🚀 go-pugleaf

An email inquiry asked about the physical dimensions of these drives.  He 
was right, I didn't include that information in my original research, so 
I'll post it here separately, since it's probably of interest to many:

Iomega ZIP drive 100 MByte    Street price:  $199.99 (with cart)
29 ms access time, 1 MByte per second transfer rate

1 lb, very compact, palm sized; looks very much like a portable CD player
size.  I suspect it has good portability.  The cartridges look like
slightly larger floppies.  Some folks have emailed me that they are in
short supply, and some folks have told me the 25 MByte carts are not
available yet.  I have no confirmation of either statement and I invite
additional information. The drive can be placed horizontally or vertically
(has little 'feet' on the side).  A push button on the front right ejects
the cartridges.  There's a little window in the top.  No write protect 
tab on cartridges. 
Availability:  quite a few people seem to have them, but generally they 
are backordered 4 - 8 weeks (at least at the five places I called).

Syquest EZ Drive 135 MByte cartridges Street price:  $207.99 (no cart) 
13 ms average access time  2.4 MByte per second max transfer rate

Not as portable as the ZIP Drive, it looks more solid, and not unlike
small CD-ROM drives.  The weight is 2.3 lb.  The cartridges are just a
shade under 4" square, again, just slightly larger than floppies.  It
measures roughly 2" x 5" by 8.5" deep.  I noticed one poster suggesting
the case could be removed and the drive installed inside a machine in a
floppy slot.  Don't know if carts can be write protected. 

Availability:  Some people got them at higher prices, but they
generally are backordered 4-6 weeks at current prices.