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USAF retires floppy discs - 10/18/2019 2:32:55 PM   
Rusty1961

 

Posts: 1219
Joined: 2/4/2010
Status: offline 		https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/oct/18/military-has-phased-out-the-use-of-floppy-disks-to/
Post #: 1
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/18/2019 2:36:49 PM   
BillBrown


Posts: 2335
Joined: 6/15/2002
Status: offline 		I remember those 8" floppy disks.

(in reply to Rusty1961)
Post #: 2
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/18/2019 2:53:46 PM   
HansBolter


Posts: 7704
Joined: 7/6/2006
From: United States
Status: offline 		Wow Bill.

My memory only stretches back to the 5-1/4" floppies.

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Post #: 3
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/18/2019 3:39:20 PM   
Zorch

 

Posts: 7087
Joined: 3/7/2010
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quote:

ORIGINAL: BillBrown

I remember those 8" floppy disks.

They were REALLY floppy.

(in reply to BillBrown)
Post #: 4
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/18/2019 3:46:52 PM   
btd64


Posts: 9973
Joined: 1/23/2010
From: Mass. USA. now in Lancaster, OHIO
Status: offline 		I remember selling them....GP

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Post #: 5
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/18/2019 4:23:53 PM   
geofflambert


Posts: 14863
Joined: 12/23/2010
From: St. Louis
Status: offline 		I've got a floppy but it isn't 8".

(in reply to btd64)
Post #: 6
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/18/2019 5:35:17 PM   
BBfanboy


Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

I've got a floppy but it isn't 8".

I can relate! ...





Attachment (1)

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Post #: 7
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 11:07:50 AM   
Hanzberger


Posts: 921
Joined: 4/26/2006
From: SE Pennsylvania
Status: offline 		I remember these, had computer programming at tech school 83-85

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Post #: 8
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 11:21:35 AM   
Jorge_Stanbury


Posts: 4320
Joined: 2/29/2012
From: Toronto and Lima
Status: offline 		did they transition to laserdiscs?

(in reply to Hanzberger)
Post #: 9
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 1:48:37 PM   
GetAssista

 

Posts: 2732
Joined: 9/19/2009
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury
did they transition to laserdiscs?

No, obviously to a more miniaturized 5.25" variety. Efficiency for the win!

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Post #: 10
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 2:44:23 PM   
jagsdomain

 

Posts: 197
Joined: 7/4/2019
Status: offline 		So much for state of the art!
Glad to know the Air Force is keeping up with the times.

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Post #: 11
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 4:01:23 PM   
rustysi


Posts: 7472
Joined: 2/21/2012
From: LI, NY
Status: offline 		Government is always the last to upgrade anything, even when it is not cost effect to maintain legacy equipment.

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Post #: 12
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 4:43:09 PM   
geofflambert


Posts: 14863
Joined: 12/23/2010
From: St. Louis
Status: offline 		I had to keypunch stacks of cards in FORTRAN class.

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Post #: 13
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 5:01:51 PM   
Zorch

 

Posts: 7087
Joined: 3/7/2010
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

I had to keypunch stacks of cards in FORTRAN class.

+1 Woe to the person who dropped their deck!

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Post #: 14
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 5:02:23 PM   
Lokasenna


Posts: 9297
Joined: 3/3/2012
From: Iowan in MD/DC
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury
did they transition to laserdiscs?

No, obviously to a more miniaturized 5.25" variety. Efficiency for the win!


Technically, yes! Smaller disks (it's with a 'k' for this type) and more storage space on them, too.

(in reply to GetAssista)
Post #: 15
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 5:51:55 PM   
rustysi


Posts: 7472
Joined: 2/21/2012
From: LI, NY
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

I had to keypunch stacks of cards in FORTRAN class.


Fourteen years of experience in the electronics field, and the first time I saw a keypunch was when I starting working for the government.

Yup, that right, I work for the gov'ment. Over thirty years for the FAA on their computers systems. Gonna hold that against me.

Edit: BTW, first place I saw an 8" floppy too.

Edit edit:The Smithsonian called, and took our card reader/punch when they heard we were getting rid of it. Our worked, theirs didn't.

< Message edited by rustysi -- 10/19/2019 6:00:18 PM >

_____________________________

It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. Hume

In every party there is one member who by his all-too-devout pronouncement of the party principles provokes the others to apostasy. Nietzsche

Cave ab homine unius libri. Ltn Prvb

(in reply to geofflambert)
Post #: 16
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/19/2019 11:28:04 PM   
Reg


Posts: 2787
Joined: 5/26/2000
From: NSW, Australia
Status: offline
Those damn 8" things and their drives were unreliable as well....

About a third of my class lost their entire semester's work to disk corruption and backup was not a top priority in those days....




< Message edited by Reg -- 10/20/2019 2:43:52 AM >

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Post #: 17
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/20/2019 12:08:09 AM   
BillBrown


Posts: 2335
Joined: 6/15/2002
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

I had to keypunch stacks of cards in FORTRAN class.


We only had to do one small program that way, just to teach us
how lucky we were to have terminals.

(in reply to geofflambert)
Post #: 18
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/20/2019 12:16:37 AM   
Chickenboy


Posts: 24520
Joined: 6/29/2002
From: San Antonio, TX
Status: offline 		Anybody else remember 'notching' a corner of a SSDD to make it-voila!-a DSDD? With a hole punch? Of course, this also reduced the reliability of the disc too-sometimes you'd overbite the notch and mess the disc up. But it was a quick and dirty way to double your capability.

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Post #: 19
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/20/2019 1:17:08 AM   
jagsdomain

 

Posts: 197
Joined: 7/4/2019
Status: offline 		On a serious note. Would having the launch codes on a floppy disk prevent hacking?
Its basicly like having a hard copy.

(in reply to Chickenboy)
Post #: 20
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/20/2019 2:51:35 AM   
spence

 

Posts: 5400
Joined: 4/20/2003
From: Vancouver, Washington
Status: offline
quote:

he Smithsonian called, and took our card reader/punch when they heard we were getting rid of it. Our worked, theirs didn't.


When we went to GTMO for REFTRA in 1978 we got parts from the USS Massachusetts Museum for our main gun: a 5"38 cal DP in game terms. The parts from the Massachusetts kept our gun in action all thru REFTRA.

quote:

I had to keypunch stacks of cards in FORTRAN class.


Ah FORTRAN!. Loved those stacks of cards so much I took the class again just for fun.

(in reply to jagsdomain)
Post #: 21
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/20/2019 6:31:09 AM   
Chris21wen

 

Posts: 6249
Joined: 1/17/2002
From: Cottesmore, Rutland
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

Anybody else remember 'notching' a corner of a SSDD to make it-voila!-a DSDD? With a hole punch? Of course, this also reduced the reliability of the disc too-sometimes you'd overbite the notch and mess the disc up. But it was a quick and dirty way to double your capability.


Yes. Bit of useless technical info for you. When the discs were made the batch was tested. If one side failed it became single, otherwise double. Hence the reliability factor.

(in reply to Chickenboy)
Post #: 22
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/20/2019 6:36:50 AM   
Chris21wen

 

Posts: 6249
Joined: 1/17/2002
From: Cottesmore, Rutland
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jagsdomain

On a serious note. Would having the launch codes on a floppy disk prevent hacking?
Its basicly like having a hard copy.


In them days there was no cloud, no internet very few networks that existed outside of a building, so yes, unless some idiot had writen it down (and other security risks) just in case the disc corrupted.

(in reply to jagsdomain)
Post #: 23
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/20/2019 11:51:51 AM   
Zorch

 

Posts: 7087
Joined: 3/7/2010
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Chris21wen


quote:

ORIGINAL: jagsdomain

On a serious note. Would having the launch codes on a floppy disk prevent hacking?
Its basicly like having a hard copy.


In them days there was no cloud, no internet very few networks that existed outside of a building, so yes, unless some idiot had writen it down (and other security risks) just in case the disc corrupted.

But you could examine the disk contents with an editor and get the info that way, encryption being primitive or non-existent.

(in reply to Chris21wen)
Post #: 24
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/20/2019 11:56:44 AM   
Zorch

 

Posts: 7087
Joined: 3/7/2010
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Chris21wen


quote:

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

Anybody else remember 'notching' a corner of a SSDD to make it-voila!-a DSDD? With a hole punch? Of course, this also reduced the reliability of the disc too-sometimes you'd overbite the notch and mess the disc up. But it was a quick and dirty way to double your capability.


Yes. Bit of useless technical info for you. When the discs were made the batch was tested. If one side failed it became single, otherwise double. Hence the reliability factor.

And the little sticky tab used to write protect diskettes would fall off...you also had to to be careful about writing on the label with a ball point pen because the disk would be damaged.

(in reply to Chris21wen)
Post #: 25
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/20/2019 7:10:30 PM   
jagsdomain

 

Posts: 197
Joined: 7/4/2019
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Zorch


quote:

ORIGINAL: Chris21wen


quote:

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

Anybody else remember 'notching' a corner of a SSDD to make it-voila!-a DSDD? With a hole punch? Of course, this also reduced the reliability of the disc too-sometimes you'd overbite the notch and mess the disc up. But it was a quick and dirty way to double your capability.



Yes. Bit of useless technical info for you. When the discs were made the batch was tested. If one side failed it became single, otherwise double. Hence the reliability factor.

And the little sticky tab used to write protect diskettes would fall off...you also had to to be careful about writing on the label with a ball point pen because the disk would be damaged.

For got about that little tab.
I remember the first time I tryed to save something then founs out you had to format the disk.

(in reply to Zorch)
Post #: 26
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/21/2019 7:08:27 AM   
Chris21wen

 

Posts: 6249
Joined: 1/17/2002
From: Cottesmore, Rutland
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Zorch


quote:

ORIGINAL: Chris21wen


quote:

ORIGINAL: jagsdomain

On a serious note. Would having the launch codes on a floppy disk prevent hacking?
Its basicly like having a hard copy.


In them days there was no cloud, no internet very few networks that existed outside of a building, so yes, unless some idiot had writen it down (and other security risks) just in case the disc corrupted.

But you could examine the disk contents with an editor and get the info that way, encryption being primitive or non-existent.


Only if you stoll the disc.

(in reply to Zorch)
Post #: 27
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/21/2019 7:10:22 AM   
Chris21wen

 

Posts: 6249
Joined: 1/17/2002
From: Cottesmore, Rutland
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jagsdomain


quote:

ORIGINAL: Zorch


quote:

ORIGINAL: Chris21wen


quote:

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

Anybody else remember 'notching' a corner of a SSDD to make it-voila!-a DSDD? With a hole punch? Of course, this also reduced the reliability of the disc too-sometimes you'd overbite the notch and mess the disc up. But it was a quick and dirty way to double your capability.



Yes. Bit of useless technical info for you. When the discs were made the batch was tested. If one side failed it became single, otherwise double. Hence the reliability factor.

And the little sticky tab used to write protect diskettes would fall off...you also had to to be careful about writing on the label with a ball point pen because the disk would be damaged.

For got about that little tab.
I remember the first time I tryed to save something then founs out you had to format the disk.



All that stuff. You forget.

(in reply to jagsdomain)
Post #: 28
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/21/2019 10:32:38 AM   
Hanzberger


Posts: 921
Joined: 4/26/2006
From: SE Pennsylvania
Status: offline 		I think I have some key punch cards laying around somewhere. We use to type notes to each other in class.

_____________________________

Planning for #17 Ironman Tier2

Japan AC wire chart here
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2769286&mpage=1&key=?

(in reply to Chris21wen)
Post #: 29
RE: USAF retires floppy discs - 10/21/2019 11:58:32 AM   
Zorch

 

Posts: 7087
Joined: 3/7/2010
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Hanzberger

I think I have some key punch cards laying around somewhere. We use to type notes to each other in class.

I would type, "Help! I'm trapped inside the keypunch machine" and leave the card in the machine.

(in reply to Hanzberger)
Post #: 30
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