I Made a Floppy Disk from Scratch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBiFGhnXsh8

#AviationTech #OldMeetsNew #Boeing747 #FloppyDiskEra #NavigationUpdates

These days, the vast majority of portable media users are storing their files on some kind of Microsoft-developed file system. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, though, things were different. You absolutely could not expect a floppy disk from one type of computer to work in another. That is, unless you had a magical three-format disk, as [RobSmithDev] explains.

The tri-format disk was a special thing. It was capable of storing data in Amiga, PC, and Atari ST formats. This was of benefit for cover disks—a magazine could put out content for users across all three brands, rather than having to ship multiple disks to suit different machines.

How Triple Format PC/ST/Amiga Floppy Disks Worked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPtJf-UQ4Os

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) board has agreed to spend $212 million to get its Muni Metro light rail off floppy disks.

The Muni Metro’s Automatic Train Control System (ATCS) has required 5¼-inch floppy disks since 1998, when it was installed at San Francisco’s Market Street subway station. The system uses three floppy disks for loading DOS software that controls the system’s central servers. Michael Roccaforte, an SFMTA spokesperson, gave further details on how the light rail operates to Ars Technica in April, saying: “When a train enters the subway, its onboard computer connects to the train control system to run the train in automatic mode, where the trains drive themselves while the operators supervise. When they exit the subway, they disconnect from the ATCS and return to manual operation on the street.” After starting initial planning in 2018, the SFMTA originally expected to move to a floppy-disk-free train control system by 2028. But with COVID-19 preventing work for 18 months, the estimated completion date was delayed.

Japan’s bullet train, in more than 50 countries. The $212 million contract includes support services from Hitachi for “20 to 25 years,” the Chronicle said.

The SFMTA’s website says that the current estimated completion date for the complete overhaul is “2033/2034.” According to the provided timeline, it looks like the subway technology replacement phase is expected to take place in “2027/2028,” after which there’s an on-street technology installation phase.

Like with other entities, the SFMTA’s slow move off floppy disks can be attributed to complacency, budget restrictions, and complications in overhauling critical technology systems. Various other organizations have also been slow to ditch the dated storage format, including Japan, which only stopped using floppy disks in governmental systems in June, and the German navy, which is still trying to figure out a replacement for 8-inch floppies.

https://martypc.blogspot.com/2024/09/pc-floppy-copy-protection-vault-prolok.html

Because Prolok protection code used the standard disk interrupt vector 13h, it was possible to make anti-Prolok software utilities: one that analyzes the calls related to the protection tests (storing the call parameters + results) and another that simulated those calls without original disk. It was pretty easy to get rid of this “protection”.