Slowly They Modernize: A Federal Agency That Still Uses Floppy Disks [View all]

[Are_grits_groceries]

WASHINGTON — The technology troubles that plagued the HealthCare.gov website rollout may not have come as a shock to people who work for certain agencies of the government — especially those who still use floppy disks, the cutting-edge technology of the 1980s.

Every day, The Federal Register, the daily journal of the United States government, publishes on its website and in a thick booklet around 100 executive orders, proclamations, proposed rule changes and other government notices that federal agencies are mandated to submit for public inspection.

So far, so good.

It turns out, however, that the Federal Register employees who take in the information for publication from across the government still receive some of it on the 3.5-inch plastic storage squares that have become all but obsolete in the United States.

Now government infrastructure experts are hoping that public embarrassments like the HealthCare.gov debacle will prompt a closer look at the government’s technological prowess, especially if it might mean getting rid of floppy disks.

“You’ve got this antiquated system that still works but is not nearly as efficient as it could be,” said Stan Soloway, chief executive of the Professional Services Council, which represents more than 370 government contractors. “Companies that work with the government, whether longstanding or newcomers, are all hamstrung by the same limitations.”
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More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/07/us/politics/slowly-they-modernize-a-federal-agency-that-still-uses-floppy-disks.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

It's a wonder that the ACA website works at all.
One of the issues nobody is talking about is the procurement process. It is unwieldy to say the least. In addition, politicians try to get their faves a leg up in the process.

The other huge problem are all of the different systems and computers in use. I'll bet if they look there is probably an Eniac in use somewhere and Univacs being given to peons. I wouldn't rule out the use of punch cards in the bowels of one of those government buildings.