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[-] flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 107 points 9 months ago

This sort of thing is why I dislike legislation that mandates the use of something very specific. Things change and it is better to create laws that don’t become outdated as fast as tech tends to.

[-] azertyfun@sh.itjust.works 75 points 9 months ago

That's a Japan thing and a legislative failure.

What normally happens in most countries is the law would say something vague like "digital means or devices such as floppy disks or equivalent".
Then the Executive makes and maintains the rules of application of that law according to the Hierarchy of Norms (things probably are organized differently in Common Law countries so I don't know the English term but the principle is the same), which dictates in more detail how the law is to be applied ("please use a web form, or a USB keys for legacy processes").

Sometimes the executive lags behind a bit but typically it's just a ministry making decisions within the margin of the law, so it's not too bad.

[-] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 29 points 9 months ago

Without it we get a different iPhone charger every year that no other device is allowing to use

[-] deranger@sh.itjust.works 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

It’s just a brick with a USB socket. I still have 5W usb chargers from iPhones a decade ago that work with anything USB.

They didn’t change connectors on the cables frequently either. The old big one, lightning, and USB C are the only connectors iPhone used.

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[-] maness300@lemmy.world 19 points 9 months ago

It's an argument of centralization vs. decentralization and there are pros and cons to each approach.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 15 points 9 months ago

Hey, hey - you’re going to have to hotten up that take there, Bubba.

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[-] AlmightySnoo@lemmy.world 103 points 9 months ago

If the 1.44MB DS/HD floppies are too modern for your gear, 720MB DS/DD media is also available (for a premium).

they probably meant 720KB there

[-] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 27 points 9 months ago

I hear data in Japan is smaller and efficiently organized.

[-] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago

Are you snubbing 8" floppies just because they don't fit in your pocket?

[-] blanketswithsmallpox@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago

Is that a floppie in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

[-] FrostyCaveman@lemm.ee 54 points 9 months ago

Ah man the translucent colourful floppies.. that takes me back

[-] natecox@programming.dev 19 points 9 months ago

It was a happier time, I miss my atomic purple floppies.

I rewrote that several times because I have the mind of a child, but atomic purple 3.5” was even worse so I give up and you get to enjoy both.

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[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 12 points 9 months ago

I still have some somewhere. One even says "DOOM" on it, of course.

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[-] Coreidan@lemmy.world 54 points 9 months ago

What in the hell are they using them for? They hold so little data I don’t see how they can even be practical at this point.

[-] kuneho@lemmy.world 35 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

where I live (not Japan), trams are updated with a suitcase worth of floppy disks (and these are the more modern trams here)

[-] bfg9k@lemmy.world 30 points 9 months ago

Older Boeing's use floppies to update their flight computer data even today

[-] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 19 points 9 months ago

And Boeing is obviously trustworthy when it comes to maintenance.

[-] reinar@distress.digital 7 points 9 months ago

ones with floppies are alright, beware modern ones.

[-] Emerald@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago

if it aint broke dont fix it. That door plug on the other hand

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[-] cordlesslamp@lemmy.today 18 points 9 months ago

One thing came to mind, Irreplaceable infrastructure computer systems from decades ago.

There are powerplants and oil rigs that use computer from decades ago which is irreplaceable (either due to technical or cost effective).

[-] ulterno@lemmy.kde.social 15 points 9 months ago

either due to technical or cost effective

Mainly due to proprietary hardware+software solutions which cannot be ported now and remaking them with new hardware will require redoing the same processes as before (probably with additional stuff added by later laws) all over again.

[-] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 11 points 9 months ago

If you try to replace just the hardware, you get fun solutions like a modern computer with a VM running Dosbox on critical infrastructure. Hey, if it works and your boss is willing to sign off on it...

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[-] Sagifurius@lemm.ee 11 points 9 months ago

10 to one they weren't, look how oddly this article is phrased. I'd guess there was a rule government offices had to accept floppy discs, have the equipment to read them, but the clients weren't actually submitting that way anymore.

[-] Maven 22 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Like, the first paragraph explains.

Until last week there were about 1,900 official governmental application procedures that stipulated businesses must submit floppies or CD-ROMs (specifically) containing supplementary data.

Not "the government had to accept them", but "businesses were required to submit them".

It's not a hypothetical problem, there was even news a few years ago about how businesses were complaining they had to send in a dozen+ disks at a time because of file formats.

The laws were written at the dawn of the digital age, in the 70s and 80s, stipulating specific storage media, and just never got updated because the government didn't view it as a problem.

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[-] coffee_poops@sh.itjust.works 7 points 9 months ago

Their government agencies still used a lot of them.

[-] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 47 points 9 months ago

Yes, but can I still submit using a fax machine?

[-] TWeaK@lemm.ee 42 points 9 months ago

Sure, that's never going. Why would we want to lose our technological connection to Abraham Lincoln and samurai?

[-] snooggums@kbin.social 15 points 9 months ago

I love that this is literally accurate.

[-] asbestos@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago
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[-] podperson@lemm.ee 28 points 9 months ago

Healthcare worker, chiming in:

Yes please.

[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 30 points 9 months ago

Ah yes, just how sensitive information should be sent. In clear text over the internet.

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 15 points 9 months ago

It's not in clear text, you have to use a decent OCR

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[-] JJROKCZ@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

You can encrypt emails, we’ve been doing it for decades. It’s easier to compromise faxes than encrypted emails

[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 10 points 9 months ago

The message I was responding to uses fax.

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[-] sapetoku@sh.itjust.works 40 points 9 months ago

Japan has been living in the year 2000 for 40 years

[-] Mango@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago

How do you force someone to use them?

[-] AnneBonny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 63 points 9 months ago

FTA:

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has abolished any requirement for applicants to use this ancient clicking and buzzing magnetic media when filing official documents. Until last week there were about 1,900 official governmental application procedures that stipulated businesses must submit floppies or CD-ROMs (specifically) containing supplementary data.

[-] Mango@lemmy.world 28 points 9 months ago

Oh, just government.

[-] getoffthedrugsdude@lemmy.ml 26 points 9 months ago

Open and close the metal shutter on the disk in their general direction to assert dominance

[-] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

You tie them to the desk and withhold food and water until they reformat an entire box of Mac floppies for use in Windows.

[-] TimeSquirrel@kbin.social 18 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Fuckin' dumbfuck 3rd grade teacher having us all do class assignments in a lab full of Macs, saving our work on Mac formatted disks, and then expecting us to also work on it at home on our parent's Compaqs/IBMs.

Sorry, just had a core memory unlocked.

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[-] raynethackery@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I wonder if this will affect the vintage computer enthusiasts?

[-] Daxtron2@startrek.website 14 points 9 months ago

They're not banning floppies lol, they're just not required for submitting things to the government anymore.

[-] DumbAceDragon@sh.itjust.works 28 points 9 months ago

I imagine such a huge drop in demand would probably lead to any still standing manufacturers to cease production though.

[-] Maven 12 points 9 months ago

The last manufacturers stopped making them 10 years ago. There's basically just one guy "making" floppies these days, and he doesn't actually manufacture them, he just buys used ones for pennies on the dollar, formats and tests them, and sells them on. Not one company has made new floppies in a decade. A shocking number of industries are dependant on just like, this one random dude.

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this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2024
574 points (99.1% liked)

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