In 1971, IBM began producing computer systems using a new form of magnetic storage medium. The medium, ultimately called a "diskette," would in a short time be adopted around the world in the design of small and low-cost systems. The diskette was a flexible magnetic disk enclosed in a jacket measuring eight inches square and one-sixteenth of an inch thick, and weighing just a few ounces. Originally intended for loading microprograms and diagnostics, users soon began to employ diskettes as a medium to distribute, exchange and archive data, programs, microcode and other digital information. The first diskette had a formatted disk capacity of 81.6 kilobytes on 32 tracks; six years later, the formatted capacity had been increased to 1.2 megabytes on 154 tracks. (VV2132)