Side note to the previous post: In doing some quick verification of a thing or two, I stumbled upon perhaps the weirdest file format ever created: The .WWF format, which is supported by the World Wildlife Fund’s German chapter. Here’s what it is: It’s a PDF file that you can’t print, in an effort to save paper. Because clearly this is an effective way to solve the problem of paper waste. Guess the Google drone thing is another attempt by the WWF to be on top of random technological trends.
Back in the 1970s, floppy disk drives were extremely expensive, typing BASIC programs took time, and it wasn’t like you could drive over to Best Buy to get a compiler. Which made it difficult to distribute software programs. But one format which proved relatively easy to distribute in a magazine was the “Floppy ROM” — literally, a vinyl record flexidisc which computer nerds would put on a record player, record onto a cassette player and play into their computer. The May 1977 issue of “Interface Age” magazine, shown above, actually had one of these rare relics, which you can actually buy on eBay. Next time you use Dropbox to save your homework, think of how far we’ve come.
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