Dear Martin, In Kyoto, Japan, floppy disks are still used in weaving looms for Nishijin-ori, which is traditional silk fabrics. https://kyoto.travel/en/see-and-do/nishijin-ori.html The Nishijin weaving factories introduced jacquard looms in the late 19th century (probably in the 1870s), and since then the weaving patterns were input by punchcards, which were gradually replaced by floppy disks around the end of the 20th century. Even now, some factories still use looms with such floppy disks. Since it has become difficult to obtain floppies, some Nishijin-ori companies sometimes ask for donations of floppy disks through SNS. I heard there are a few factories that still use old punchcard, although these cards for jacquard looms are heavy and difficult to handle. Mai Sugimoto Associate Professor Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University 3-3-35, Yamate-cho, Suita-shi http://www4.plala.or.jp/maisugimoto/index2.htm Osaka, Japan 564-8680 2021年11月5日(金) 19:58 Schmitt, Martin <martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de>:
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@tu-darmstadt.de Tel: +49 6151-16-57327 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
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