Packard Bell 3.5” DSDD Floppy Disk, RARE / ODDITY, Used

Appearance: Used,may have label and/or writing on diskFunctionality: UntestedDescription:============Similar to pictured,a Packard Bell 3.5” DSDD Floppy Disk. Double Sided Double Density. Disk appearsin good shape, but untested – sold as a collectible.About Us:=========The ComputerPreservation Group is dedicated to the preservation of historical computers. Tohelp fund ongoing operations, select items are made available. To learn more,please visit our website: www.computerpreservation.com. Thank you for your support!Warranty andReturns:=====================We understand thatthere may be compatibility issues, space constraints, or it just doesn’t lookperfect. This item can be returned within 14-days for ANY reason. However,shipping to and from is not refundable. Shipping:=========- Local pickup isalso available at no cost.- Most orders placedbefore 9am will ship the same day.Stock#:3546Details from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard_Bell:Packard Bell is aDutch-based computer manufacturing subsidiary of Acer. The brand nameoriginally belonged to an American radio manufacturer Packard Bell founded byHerbert "Herb" A. Bell and Leon S. Packard in 1933. Some websites use1926 as the founding date when Herbert Bell was an executive with Jackson BellCompany, Los Angeles, California.[1][2] In 1986, Israeli investors bought thename for a newly formed personal computer manufacturing company producingdiscount computers in the United States and Canada. In 2000, Packard Bell, thena subsidiary of NEC, stopped its North American operations while remaining aleading brand in the European markets. In 2008 it was acquired by the Taiwaneseconsumer electronic firm Acer in the aftermath of its takeover of Gatewaycomputers. Gateway products are now sold in the Americas and Asia, whilePackard Bell products are sold in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.History[edit]Herbert "Bell" Zwiebel- Co Founderof Packard Bell Co (1933–1971) A regional manufacturer of radio and televisionsbased in Los Angeles, CAFounding: PackardBell Company[edit]See also: PackardBell (1926)Original companylogoThe original PackardBell name began in September 1933. Herbert Bell (birth name Herbert AnthonyZwiebel) former business partner of Jackson Bell Radio Company in Los Angelesformed Packard Bell. Jackson Bell went into receivership that year due to financialproblems. Jackson Bell was one of the few RCA licensed radio manufacturers onthe west coast of the United States. Bell partnered with Leon S. Packard. In1934, they marketed their first radio, the Model 35A (carryover from JacksonBell). In 1935, Leon Packard sold his partnership to Herb Bell, being skepticalof its future. Herb Bell managed to obtain the RCA license for manufacturingsuperheterodyne radios. Based in Los Angeles, Packard Bell along with HoffmanRadio became well known regional makers of consumer electronics. Packard Bellventured into television quickly due to the RCA royalty-free patents.[3]1938 Model 46HPackard Bell Radio illustrating- Stationized Dials of U.S. and Canadianstations west of the Rocky Mountains.Packard Bell radioshad a distinguishable styling: The tuning dial showed the call signs ofAmerican and Canadian radio stations west of the Rocky Mountains. The idea camefrom Bell's mother, who had trouble reading the tuning dial. Packard Bell was afamily business: Herbert Bell's brothers Arthur, Albert, Elmer and Willardparticipated in major departments from design, manufacturing andmarketing.[citation needed]Packard Bell didquite well and, like Hoffman Electronics, became a recognized name in regionalconsumer electronics[citation needed]. After World War II and through the1960s, Packard Bell was a very profitable company. Packard Bell went public in1955. The firm expanded into defense electronics during World War II andcontinued into the 1970s. Herb Bell died in the early 1970s[citation needed].Teledyne PackardBell years[edit]In 1968, PackardBell was sold to Teledyne. Teledyne was interested in reaching further into theconsumer electronics business. The sales was converted into stock at anexchange of 1 share of Teledyne Common Stock equals Seven and one-half sharesof Packard Bell Common Stock. The Packard Bell name remained, but with Teledyneahead of it, hence Teledyne Packard Bell.[4]Computers: the newPackard Bell[edit]The Packard Bell logoin the '90s.In 1986, Beny Alagemand a group of Israeli investors bought the Packard Bell name from Teledyne[5]and resurrected it as a manufacturer of low-cost personal computers. Theircomputers were among the first IBM PC compatibles sold in retail chains such asSears.[6]According to FortuneMagazine, Packard Bell sometimes benefited from misplaced name recognition,with consumers (especially first-time computer buyers) and even somesalespeople erroneously associating the company with others of similar name,such as Hewlett-Packard, Pacific Bell, and Bell Laboratories. Packard Bell'sold slogan, "America grew up listening to us. It still does", mayhave facilitated the confusion.[7] The company also sold nearly identicalsystems under different names, making comparison difficult.A Packard BellMultimedia D160 manufactured in the mid-1990sAside from price andbrand misnomers, Packard Bell's success in number of units sold may have comefrom two areas of innovation: 1) branding and industrial design, provided bythe San Francisco offices of frog design; and 2) its boot-up shell Packard BellNavigator, created by The Pixel Company in Seattle. They targeted a hugesection of consumers who were inexperienced using computers. Frog design gavethe look of quality and utilized innovations such as color-coding cableconnectors (first seen on the IBM PS/2), while Navigator provided the abilityfor users to launch installed programs by clicking on-screen buttons, and thenlater a house metaphor.[8] During this phase, returns dropped from 19% to 10%,and sales grew exponentially.[citation needed] In late 1995 to early 1996Microsoft forced boot-up shells off OEM computers by updating its MicrosoftWindows distribution agreement (OPK 2) and Packard Bell, without a clearon-shelf differentiator, saw sales begin to tumble.[citation needed]In 1995, Compaq suedPackard Bell for not disclosing that Packard Bell computers incorporated usedparts. This practice was, in fact, widespread in the computer industryincluding Compaq itself. However, unlike its rival companies, Packard Bell wasjudged not to have advertised the practice sufficiently in its warranties(Compaq, for instance, disclosed it in the warranty statement).[9] The companywas the subject of several lawsuits, and paid millions of dollars insettlements. In 2005, PC World Magazine ranked the Packard Bell computers of1986–1996 as the worst PCs manufactured of all time.[10][11] In addition, oneout of six Packard Bell PCs sold at retail was returned, a rate double theindustry average.[10]In 1995, PackardBell acquired Zenith Data Systems from Groupe Bull in a deal which saw GroupeBull and NEC taking a larger stake in Packard Bell[12] to create a $4.5 billioncompany. The company now became integrated with NEC Computers. Its 15% marketshare made it the largest PC manufacturer, in terms of units shipped, in theUnited States.[citation needed] However, Compaq overtook it in retail sales inmid-1996, and cemented its lead the next year with the release of a $999 PC inMarch 1997.[citation needed]Packard Bell postedlosses totaling more than $1 billion in 1997 and 1998. In the U.S., pricepressure from Compaq and, later, eMachines, along with continued poor showingsin consumer satisfaction surveys made it difficult for the company to remainprofitable and led to Alagem's departure in 1998.[citation needed] In 1999, NECbegan withdrawing the Packard Bell name from the U.S. market, while keeping itin Europe, where the brand was untainted by allegations of sub-standardquality.[13]Packard BellEurope[edit]Packard Bell's logo 2003–2009.In 2000, NECwithdrew Packard Bell from the U.S. market, selling their Utah-based callcenters, all its US inventory and all US product liability to Alorica Inc, whowas responsible for providing support to all remaining US customers. PackardBell also entered other businesses: such as MP3 players. In 2004, the companychanged its logo and began manufacturing media products for television andwireless networking.Packard Bell alsosells accessories and has started operating in other continents. In September2006, Packard Bell was bought by John Hui (the former owner of eMachines). Nowknown as Packard Bell Europe B.V., the company relocated to Nijmegen in theNetherlands.In August 2007, theChinese PC manufacturer Lenovo confirmed its interest in acquiring Packard Bellin a move to expand its products into Europe by placing an offer for PackardBell.[14] In January 2008, Acer announced that it had acquired a 75%controlling share in the parent company of Packard Bell due to ownership rightsthat it had acquired when it purchased Gateway the year before, enabling Acerto counter-offer any third party buy on Packard Bell, leading to atakeover.[15] Packard Bell is now under the same corporate division of andshares products with Acer's subsidiary Gateway, Inc., a notable formercompetitor.Sponsorship[edit]From 1996 until2000, when Strongbow took over the contract, Packard Bell sponsored Englishfootball club Leeds United.From 2009 to 2010,the name Packard Bell has been seen on the FIAT Yamaha MotoGP racebike of WorldChampion Valentino Rossi of Italy.[16] Packard Bell also dropped theirsponsorship from the Professional Electronic Sports Team, 4Kings.