think about how much work I put in to reduce a floppy out of in System 7.5 and today nobody cares about disk space.

(How much cost savings was I responsible for there and got no raise due to a pay freeze and instead of a cash bonus we got Newtons.)

Show threadPyry JahkolaNov 4, 2023

@anperson222 But 3.5" floppy disks get corrupted easily!

Now suppose you wanted to be 95% confident that the OS installed without errors on any of the disks. That would require the disks to be uncorrupted with a probability of 0.95^(1/9245)=1-5.55e-6.

In other words you'd need floppy disks that break less frequently than one in 180,000. Maybe I was too rough with them in my youth, but in my experience that's off by a few orders of magnitude.

Show threadenthraxxxNov 4, 2023
@anperson222 @kroc @NanoRaptor That's why the picture purposefully doesn't show the Z axis...
Show threadKroc CamenNov 4, 2023
@enthraxxx The box is specifically designed to fit snugly in the drawer of a filing cabinet
Show threadRobert ThompsonNov 3, 2023
@kroc @NanoRaptor try 414lbs of floppy disks! That’s a big box!
Show threadKroc CamenNov 3, 2023
@rothomp3 @NanoRaptor The first 12 lbs is just the bootloader and preinstallation environment. Apple send you the remaining boxes across the next 28 days; it’s an innovative system that means the software on the shelves doesn’t get too out of date
Show threadMichael PorterNov 4, 2023
@kroc @NanoRaptor You'll need one of these...
https://youtu.be/LJsFxLQJaTY?si=EJN_QSv1ovjEaIgl
Jukebox Five Automated Disk Changer for Macintosh by Fifth Generation Systems

YouTube
Show threadKroc CamenNov 4, 2023
@MichaelPorter @NanoRaptor Ah yes, Sony’s ill-fated top-loading BetaFloppy, the only time Sony competed in a format war with itself and lost