[SIGCIS-Members] Current use of floppy disks

Fri Nov 5 12:54:19 PDT 2021

Not quite current but close – two years ago the U.S. Navy finally phased them out on nuclear submarines: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/us/nuclear-weapons-floppy-disks.html <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/us/nuclear-weapons-floppy-disks.html>
Best, Marc

Marc Weber <https://computerhistory.org/profile/marc-weber/>
Curatorial Director, Internet History Program
Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043
marc at webhistory.org  |  +1 415 282 6868
computerhistory.org/nethistory  |  Co-founder, Web History Center and Project

> On Nov 5, 2021, at 08:08, James A Hodges <james.hodges at rutgers.edu> wrote:
> 
> Perhaps also not what the journalist is looking to hear, but there are still some vintage music production tools (ie samplers and synthesizers) that use floppy disk storage. The Yamaha DX7 II FD synth and Akai s950 sampler are classic machines that still get used in studios today, and the Roland SP-808 sampler even uses ancient 100mb Zip Disks for storage! However, many of these machines, if they're still in use, have been updated to use new forms of storage or data transfer in place of the old floppy drives. This means that there is an interesting little cottage industry of people working to enable such conversions via new software and hardware.
> 
> On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 6:28 AM McMillan, William W <william.mcmillan at cuaa.edu <mailto:william.mcmillan at cuaa.edu>> wrote:
> Interesting question, Martin!
> 
> There are plenty of us who have old files on floppy disks. I have a USB-connected floppy drive handy to read these if and when I want to.
> 
> Some old Boeing 747s still use floppies:
> https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33612762/boeing-747-floppy-disk-updates/ <https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33612762/boeing-747-floppy-disk-updates/>
> 
> There are probably other dedicated real-time security and control systems in low-tech settings that still use floppies.
> 
> Hobbyists and old-gear aficionados, including nostalgic gamers, still use them. (I have an old Windows 7 computer, with floppy drive, disconnected from the Internet, which I use just for computer programming.)
> 
> Bill
> 
>  <https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33612762/boeing-747-floppy-disk-updates/>	
> Floppy Disks: Do They Still Work? | 747s Still Use Floppy Disks - Popular Mechanics <https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33612762/boeing-747-floppy-disk-updates/>
> Some Boeing 747s still use 3.5-inch floppy disks to load updated navigational databases. That sounds crazy, but it isn't.
> www.popularmechanics.com <http://www.popularmechanics.com/>
> 
> From: Members <members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org <mailto:members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of Schmitt, Martin <martin.schmitt at tu-darmstadt.de <mailto:martin.schmitt at tu-darmstadt.de>>
> Sent: Friday, November 5, 2021 6:57 AM
> To: Sigcis <members at sigcis.org <mailto:members at sigcis.org>>
> Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Current use of floppy disks
>  
> Dear SIGCIS,
> 
> today, I got a request by a German journalist asking about current uses of floppy disks. Are they still is use somewhere? Are there still users, for example power plants, airlines, banks or so who are using floppy disks? If so, why do they do that? I am sure that you can address this question, that was forwarded to me by Daniela Zetti, way better than I could. My first thought were computer hobbyists who are working with old computers and presenting them at Vintage Computing Festivals – cool stuff, but I do not think that is what the journalist wants to hear.
> 
> Best 
> Martin
> 
> Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter | Post-Doc | digital enthusiast
> 
> Technische Universität Darmstadt
> Institut für Geschichte
> Fachgebiet Technikgeschichte
> 
> Mail: martin.schmitt at tu-darmstadt.de <mailto:martin.schmitt at tu-darmstadt.de>
> Tel: +49  6151-16-57327
> http://www.computerisierung.com <http://www.computerisierung.com/>
> 
> &
> 
> Assoziierter Wissenschaftler
> LEIBNIZ-ZENTRUM FÜR ZEITHISTORISCHE FORSCHUNG | POTSDAM 
> 
> Vice Chair IFIP WG 9.7 „History of computing"
> 
> Zuletzt erschienen: Leslie, Christopher und Martin Schmitt (eds.): Histories of Computing in Eastern Europe, Cham: Springer International Publishing 2019 (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology 549), https://www.springer.com/978-3-030-29159-4 <https://www.springer.com/978-3-030-29159-4>
> 
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> -- 
> JAMES A. HODGES, PH.D.
> Bullard Postdoctoral Research Fellow
> The University of Texas at Austin
> School of Information
> http://www.jameshodges.net <http://www.jameshodges.net/>
> 
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