US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
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Re: US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
#2I'd rather use outdated technology then use new technology that could introduce bugs.
Re: US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
#3I'd rather use outdated technology then use new technology that could introduce bugs.
There is something to be said about using proven technologies. But there is also something to be said about using still supported technologies.
Really, are there producers of 8" floppy media anymore? Are we relying on "new-but-old" stock for occasional replacement needs for these systems? Sounds like that wrench that had to be FedEx'ed between silo bases for Minuteman maintenance:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-wrench-nuclear-bases/story...
Re: US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
#4I'd rather use outdated technology then use new technology that could introduce bugs.
There is something to be said about using proven technologies. But there is also something to be said about using still supported technologies. Really, are there producers of 8" floppy media anymore? Are we relying on "new-but-old" stock for occasional replacement needs for these systems? Sounds like that wrench that had to be FedEx'ed between silo bases for Minuteman maintenance: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-wr…
> are there producers of 8" floppy media anymore?
It would appear so, and in the US, yet: http://www.athana.com/html/diskette.html#8
Re: US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
#5There is more to this than "out dated" technology. There is tremendous espionage and malicious activity protection by using outdated technology. The schematics of these systems were never online, making and introducing malware is also prohibitively difficult due to the lack of domain knowledge and expertise on the technology.
There are huge upsides to using outdated technology when it comes to nuclear warheards.
Re: US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
#6It is interesting to learn just how much "technical" debt USA has
911 that is falling apart
Nuclear weapons debacle (and a lot of other systems too)
The 7 trillion infrastructure problem
Re: US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
#7Would you rather they used USB sticks?
Re: US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
#8Everyone needs to shut the hell up about nuclear obsolescence.
If we can just keep the politicians from noticing the need to "modernize" these terrible weapons, then in a few short decades we will have achieved a de facto global disarmament. Everyone can continue manning their silos filled with stale dud warheads, fingers hovering over buttons that no longer work. We'll have all the stratigic stabilizing influences of mutually-assured-destruction, with none of the actual threat-of-destruction.
But engineers and journalists need to shut up and not point out that the emperor's got no nukes.
Re: US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
#9Everyone needs to shut the hell up about nuclear obsolescence. If we can just keep the politicians from noticing the need to "modernize" these terrible weapons, then in a few short decades we will have achieved a de facto global disarmament. Everyone can continue manning their silos filled with stale dud warheads, fingers hovering over buttons that no longer work. We'll have all the stratigic stabilizing influences o…
It's too late. The Obama administration has proposed a one trillion dollar budget to modernize the nuclear arsenal. The inclusion of low-yield nuclear devices is considered especially unnerving as it is believed their use would be easier to justify and could lean to a full nuclear exchange. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/science/as-us-modernize...
Re: US military uses 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate nuclear force operations
#10There is more to this than "out dated" technology. There is tremendous espionage and malicious activity protection by using outdated technology. The schematics of these systems were never online, making and introducing malware is also prohibitively difficult due to the lack of domain knowledge and expertise on the technology. There are huge upsides to using outdated technology when it comes to nuclear warheards.
what's the difference between outdated technology which has never been documented online, and new technology which has never been documented online?