Boeing 747s Use Floppy Disks to Get Critical Software Updates

Yeah I had a Zip drive I would put my Adobe Photoshop on their a Kais Power Good and Tools never really used them that much.
Today since DVDs kinda when out the door really don't have a good backup solution like that except for USB 3.0 drive but those are pretty all low capacity.
You can use SSD drive but you really need a USB-C to take advantage of it USB speeds are just way too slow.
 
Dayaks said:
More of an issue of outsourcing everything rather than not using floppies...
Click to expand...

This. Boeing is the shell of an engineering company... the 737 MAX is the byproduct of a culture where people don't actually create anything, they just outsource the design work and attempt to act as an integrator / project manager. They've been downhill since McDonnell Douglas conned them into a merger in the 1990s.

The 737 MAX was an experiment to shit shove an "enhanced" version of the 737 out the door that didn't require additional pilot training. Shoving shit out just to hit a milestone is what most executives are good at these days, it seems...
 
phillyboy said:
This. Boeing is the shell of an engineering company... the 737 MAX is the byproduct of a culture where people don't actually create anything, they just outsource the design work and attempt to act as an integrator / project manager. They've been downhill since McDonnell Douglas conned them into a merger in the 1990s.

The 737 MAX was an experiment to shit shove an "enhanced" version of the 737 out the door that didn't require additional pilot training. Shoving shit out just to hit a milestone is what most executives are good at these days, it seems...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can say pharma is like that too. Good thing the FDA is really tough with their requirements is all I can say.

It’s like execs all read the same shitty magazine. “Open offices are the future” then they pop up everywhere destroying focus. “Outsource to save money” ignoring the value of knowledge and experience for technical processes/products...
 
Darth Ender said:
floppy disks aren't reliable storage mediums nor is it safe or good practice to have current in-use systems using obsolete / out of production tech that nobody is currently familiar with servicing.

USB flash drives aren't permanent either since they must be plugged in periodically to retain the flash memory state.

optical media when properly stored (dry out of direct sunlight) should last longer than the lifetime of the plane. Plus, there is plenty of capacity for multiple copies of a firmware to be stored to safeguard against read errors / other forms of bit rot. or if they have properly pressed optical discs instead of burned from dye type, you dont even need to really worry about how you store them as long as you're not scratching them. They would last 50+ years easy.

I'd vote optical media.
Click to expand...

Numerous pressed CDs that have had the shiny layer separate from the plastic disagree with you. And with a CD, you also have to worry about the horrible reliability of the drives. Don't use them for a while and you may just have a dead drive.... Last time I bought an optical drive, the first one died after less than 10 burns. The next one didn't last much longer. I finally got one that has been going fine for a few years now.

And you also have to take into account that when burning CDs, the compatibility between drives can be very iffy.

Floppy drives on the other hand.... as long as you keep them clean they basically never mess up. I also have 20+ year old floppy disks that still work just fine. Reliability is king.
 
Really? I honestly thought the magnetic media would fail in a decade.

But then again, tape is used for long term storage, so...
 
Do you have any idea how much it would cost to get a replacement part that had newer media designed, tested, approved and manufactured? A lot. Do you think that airlines want to spend that $$$ to upgrade something that works on an old platform? Hell no. I can guarantee the reason this is still being used is because it is already approved and $$$. I work in the aerospace industry FYI (doing IT work, but I pick up a lot of things).
 
747-400 is a 1980's era product, floppies where very common back then so what is the issue here? 747s have been flying since before a lot of you were even born....they started flying in the late 1960s early 1970's
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top