General Discussion

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)

44. I don't know about other parts of the federal government,

Reply to Are_grits_groceries (Original post)

Tue Dec 10, 2013, 04:57 AM

Dec 2013

but back in about 1968, as the whole world was beginning to use computers, some genius in the FAA said, "Spend all that money to LEASE computers? Hah! We'll BUY our computers and then we'll own them. No leasing for us!" So not very many years later the FAA owned obsolete computers that were going to cost a whole lot more money to replace than if they'd leased in the first place.

About ten or so years ago the agency was in a huge crisis because of the 40 year old computers. I'm not certain what ultimately happened, but I guess they solved the problem in some fashion, since airplanes have not been falling out of the sky.

But the basic problem is still there. Making bad decisions about equipment, bad decisions that don't seem to happen in the private sector. I'm not entirely sure why this happens, since I've never been involved in lease or purchase decisions in either the public or private sector, but there's a reason behind what we call government waste.

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Slowly They Modernize: A Federal Agency That Still Uses Floppy Disks [View all] Are_grits_groceries Dec 2013 OP

You may have to explain to the kids here what a floppy disk is Yavin4 Dec 2013 #1

I'd forgotten that 3.5s were called floppies too... JHB Dec 2013 #4

magnetic tapes pipoman Dec 2013 #6

Yes, but that wasn't called "floppies"... JHB Dec 2013 #9

Actually the 5 and quarter floppy is newer that the 8 inch floppy. RC Dec 2013 #16

True pipoman Dec 2013 #17

I remember 8" floppies Aerows Dec 2013 #34

I remember disks being huge platters (between 12 and 15 inches) sorta like LPs notadmblnd Dec 2013 #39

Way before my time :D Aerows Dec 2013 #41

I remember those platter stacks with the plastic cover. drm604 Dec 2013 #43

300MB CDCs didn't need washing jmowreader Dec 2013 #53

gawd we're getting old. notadmblnd Dec 2013 #56

This is how old I am... jmowreader Dec 2013 #57

I worked with those when I was in the Air Force. NaturalHigh Dec 2013 #31

All of the papers from my Master's Degree program are on 3.5 floppy discs. CTyankee Dec 2013 #10

I recently found an old box of 3.5s. Bought a reader with USB bus to transfer them JHB Dec 2013 #14

It wasn't that long ago! I started my Masters in the fall of 1998 and finished in the spring CTyankee Dec 2013 #18

Once writable CDs came around, the 3.5's days were numbered JHB Dec 2013 #20

Ah, Zip drives we hardly knew ye! You were gone so soon! CTyankee Dec 2013 #23

Yes, the 8" ones were bendy, too. tosh Dec 2013 #13

The eight-inchers were so floppy you had to put them in with both hands jmowreader Dec 2013 #52

Might want to explain what a babbage engine is and how to work one, instead Scootaloo Dec 2013 #5

Oh. Wow. GladRagDahl Dec 2013 #2

Meh, that's not a floppy disk. Rex Dec 2013 #3

Who had the magnetic pipoman Dec 2013 #7

YES! Rex Dec 2013 #8

Hey, watch that! I was driving a truck for FoMoCo when I saw my first UNIX mini with Egalitarian Thug Dec 2013 #11

There were programs for my Apple ][ that called for tapes csziggy Dec 2013 #37

I actually worked on one of these in 1973. Le Taz Hot Dec 2013 #49

I still have a USB floppy drive and a Zip drive Xithras Dec 2013 #12

If you don't have hard copies of your stuff you are SOL... CTyankee Dec 2013 #15

I have hard copies of my stuff. Still lots of people with floppy libraries though. Xithras Dec 2013 #19

Oh, yes, of course...for you I can see it...I was just thinking about my stuff... CTyankee Dec 2013 #22

It's not the files that are tough, it's the software JHB Dec 2013 #24

Yeah, I kinda figured that...it's OK, tho...I got over it... CTyankee Dec 2013 #25

I've still got some documents I created with PC Write on an XT clone csziggy Dec 2013 #40

I bet they Niceguy1 Dec 2013 #21

You should see how antiquated some of the equipment we still use in the FAA is. nt eqfan592 Dec 2013 #26

Do you still use punch cards? Art_from_Ark Dec 2013 #28

LOL! Thankfully, no. :) eqfan592 Dec 2013 #30

I wonder if some of the "high-tech" computer stuff in this video looks familiar? Art_from_Ark Dec 2013 #32

The VORs that establish airways in the National Aerospace System are actually WWII technology Major Nikon Dec 2013 #54

I thought the main reason for that was because Blue_Tires Dec 2013 #59

GPS technology is not required for IFR flight Major Nikon Dec 2013 #62

Yep. They are basically letting a lot of them just fail with no intention of replacing or repairing. eqfan592 Dec 2013 #61

Not for the most part Major Nikon Dec 2013 #63

There's at least one VOR in our airspace that i know for a fact defines an airway.. eqfan592 Dec 2013 #65

What area and what VOR? Major Nikon Dec 2013 #68

I'll PM you the info. eqfan592 Dec 2013 #70

You should see how old some of the stuff in the airplanes are Major Nikon Dec 2013 #55

I still use 5 1/4" floppies, as well as 3 1/2" - and ZIP disks too. Archival storage sucks. FMalone Dec 2013 #27

All of my old 3.5" disks have gone bad Art_from_Ark Dec 2013 #29

So did mine. All of the source code for the software MineralMan Dec 2013 #64

A big part of the problem is trying to run government on the cheap. Gormy Cuss Dec 2013 #33

It also would surprise me if the supplier of the 3.5 diskettes wasn't making a killing Blue_Tires Dec 2013 #60

Bathtub sized government has been implemented since at least reagan Cerridwen Dec 2013 #35

I have the Windows 95 Install on 3.5" floppies. lpbk2713 Dec 2013 #36

They should ask the NSA for technical support jsr Dec 2013 #38

Do AOL disks count? AuntFester Dec 2013 #42

I don't know about other parts of the federal government, SheilaT Dec 2013 #44

SABRE still runs on the same systems Recursion Dec 2013 #46

New complex systems always have problems when first implemented Major Nikon Dec 2013 #50

Bingo. It's why I use Slackware (nt) Recursion Dec 2013 #51

The issue was a lot more complicated than that Major Nikon Dec 2013 #48

Laugh away, but this actually makes sense to me. Recursion Dec 2013 #45

As a fed employee Le Taz Hot Dec 2013 #47

3.5 inch diskettes? I don't think I've used them in 20 years badtoworse Dec 2013 #58

Our SNAP and Medicaid app system is DOS based. Puzzledtraveller Dec 2013 #66

I'm a state employee. I do most of my work on paper. yewberry Dec 2013 #67

People should keep this in mind when they think about the NSA Silent3 Dec 2013 #69

I remember going to a government office in the mid 80s treestar Dec 2013 #71