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BOFH excuse #138: BNC (brain not connected)

comp / comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage / Re: A Blast From The Past

SubjectAuthor
* A Blast From The PastJohn Dulak
`* Re: A Blast From The PastKyonshi
 `- Re: A Blast From The PastJohn Dulak

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Subject: A Blast From The Past
From: John Dulak
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage
Organization: Gnomeway Services
Date: Tue, 21 May 2024 12:30 UTC
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From: Johnd@Booogus.com (John Dulak)
Subject: A Blast From The Past
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A blast from the past ;-)

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240510-floppy-disks-why-some-people-are-still-in-love-with-this-obsolete-computer-storage-technology

John
--
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'' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''

Subject: Re: A Blast From The Past
From: Kyonshi
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage
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Date: Wed, 22 May 2024 13:27 UTC
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From: gmkeros@gmail.com (Kyonshi)
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Subject: Re: A Blast From The Past
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On 5/21/2024 2:30 PM, John Dulak wrote:
> A blast from the past ;-)
>
> https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240510-floppy-disks-why-some-people-are-still-in-love-with-this-obsolete-computer-storage-technology
>
> John

is any technology ever really obsolete?

(except the Zune. That one was obsolete the week before it came out)

Subject: Re: A Blast From The Past
From: John Dulak
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage
Organization: Gnomeway Services
Date: Wed, 22 May 2024 14:10 UTC
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Subject: Re: A Blast From The Past
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From: Johnd@Booogus.com (John Dulak)
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On 5/22/2024 9:27 AM, Kyonshi wrote:
> On 5/21/2024 2:30 PM, John Dulak wrote:
>> A blast from the past ;-)
>>
>> https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240510-floppy-disks-why-some-people-are-still-in-love-with-this-obsolete-computer-storage-technology
>>
>>
>> John
>
> is any technology ever really obsolete?
>
> (except the Zune. That one was obsolete the week before it came out)

Kyonshi:

FWIIW I still have floppy disks. Both 5-1/4 inch and 3-1/2 inch and the drives
that can read them. I admit I rarely use them since USB "sticks" are easier and
roomier.

When I worked at Extrel there was a roll out of a new software package and
various people were asked to evaluate sections of the package. Since changes to
one part often were reflected in another part of the program there was value in
keeping only *one copy* of the update to the software so the programmers did not
get "lost in the woods" of many changes. The solution was to keep the software
update on a single floppy disk known internally as "Sneaker Net".

We also had some old systems that used 8 inch floppies. When customers asked for
software changes they had to send Extrel one of their disks. People are NOT
going to throw away a half million dollar machine just because they can't find a
floppy disk to enter instructions!!

On one of my gigs at Extrel after I retired one of the electronics engineers
told me that one of his oscilloscopes had a "storage" function that allowed him
to save a waveform to a floppy disk to archive performance. Since floppies were
getting scarce he was thinking of a new oscilloscope. We were able to track down
a "Floppy to USB" converter that plugged into a floppy slot. The only down side
was that the USB stick had to be partitioned and formatted to 1.44 MB. The files
could then be transfered to a desktop PC.

And so it goes...

--
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'' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''

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