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<mailto: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
On floppy disks, there was a recent news item in Japan that government bureaucrats have been using 3.5-in floppy disks for transmitting employee payment data to banks. Apparently, the banks wished to phase out of this technology for years, and only this year did the Japanese government agree to *begin* a phase-out plan scheduled for the next five years. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Tokyo-says-long-goodbye-to-belov... Hyungsub Choi ----------------------------------------------------- Hyungsub Choi, Ph.D. (For AY2021-22) Visiting Scholar, Needham Research Institute 8 Sylvester Road, Cambridge CB3 9AF, England (Permanent) Associate Professor, School of Liberal Arts Seoul National University of Science and Technology 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, Korea 01811 +82-2-970-6259 hchoi@seoultech.ac.kr On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 10:58 AM Schmitt, Martin < martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de> wrote:
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
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
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-up... 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://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/background-made-of-vintage-colored-floppy-disks-royalty-free-image-1597667296.jpg?crop=0.992xw:0.516xh;0.00160xw,0.0666xh&resize=1200:*]<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 ________________________________ From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Schmitt, Martin <martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de> Sent: Friday, November 5, 2021 6:57 AM To: Sigcis <members@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@tu-darmstadt.de<mailto: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
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@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-up...
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
------------------------------ *From:* Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Schmitt, Martin <martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de> *Sent:* Friday, November 5, 2021 6:57 AM *To:* Sigcis <members@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@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
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- *JAMES A. HODGES, PH.D.* Bullard Postdoctoral Research Fellow The University of Texas at Austin School of Information http://www.jameshodges.net Senior Book Reviews Editor Information & Culture <https://infoculturejournal.org/> Member, Committee on Publication Ethics <https://publicationethics.org/> (COPE) Junior Fellow, Rare Book School Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography <https://rarebookschool.org/admissions-awards/fellowships/sofcb/>
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@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@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@cuaa.edu <mailto:william.mcmillan@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-up... <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@lists.sigcis.org <mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of Schmitt, Martin <martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de <mailto:martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de>> Sent: Friday, November 5, 2021 6:57 AM To: Sigcis <members@sigcis.org <mailto:members@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@tu-darmstadt.de <mailto:martin.schmitt@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>
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <http://sigcis.org/>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org>
-- 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/>
Senior Book Reviews Editor Information & Culture <https://infoculturejournal.org/> Member, Committee on Publication Ethics <https://publicationethics.org/> (COPE)
Junior Fellow, Rare Book School Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography <https://rarebookschool.org/admissions-awards/fellowships/sofcb/>_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
Of possible help, this chapter I wrote on floppy disks for the Routledge Companion to Obsolescent Media. Available here: https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:27175/ Opens with the much circulated bit of lore about Minuteman missile crews still relying on them for launch codes. On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 3:54 PM Marc Weber <marc@webhistory.org> wrote:
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 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@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@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@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-up...
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
------------------------------ *From:* Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Schmitt, Martin <martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de> *Sent:* Friday, November 5, 2021 6:57 AM *To:* Sigcis <members@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@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
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- *JAMES A. HODGES, PH.D.* Bullard Postdoctoral Research Fellow The University of Texas at Austin School of Information http://www.jameshodges.net
Senior Book Reviews Editor Information & Culture <https://infoculturejournal.org/> Member, Committee on Publication Ethics <https://publicationethics.org/> (COPE)
Junior Fellow, Rare Book School Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography <https://rarebookschool.org/admissions-awards/fellowships/sofcb/> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- Matthew Kirschenbaum Professor of English and Digital Studies Director, Graduate Certificate in Digital Studies Printer's Devil, BookLab University of Maryland mgk@umd.edu
Among other "transition" devices, the HxC Floppy Emulators "are used in very differents environnements and situations since years now. The HxC Floppy Emulator replaces the floppy disk drive of lots of industrial machines, keyboards/samplers and old computers". [ https://hxc2001.com/showroom/?fbclid=IwAR2FQVLIhn8-_QIQ3RHk5SfxyJveiOE_oU6Ei... | https://hxc2001.com/showroom/ ] Another application, for flight simulators: [ https://hxc2001.com/showroom/HxC_Floppy_Emulator_Airplane_Dataloader.html | https://hxc2001.com/showroom/HxC_Floppy_Emulator_Airplane_Dataloader.html ] Best, Pierre Mounier-Kuhn De: "James A Hodges" <james.hodges@rutgers.edu> Cc: "members" <members@sigcis.org> Envoyé: Vendredi 5 Novembre 2021 16:08:22 Objet: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Current use of floppy disks 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 < [ mailto:william.mcmillan@cuaa.edu | william.mcmillan@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-up... | https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33612762/boeing-747-floppy-disk-up... ] 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-up... ] [ https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33612762/boeing-747-floppy-disk-up... | Floppy Disks: Do They Still Work? | 747s Still Use Floppy Disks - Popular Mechanics ] Some Boeing 747s still use 3.5-inch floppy disks to load updated navigational databases. That sounds crazy, but it isn't. [ http://www.popularmechanics.com/ | www.popularmechanics.com ] From: Members < [ mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org | members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org ] > on behalf of Schmitt, Martin < [ mailto:martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de | martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de ] > Sent: Friday, November 5, 2021 6:57 AM To: Sigcis < [ mailto:members@sigcis.org | members@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: [ mailto:martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de | martin.schmitt@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 ] _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at [ http://sigcis.org/ | sigcis.org ] , the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at [ http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ | http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ ] and you can change your subscription options at [ http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org | http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org ] -- JAMES A. HODGES, PH.D. Bullard Postdoctoral Research Fellow T he University of Texas at Austin School of Information [ http://www.jameshodges.net/ | http://www.jameshodges.net ] Senior Book Reviews Editor [ https://infoculturejournal.org/ | Information & Culture ] Member, [ https://publicationethics.org/ | Committee on Publication Ethics ] (COPE) Junior Fellow, Rare Book School [ https://rarebookschool.org/admissions-awards/fellowships/sofcb/ | Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography ] _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
A few years ago I was approached by what I remember as a small foundry in Colorado that was using an Apple II in a critical process control application. Their Apple II was acting up and they were looking for someone to service it. Since hard drives were relatively rarely used on Apple II series, I presume it was floppy based. Later, a second company approached me with similar issues, but I think this was some kind of business/accounting application. I told both of these businesses to buy a replacement Apple IIe on eBay as at that time they could be had for under $100 and even if they had to buy three of them to find a working one, they would be better off than hiring a consultant to repair the current system. I presume that there are quite a number of older small businesses that don’t have the time or money to migrate to more modern systems. -Mike Willegal
On Nov 5, 2021, at 6:57 AM, Schmitt, Martin <martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de> wrote:
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 <mailto:martin.schmitt@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
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
As members have noted here, floppy disks are actually a pretty robust medium. I worked at Microsoft in the early 1990s, and we regularly heard reports of users retaining floppies over hard disk storage, because of lingering worries about the stability of PC-based hard disks. A marine biologist that I spoke with explained that at sea, hard disks from that era routinely failed when research vessels encountered rough water--so they retained floppy-based systems. Of course, every-expanding software packages made this impractical. But I'm not surprised that many floppy-based solutions are still out there. On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 3:57 AM Schmitt, Martin < martin.schmitt@tu-darmstadt.de> wrote:
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
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- Michael J. Halvorson, Ph.D. Benson Family Chair in Business and Economic History Professor of History Director of Innovation Studies
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
_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
participants (10)
-
Hyungsub Choi -
James A Hodges -
Mai Sugimoto -
Marc Weber -
Matthew Kirschenbaum -
McMillan, William W -
Mike Halvorson -
MikeWillegal -
Pierre Mounier-Kuhn -
Schmitt, Martin