Long the most common way to store letters, homework and other computer files, the floppy disk is going the same way of the horse upon the arrival of the car: it'll hang around but never hold the ...

Long the most common way to store letters, homework and other computer files, the floppy disk is going the same way of the horse upon the arrival of the car: it'll hang around but never hold the same relevance in everyday life.

And good riddance, say some home computer users. The march of technology must go on.

Dell Computer Corp. stopped including a floppy drive in new computers in spring 2003, and Gateway Inc. has followed suit on some models. Floppies are available on request for $10 to $20 extra.

More and more people are willing to say goodbye to the venerable floppy, said Gateway spokeswoman Lisa Emard.

"As long as we see customers request it, we'll continue to offer it," she said. "We'll be happy to move off the floppy once our customers are ready to make that move."

The floppy disk has several replacements, including writeable compact discs and keychain flash memory devices. Both can hold much more data and are less likely to break.

However, there's always some nostalgia. Floppies have been around since the late 1970s.

The basic computer model comes with all necessary equipment, but no floppy. But plenty of regular, everyday computer users don't want to let their floppies go. They are just comfortable with it.

"It's not officially dead, but there's no question it's a slow demise," said Tim Bajarin, principle analyst for Creative Strategies, a technology consulting firm. "You had a few people ... who were screaming, but in a short time, they adjusted."