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The Pentagon’s Huge Atomic Floppies


questionmark

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When you hear the phrase “floppy disk,” your mind (assuming you’re of a certain age) flashes back to those ubiquitous 3.5-inch versions that were AOL’s Johnny Appleseed in the mid-1990s, spreading “You’ve Got Mail!” across the land. Only the aged among us can recollect what came before: the behemoth 5.25-inch models that owned the (tiny computer universe of the) 1980s.

That’s why it might give you pause to learn that the Pentagon—that epitome of cutting-edge technology and the inventor of the Internet—still uses gargantuan 8-inch floppy disks, floppy fossils from the 1970s, to help operate the nation’s nuclear weapons.

Read more on Time Magazine

Well, now, what the heck are we spending all those trillions on?

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If existing system is reliable, where is the problem? Better spend $ on other things.

BTW, I still use 3.5 inchies, and have box of 8 inchies...

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I have yet to see a "reliable" floppy. In those times you spent more time making backup copies than computing, especially when talking 5 and 8"

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29 minutes ago, questionmark said:

I have yet to see a "reliable" floppy. In those times you spent more time making backup copies than computing, especially when talking 5 and 8"

I had in mind whole system.

I still have 20+ years old 3.5" without loss of data, while some CDs are done and gone...

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Where do they get replacement discs from?

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i'm sure there are manufacturers that make them just for DOD, for several hundred dollars each. btw, vinyl records are still being made. 

vacuum tubes are still used as well, old tech, but very resistant to emp

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Sometimes the simplest is the most secure. 

Wonder what OS they use? Unix, maybe? 

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Aren't many of the nuclear silos relics of the cold war requiring cold war technology to still operate?

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15 hours ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

Where do they get replacement discs from?

Floppydisk.com

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On 5/26/2016 at 6:23 AM, bmk1245 said:

I had in mind whole system.

I still have 20+ years old 3.5" without loss of data, while some CDs are done and gone...

I have a bunch of old 3.5" floppys, but most have degraded data.    All my CD's are still good though.  

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2 hours ago, Myles said:

I have a bunch of old 3.5" floppys, but most have degraded data.    All my CD's are still good though.  

Well, what can I say... Different manufacturers, different quality... 3M, Verbatim 3.5"ies still holding. Few Verbatim, MMore, Acme CDs/DVDs - kaput.

Pitty, I can't check 8" (BASF and some Bulgarian floppies).

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On 5/26/2016 at 9:42 PM, Not Your Huckleberry said:

Sometimes the simplest is the most secure. 

Wonder what OS they use? Unix, maybe? 

Exactly. I have heard that this is actually very safe & secure because it's virtually immune to hacking.

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22 minutes ago, Otto von Pickelhaube said:

Exactly. I have heard that this is actually very safe & secure because it's virtually immune to hacking.

Nothing is immune to hacking, and "immune to hacking" are generally the best targets.

 

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bmk1245 is right.   If it's reliable and still gets the job done, what's the problem?   Go repair a dangerous bridge or something.  I think Otto has a point that it would add a layer of security. 

Front line combat jets use computer electronics from the '70s because it's built like a tank and can withstand the stresses of flight, and it works like it's supposed to.  It still gets the job done and parts are available.  

Not to mention the bottom side of CDs get scratched just by breathing on them funny... in Consumerland it's the age of flash drives for now.  The keychain drives at Walmart are a 10/10 for storage so long as it works the next time you use it.  ^_^

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This is for sure an interesting story.

At first I heard that "relic" computing technology that controls our nuclear arsenal was "less prone" to hacking than, say, today's computing environment, simply because the potential "backdoors" do not exist or easily defended with relic systems.

Now I just recently heard on the news somewhere that maintaining these relic systems is reaching a point where it will become more cost effective to upgrade.

Whatever the "truth" is, I just hope that the decision is based not on cost, but security.

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They may have to upgrade to Windows 95. :angry: 

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2 hours ago, Otto von Pickelhaube said:

They may have to upgrade to Windows 95. :angry: 

50 years from now:

Pentagon: Windows 7 sucks!

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15 hours ago, pallidin said:

This is for sure an interesting story.

At first I heard that "relic" computing technology that controls our nuclear arsenal was "less prone" to hacking than, say, today's computing environment, simply because the potential "backdoors" do not exist or easily defended with relic systems.

Now I just recently heard on the news somewhere that maintaining these relic systems is reaching a point where it will become more cost effective to upgrade.

Whatever the "truth" is, I just hope that the decision is based not on cost, but security.

I hope there's both security and cost being taken into account. 

But I can hear Bob and Gary in the lab already:

Bob: "How do you like the new upgrades Gary?"

Gary: "Everything's running a lot faster now Bob.  But we're also less secure."

Bob: "What extra work did you get done today with all that speed?"

Gary:  *blinks*

 

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