U.S. Relies on Floppy Disks for Nuclear Weapons System

That is a headline that startled me and grabbed my attention. I have been seeing more and more articles about the state of Technology in U.S. Government Agencies, from the White House trying to update from Windows XP (about 2 years after Microsoft ended support) to this article about a Government agency responsible for nuclear weapons relying on 8-inch floppy disks from the 70s.

Granted, these systems were invented at the height of the Cold War. These were the most technologically advanced systems at the time. Also, I don't think I, personally, would trust nukes running on Windows 98, but maybe an upgrade is due.

Article 1: Feds Spending Tech Money on Floppy Disks and COBOL, Report Says

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/feds-spending-tech-money-floppy-disks-cobol-report-says-n580066?cid=sm_tw&hootPostID=652f59fc5f82b3e68fc44c9948de00ef

This reminded me of another article I saw last year about the computers in the IRS being the same computers used when JFK was president.

Article 2: IRS Says It Depends on Kennedy-Era Computing

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/02/04/irs-kennedy-era-computers-process-tax-returns/21138992/?gen=1

This article contains a humorous / nostalgic video the IRS produced back in the 1950s to gain public support for using computers to process tax returns faster. I have included the video below for your enjoyment.

Comments

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Mr. B EdTech Blog

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