Can you believe there was actually a time when 100MB of storage was a big deal? Seems hard to believe when you compare it to devices that can store Terabytes of information today. In 1995 it was huge though, with the Iomega Zip Drive becoming an overnight sensation.

Available for Mac and PC, it gave users their first taste of easy backup technology. I remember glancing at that yellow LED light over and over to make sure the thing was working. Hell, I even stared at the disk through the window on top of the drive. Yes, I was in storage heaven. Much like the Xbox 360 has the red rings of death though, the Iomega Zip Drive had what was known as the ‘click of death.’ Once that noise began to happen, you could kiss your files goodbye soon afterward.

While we’ve moved to a more advance level of portable storage these days, the Iomega Zip Drive will always have a place in my heart as the first portable USB device I ever owned. It seems so primitive now compared to fancy USB sticks, but I bet if looked hard enough, I could probably still find one kicking around my apartment somewhere. What can I say? I’m a pack rat.