IBM began shipping floppy disks in 1973, and this type of removable storage media eventually became so popular that Japanese government agencies submitted data on floppy disks and later on CD-ROMs. imposed a rule to Apparently, this rule is still in effect, so authorities are using diskettes and CD-ROMs to submit data instead of emails and cloud storage services. until today.
Some Japanese state ministers believe the time has come to move forward.
“Where can I buy a floppy disk these days?” Taro Kono, Japan’s digital minister, rhetorically asked reporters on Tuesday, reports Nikkei“We change [these rules] As soon as possible. ”
Japanese law currently contains 1,900 articles requiring the use of obsolete storage media such as 3.5-inch diskettes and CD-ROMs. Digitization makes the entire Japanese government agency more efficient because file transfers over the Internet are faster. However, like any other authority, Japanese government agencies must follow the rules meticulously. That is why the Japanese government has created a task force to revise the rules set decades ago.
Today, not only are floppy disks hard to come by (because hardly anyone manufactures them), it’s also hard to use floppy disks to store anything. Because modern text and spreadsheet files take up far more space than their predecessors in the 1980s and 1990s. There are still applications that rely on file formats (and software) released 30 or 40 years ago. Therefore, it can be stored on a floppy disk or CD-ROM. The world has mostly moved to USB flash drives and Blu-ray discs. , and cloud storage services are high capacity, efficient and reliable.
However, there are industries that use floppy disks, and will continue to do so for some time. For example, some Boeing 747-400 planes use his 3.5 inch diskette for avionics software. Also, some military equipment and sections (such as nuclear weapons) continue to use punched cards as well as 8-inch disks.
With thousands of laws mandating the use of floppy disks and CD-ROMs, it’s likely that obsolete storage media will be dead for quite some time. Until then, Windows 11 machines can get 3.5-inch external diskette readers for just $1. $20 (opens in new tab) — but requires a special driver from Microsoft.
