FAA Begins Retiring Decades Old Floppy Disks from Air Traffic Control

Re:FAA Begins Retiring Decades Old Floppy Disks from Air Tra... by thaumasiotes on Friday November 06, 2026 @05:21PM (#50399293)

> And yet, there’s a reason we use magnetic tape for long term archive

Is it because "long-term archival" strategies aren't updated frequently?

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Re:FAA Begins Retiring Decades Old Floppy Disks from Air Tra... by monocasa on Friday November 06, 2026 @07:57PM (#50400566)

It's because magnetic storage where the drive bearings are separated from the media can be expected to sit on properly temperature controlled shelf for 50 years with next to no bit rot, in contrast to flash.

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Re:FAA Begins Retiring Decades Old Floppy Disks from Air Tra... by kalcode on Saturday November 07, 2026 @10:15AM (#50405257)

Magnetic storage system are pretty cool, barium ferrite magnetic tapes being coated on them is interesting too

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