rss feedFond of the disk drive era? Take a spin in an art car that would make Jobs and Woz proud
Given the number of colorful floppy disks attached to the Honda Civic at the Seattle Artcar Blowout, one question needs to be asked: Is a memory stick car soon to be created?
The artcar show is was part of this weekend’s Fremont Fair in Seattle - and before my family and I left Saturday, we walked around in search of some good-looking cars that have been given the tender, loving care that only artists can give to their creations.
And smiles came to our faces when we spotted the whimsical, colorful vehicles sitting in a parking lot.
Diskdrv caught my attention not only for the colorful, square-shaped disks that made an older Honda look, in a sense, like a dot-inspired painting but also for the details.
Yes, when I was younger, I never used the floppy disks that the artist attached to the hood – but my friend, Martin, and his family used them with their old IBM.
But when I was in high school and college, I used those smaller, plastic-covered floppy disks that are seen on the car’s bumper.
Man, I thought those disks were the coolest at the time. I even had a plastic box to hold all of those smaller floppy disks.
Keep in mind that my family once owned an Apple Lisa.
As for the car’s details?
Well, the car’s hubcaps and rear bumper have what appear to be AMD chips from the 1990s, as you see photographed below.
Some of the AMD chips actually have “1996″ stamped on them.
Let’s see, now. Where would that year fall on my Information in a Box timeline?
It’s the timeline I made last year so I could remember points in time and what type of technology or medium I used for news and information.
Yes, in 1996, I was fortunate enough to have been backpacking in China – and lugging an Apple PowerBook 520 laptop (yes, complete with floppy disks).
And in the Other Details Department: The car’s artist attached keyboard pieces around the windows.
In addition, this car is or once was able to park at the Ballard Health Club.
So, if you think about it, what you’re looking at is a combination of old-school high technology, artistic creativity, a fuel-efficient car and a nod to good exercising.
All great things, if you think about it as a whole or on an individual level.
Art Car Central, a blog, has a short interview with the maker of the car.
I wonder whether anyone who once owned one of those floppy disks has ever recognized it on the car and said to the artist: “Hey, that’s the disk I used in 1995!”
And on a closing note, I leave you with The Cars and their popular song about letting the good times roll.
