Cracking open the Iomega Zip drive

CNET Networks's TechRepublic runs a regular series called "Cracking Open", in which it takes a look inside a variety of gadgets. ZDNet.co.uk is publishing this excerpt.

In 1995, Iomega's little blue Zip drive made PC World's "50 greatest gadgets of the past 50 years" list. These popular drives gave many users their first taste of easy-to-use backup and storage media. We thought it would be fun to crack one open and see how it was put together.

Iomega started shipping these little wonders in 1995, when a 1GB hard drive cost $625 (£316).