'Last man standing in the floppy disk business' reckons his company has 4 years left

Floppy disks whitethorn person gone nan measurement of nan dodo and joined different extinct media specified arsenic punched cards and insubstantial tape, but immoderate group are apparently still utilizing them, and 1 institution moreover continues to waste them.

Floppydisk.com is simply a US-based institution specializing successful trading and recycling floppy disks, and laminitis Tom Persky describes himself arsenic nan "last man opinionated successful nan floppy disk business." The company, which has been astir for decades, provides different services specified arsenic disk information transfers, including CD and DVD duplication, but astir of its gross apparently comes from trading blank floppy disks.

Persky features successful a recently published book, Floppy Disk Fever: The Curious Afterlives of a Flexible Medium, which looks astatine nan measurement nan venerable retention mean continues to beryllium utilized for immoderate purposes, moreover though Sony, nan past institution to manufacture caller floppy disk media, ceased production complete a decade ago.

But who connected Earth is still utilizing floppy disks? According to Persky, location are business outfits utilizing machinery that requires floppy disks. (This writer recalls erstwhile visiting a assemblage that had laboratory instrumentality that still booted up from an 8in floppy.)

Only past month, it was reported that nan Japanese authorities was forced to alteration immoderate laws because they still required floppy disks and CD-ROM media to beryllium utilized erstwhile sharing information pinch galore authorities departments.

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The hose manufacture is besides a large customer, Persky says successful an interview taken from nan book. "Probably half of nan airfleet successful nan world coming is much than 20 years aged and still uses floppy disks successful immoderate of nan avionics," he said.

Some aesculapian instrumentality successful nan healthcare manufacture still requires floppy disks to transportation information successful and out, but nan biggest customer is said to beryllium nan embroidery business arsenic location are a ample number of embroidery machines still successful usage that were built to load designs from floppy.

Other customers see hobbyists, who typically want to bargain 10, 20, aliases 50 floppy disks astatine a time, which whitethorn aliases whitethorn not see those progressive successful projects specified arsenic nan Floppotron machine hardware orchestra.

While cipher now manufactures nan media anymore, Floppydisk.com invested successful a ample amount – "a mates of cardinal disks," according to Persky – erstwhile accumulation came to an end. The institution has since been surviving disconnected that inventory, but occasionally gets contacted by organizations that are clearing retired warehouses and observe pallets afloat of floppies.

The institution now has an estimated half a cardinal disks successful stock, comprising various formats including nan 3.5in, 5.25in, and 8in types arsenic good arsenic "some alternatively uncommon diskettes." These are not specified, but location were different formats disposable successful nan past, specified arsenic nan 3in floppies utilized by Amstrad successful nan UK for its CPC location computers and nan PCW agency systems.

The penning must beryllium connected nan wall for nan venerable floppy arsenic software support is gradually phased out and nan proviso dries up. However, Persky said that he expects his institution to beryllium successful business for astatine slightest different 4 years. ®