The floppy disks have not completely disappeared: that’s who still uses them

THE floppy disk They are magnetic digital memory supports that now belong to a past era. With the technological progress that led to the diffusion of faster and faster supports, such as USB sticks and more recently the cloud, the 3.5 -inch plastic disk invented by IBM In the 1967 For the vast majority of us, it is part of the remote past. Yet, despite the technology, it went on, There are still those who cannot say goodbye to this format which, after decades, continues to be used in specific areas, both by hobbyists and professionals. Who still uses them? And why?

“Modern” uses of floppy disk

One of the most curious examples relating to “modern” uses of floppy disk comes from the musical world. ESTEN KRAFTa musician and YouTuber Norwegian, preserves a vast collection of floppy disk he uses for his electronic music. When it is looking for particular, refined, unique sounds, Kraft looks for them among the boxes full of duly labeled floppy disk, which retain vintage synthesizers audio samples. For him, the use of these records is not only a practical act, but an important part of the creative process. The nostalgia that accompanies the loading of a sample on an old synthesizer is a moment that Kraft describes as magical. Still, this is only an example of how the format, although obsolete, can still stimulate creativity in some subjects.

Another area in which the floppy disks are still in use is the industrial one. Although they are now rare, some sectors, such as that aerospacestill depend on these records for critical operations. For example, Some Boeing 747 use floppy disk to load software updates on navigation and avionic systems. These aircraft, although no longer common in the skies of the United States or Europe, are still in use in some less developed geographical areas. The resistance of long -term systems and compatibility with obsolete hardware make the floppy disk irreplaceable (at least for the moment) in these circumstances. Below you will also find a movie in which this system can be seen at work.

And you knew that some systems of public transport, such as the Muni Metro di San Franciscowouldn’t they work without the floppy disk? In this specific case they are used to load the software necessary for the functioning of the stations daily. “On the computer it must be said what it has to do every day “referred to the BBC a spokesman for the SFMTA (San Francisco Municipal Transport Agency), adding that “Without a hard drive, there is no place to install software permanently “. This computer must have repeatedly restarted in this way, he adds, and cannot be simply left on, for fear that his memory degrades. It must be said that SFMTA is still equipping to abandon this old technology in favor of the most modern ones, which should take place between the 2027 and the 2028.

Also the computer securityhowever counterintuitive it may seem, he found a sort of safe refuge in the floppy disk. In an era in which the risks related to cyberc crime are increasingly high, the physical nature of the floppy offers a sort of “natural” protection against malware. In this regard, Ken MunroIT security expert at Pen Test Partnersreported:

If the floppy were the only interface, the only way to get the malware (on the computer) would be through the aforementioned floppy disk. This is a rather limiting factor for the attacker.

Also some academic researchers They still use floppy disk today. The neuroscientiasta Maya Sapurkafor example, used them in 2016 for archive data during his doctorateas the system was perfectly suitable for its needs. Same goes for Christian Donhoea researcher who retains the data relating to the experiments on floppy disk, as they allow him to replicate with greater loyalty the experiments carried out even after decades.

Adrian Demleitner of the University of the Arts of Bern, on the other hand, has accumulated an archive of retro games preserved on floppy disk. These old games, as well as the rescue data that record users’ progress, are a sort of “treasure” for enthusiasts of retrogaming. In England, Karl Dysonexpert of this particular niche, sells kits for old games, including floppy disk, still appreciated today by many fans. The feeling of “touching” the past, of reliving the authentic experience of loading a game from a floppy, evidently still makes many video games excited.

Because the floppy disk are (almost) disappeared

The floppy disk, originally introduced around the 70s, saw an exponential diffusion in the 80s and 90s, when they were the only way to archive and transfer data between computers. With the passage of time, however, Their skills have been overcome. Just think that a 3.5 -inch floppy disk it can contain to the maximum 1.44 MB of dataan insignificant amount of data compared to today’s storage devices that can also store several terabytes of information. If the concept does not be clear to you, think about the fact that to reach the ability of a very common 1 TB hard disk it would take something like over 694,000 3.5 -inch floppy disk!

Despite these obvious technical limitations, the charm for the floppy disk has not completely disappeared (as we told you in the previous paragraphs) and, in some areas, it is only recently that these supports have been definitively sent into “pension”. This is the case, for example, of nuclear weapon control system of the US army functioning with the floppy disk up to the summer of 2019 or, even more recently, of Japanese government that, up to the summer of 2024, has requested the sending of documents on this support. One last gem before concluding: the production of floppy disk has definitively stopped in March 2011when the Japanese giant Sony It built the last specimen.