This sounds like a crappy joke you'd make 20 years ago
[quote]2017 - the US nuclear force is switching from 8in floppies[/quote]
This Isn't exactly new information, but it's still good to know they plan on upgrading the system within' the next few years rather then continue to rely on it eternally. The last thing we want to rely on for the most deadly weapons on the planet is a system older then Betamax tapes.
if it aint broke don't fix it
the Minuteman missile hasn't really changed since the 70s, and the software driving the weapons is not complicated. There hasn't really been a reason to upgrade.
[QUOTE=butre;50392994]if it aint broke don't fix it[/QUOTE]
Then somebody accidentally rubs a fridge magnet against the floppy, puts it in the ancient relic of a launch system and then poof earth is gone
[QUOTE=Drury;50393269]Then somebody accidentally rubs a fridge magnet against the floppy, puts it in the ancient relic of a launch system and then poof earth is gone[/QUOTE]
I'm pretty sure it takes more than a faulty floppy disk to actually launch a nuke.
[QUOTE=Drury;50393269]Then somebody accidentally rubs a fridge magnet against the floppy, puts it in the ancient relic of a launch system and then poof earth is gone[/QUOTE]
There's a lot of shit in the way to prevent that, there's the PAL system mainly. That locks out the warhead, so even if it launches you'll need to arm the warhead by way of the president's code. Which up until 1990 or so was "000000000", 27 years ago that could've happened.
tbh a floppy disk is probably a lot more secure than many modern systems
[QUOTE=T553412;50393283]I'm pretty sure it takes more than a faulty floppy disk to actually launch a nuke.[/QUOTE]
It's half-joke but yeah, relying on 50 years old tech when it comes to doomsday devices is ech.
[QUOTE=Drury;50393426]It's half-joke but yeah, relying on 50 years old tech when it comes to doomsday devices is ech.[/QUOTE]
the doomsday devices ARE 50-year-old tech. The only real advantages to upgrading software systems is that you don't need to hire elderly Gandalf programmers to maintain them.
[QUOTE=Sector 7;50393658]the doomsday devices ARE 50-year-old tech. The only real advantages to upgrading software systems is that you don't need to hire elderly Gandalf programmers to maintain them.[/QUOTE]
See, that's one thing.
I thought this was already known?
[video=youtube;1Y1ya-yF35g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y1ya-yF35g[/video]
[QUOTE=butre;50392994]if it aint broke don't fix it[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=short snippet from embedly]The report said taxpayers spent $61bn (£41bn) a year on maintaining ageing technologies.[/QUOTE]
Idk, there are probably better things to do with 61 [I]billion [/I]than hiring old programmers and buying super expensive pieces (that stopped being produced tens of years ago) just to maintain that small part.
[QUOTE=Coment;50393854]Idk, there are probably better things to do with 61 [I]billion [/I]than hiring old programmers and buying super expensive pieces (that stopped being produced tens of years ago) just to maintain that small part.[/QUOTE]
The troublesome thing is that it's gonna cost a lot more than that to replace the aging systems. Designing and developing IT systems are a massive money sink, even more so in defense-related applications because you have to do a lot more rigorous testing and checking. And you (probably?) can't outsource it to India :v:
[QUOTE=Sector 7;50393114]the Minuteman missile hasn't really changed since the 70s, and the software driving the weapons is not complicated. There hasn't really been a reason to upgrade.[/QUOTE]
It's probably a lot more difficult to tamper with, also, since it's quite a few generations behind the standard of today
nuclear weapons should run on the latest version of android and have social media integration
[QUOTE=matt000024;50393361]tbh a floppy disk is probably a lot more secure than many modern systems[/QUOTE]
Custom track calibration used to be a thing.
You had the recalibration floppy. You mandated which drives could and could not read disks written in other machines. It wasn't like it was expensive either. It was $100 for the cal disk.
[quote]I thought this was already known?[/quote]
I remember this making the rounds last year or the year before and it was still really fucking sensationalist.
[editline]asdas[/editline]
Oh shit, the Series/1? I didn't even know IBM still offered support on those. Not only are they almost bulletproof midrange machines but they looked really, really stylish.
[img]http://c8.alamy.com/comp/DDK3YC/ibm-series1-DDK3YC.jpg[/img]
They phased their portable machines out 30 years ago in favor of regular PC's.
[quote]The United States Marine Corps was a major Series/1 customer in the late 1970s and into the early 1980s. IBM created a ruggedized, portable version with a green plastic and metal housing for field and shipboard use known as the IBM Series I Model 4110. The central processor unit boasted twin 1 megabyte 8 inch floppy disk drives, an 8 inch green monitor with 25 × 80 character resolution (and seldom-used graphics capability) and 16 kilobytes of RAM which was upgraded to 32 kilobytes in 1984. Each standard 'suite' included the CPU unit, a keyboard, and a 132 column dot-matrix printer with a separate cooling-fan base. This suite was transported in two green, foam-lined, waterproof, locking plastic cases; each weighing over 100 pounds loaded. Among the optional pieces of equipment was a paper tape punch and a magnetic tape reader. Each of these also came with its own case.
The official nomenclature for this equipment was the 'Automated Data Processing Equipment for the Fleet Marine Force' (ADPE-FMF), but it was universally known as the 'Green Machine'.
n the middle 1980s, the ADPE-FMF equipment was gradually phased out in favor of IBM-PC class microcomputers running off-the-shelf software and Marine Corps developed applications written in Ada.[/quote]
[QUOTE=Drury;50393269]Then somebody accidentally rubs a fridge magnet against the floppy, puts it in the ancient relic of a launch system and then poof earth is gone[/QUOTE]
not even the worst thing about the US missile system
There have been incidents in the past like basically leaving the doors to a launch facility unlocked and people sleeping on the job
fuckin late tho
[QUOTE=mecaguy03;50394144]not even the worst thing about the US missile system
There have been incidents in the past like basically leaving the doors to a launch facility unlocked and people sleeping on the job
fuckin late tho[/QUOTE]
The locking mechanism of the high security blast-doors was broken. If anyone closes that door, nobody will ever get in again. They had to leave it open. :v:
[QUOTE=abcpea;50393952]nuclear weapons should run on the latest version of android and have social media integration[/QUOTE]
"On my way to nuke russia #yolo #putin #ww3"
[QUOTE=pentium;50394024]Custom track calibration used to be a thing.
You had the recalibration floppy. You mandated which drives could and could not read disks written in other machines. It wasn't like it was expensive either. It was $100 for the cal disk.
I remember this making the rounds last year or the year before and it was still really fucking sensationalist.
[editline]asdas[/editline]
Oh shit, the Series/1? I didn't even know IBM still offered support on those. Not only are they almost bulletproof midrange machines but they looked really, really stylish.
[img]http://c8.alamy.com/comp/DDK3YC/ibm-series1-DDK3YC.jpg[/img]
They phased their portable machines out 30 years ago in favor of regular PC's.[/QUOTE]
straight out of [i]Alien[/i]
[QUOTE=T553412;50393283]I'm pretty sure it takes more than a faulty floppy disk to actually launch a nuke.[/QUOTE]
Fine! You rub a magnet on the missile and it goes kaboom.
What now?!
The whole nuclear weapons program needs a cash injection, the hatches are shit and broken all the time, bathrooms don't work just to name a few. It wouldn't surprise me if doomsday came and some missiles just didn't launch because of dumb shit like that
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