I used them all the time when I was in college.
I agree that it is easier to store stuff on them and there very compatible, but I still don’t think there as reliable as a CD. Yes, they might be more compatible and easier to use than a CD, but a CD I think it still more reliable. I have several Zips from my school days which have been wore out or corrupted. I still have CD’s from school which are accessible and it’s been a good 6 years or so. Plus, you can’t really loose information off of a CD by accident. There’s been several times where info has been deleted or lost on zip disks.
I agree that Zips are great for short term storage or transferring and a CD is great for long term storage, I guess in a way we are comparing apples to oranges.
I might have to bust mine out and look to see what’s on all my old zip disks