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Railroader · Jan 11, 2007, 09:48 PM

ARG. Although my university is advanced in some ways (see my thread about iTunes U.), they are still in the stone age in others.

I have to purchase 10 floppy disks for one of my classes. I am not happy. So, I either buy a USB floppy drive for my computer or do my work on my computer, save to a USB flash drive and transfer it onto the floppy disks in the computer lab. No emailing, turning in a CD-R, flash drives, or anything other than a 3.5" floppy disk.

Any of you suffering through some of this needless purchasing or work in your school or work? TPS reports come to mind.

Dakar² · Jan 11, 2007, 10:00 PM

I'd think the flash drive is a much easier option.

d4nth3m4n · Jan 11, 2007, 10:03 PM

work at home, email to yourself, put on floppy in lab. it'll take about 4 seconds and you won't have to shell for the antiquated drive.

although, i do have one sitting right here next to me if you're interested. no idea about it, haven't done much with it since the os9 days.

Railroader · Jan 11, 2007, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by d4nth3m4n

work at home, email to yourself, put on floppy in lab. it'll take about 4 seconds and you won't have to shell for the antiquated drive.

although, i do have one sitting right here next to me if you're interested. no idea about it, haven't done much with it since the os9 days.

No internet access on the lab computers. No emailing. I'll probably just do the flash drive route.

Thanks.

Dakar² · Jan 11, 2007, 10:35 PM

You wouldn't want to do emailing anyway. No need to find out the day its due that servers are down, or the file was blocked as spam, etc.

Railroader · Jan 11, 2007, 11:06 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

You wouldn't want to do emailing anyway. No need to find out the day its due that servers are down, or the file was blocked as spam, etc.

The university email system is superb. VERY little spam, and I have yet to have someone say, "I didn't get it, send it again", when staying in the system. A professor for one of my classes required that we turn our final papers in through the university email system. That way he could reformat it to the font and point size he preferred. Whenever I send an attachment to a professor I also place it on my web server and supply a link for them to download it there as well.

It is a good system. Floppy disks are a recipe for disaster.

Dakar² · Jan 11, 2007, 11:07 PM

Well, I know which excuse I wouldn't want to have to give, if the unthinkable occurred.

Railroader · Jan 11, 2007, 11:15 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

Well, I know which excuse I wouldn't want to have to give, if the unthinkable occurred.

Dog ate it?

I had a magnet in my backpack?

A piece of dirt got into the disk and ruined the drive in the lab?

DUDE! the suspense is KILLING me!!!

Dakar² · Jan 11, 2007, 11:18 PM

The one that didn't involve the method of file transportation the Professor had instructed.

Railroader · Jan 11, 2007, 11:21 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

The one that didn't involve the method of file transportation the Professor had instructed.

I am not following you. Use smaller words and shorter sentences. Seriously.

Dakar² · Jan 11, 2007, 11:24 PM

If some freak accident occurred, I'd rather tell the Professor I didn't have the file because the POS floppies he recommended failed, rather than I chanced it on the email system and got burned.

keekeeree · Jan 11, 2007, 11:33 PM

When it comes time to hand in your first assignment, hand in one of these:

Of course have the assignment ready to go on the 3.5" floppy, but it'd be worth it to see the look on his face when you drop that on his desk...

You: "What? You don't have a 5.25" drive on your PC?!?"

Dakar² · Jan 11, 2007, 11:34 PM

Hell, bring it in on tape.

Punch cards!

Railroader · Jan 11, 2007, 11:35 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

If some freak accident occurred, I'd rather tell the Professor I didn't have the file because the POS floppies he recommended failed, rather than I chanced it on the email system and got burned.

Sorry, i didn't understand.

Emailing isn't even an option with this professor. If I could choose email or floppy, I'd do both. But he won't even allow email. Or CD-R. Or ANYTHING else. Floppy disk or nothing.

BTW: They are about $5 for 10 in case no one's bought them in the last 9 years like me.

Railroader · Jan 11, 2007, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

Hell, bring it in on tape.

Punch cards!

Papyrus?

Stone tablet?

Cave wall?

Dakar² · Jan 11, 2007, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

Emailing isn't even an option with this professor.

That's not what I meant, but it doesn't matter.

Railroader · Jan 11, 2007, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by keekeeree

When it comes time to hand in your first assignment, hand in one of these:

[IMG]http://oldcomputers.net/pics/floppy8.gif[IMG]

Of course have the assignment ready to go on the 3.5" floppy, but it'd be worth it to see the look on his face when you drop that on his desk...

You: "What? You don't have a 5.25" drive on your PC?!?"

I'm going to search my storage. i probably have one of those tucked into a folder or something from high school. I remember using 8" versions for my first word processing class.

Railroader · Jan 11, 2007, 11:38 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

That's not what I meant, but it doesn't matter.

I'm lazy?

CharlesS · Jan 12, 2007, 03:16 AM

Make sure after you save it on a disk, you then eject that disk, insert a second disk, and save it on that one as well. That way you have a backup.

I've taken classes that required the use of floppy disks too, and never was there not at least one instance where someone lost their work due to their floppy disk dying.

Goldfinger · Jan 12, 2007, 04:08 AM

Our national bank still requires that companies deliver their balance sheets on floppy. Nothing else. In 2007.

All_Insane · Jan 12, 2007, 04:14 AM

Wow. My stepdad's lesson plans from classes he no longer teaches are all stored on floppies. In my vindictive moments I've considered sticking a magnet in the case... but my better judgment always prevails, and I just let time wreck them.

wataru · Jan 12, 2007, 04:38 AM

That's pretty amazing that people are still using floppies. I thought things were bad here in rural Japan when I arrived to find my work computer was a PIII running Win98 and connecting to the net on ISDN. Of course the only computer that shitty was mine, and I managed to get it upgraded to a Hitachi dual processor all-in-one thing.

All the intra-office file sharing is done by email or USB drives, so it's all good.

Eriamjh · Jan 12, 2007, 06:22 AM

Make sure you give that professor a virus on that floppy...

villalobos · Jan 12, 2007, 07:05 AM

Originally Posted by Railroader

ARG. Although my university is advanced in some ways (see my thread about iTunes U.), they are still in the stone age in others.

I have to purchase 10 floppy disks for one of my classes. I am not happy. So, I either buy a USB floppy drive for my computer or do my work on my computer, save to a USB flash drive and transfer it onto the floppy disks in the computer lab. No emailing, turning in a CD-R, flash drives, or anything other than a 3.5" floppy disk.

Any of you suffering through some of this needless purchasing or work in your school or work? TPS reports come to mind.

Wel, you ARE in Kzoo after all.......

J/k, I love Bell's brewery.

Dakar² · Jan 12, 2007, 07:18 AM

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

Our national bank still requires that companies deliver their balance sheets on floppy. Nothing else. In 2007.

They then record those numbers on papyrus scrolls.

DeathToWindows · Jan 12, 2007, 07:24 AM

Gah! I haven't used floppies since sophomore year in high school (and even then, I was only using them for an intro to programming class). I haven't used floppies for personal use since 1999 or so

Dakar² · Jan 12, 2007, 07:26 AM

I find IT & programming people are still decently uppity about the floppy. It all started with the iMac.

Goldfinger · Jan 12, 2007, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

They then record those numbers on papyrus scrolls.

Wouldn't surprise me.

Actually a certain government agency (can't remember which one exactly) was in the news a while ago because they were still using typewriters !

SSharon · Jan 12, 2007, 08:07 AM

I stopped using floppies when my family got a beige G3 in 97 I think. It had a built in zip drive and my PM 7100 had a SCSI zip drive. A few years ago in college I was taking a class in environmental science and even my hippy teacher let me turn in papers on flash drives.

shifuimam · Jan 12, 2007, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by wataru

Of course the only computer that shitty was mine

Wow... "shitty" made it through the profanity filter. Weird.

Dakar² · Jan 12, 2007, 09:25 AM

Pretty shitty profanity filter, eh?

Dark Helmet · Jan 12, 2007, 10:11 AM

I can't believe there is any school stupid enough to make you do this even 5 years ago.

mdc · Jan 12, 2007, 10:49 AM

I had to use a floppy disk a few weeks ago, for the first time in years. Windows wouldn't install on a SATA drive and I needed to download the drivers off the motherboard's website, copy them to a floppy, and tell the windows install to get them off the floppy.

I think it took me longer to find a computer with a floppy drive and a disk than it did to get the drivers.

turtle777 · Jan 12, 2007, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

I can't believe there is any school stupid enough to make you do this even 5 years ago.

Seconded.

I wanted to write "Only in America", but then I was reminded that there are probably some back-ass countries in Africa or Russia that do the same thing

-t

Railroader · Jan 12, 2007, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Seconded.

I wanted to write "Only in America", but then I was reminded that there are probably some back-ass countries in Africa or Russia that do the same thing

-t

My professor is from Germany.

turtle777 · Jan 12, 2007, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by Railroader

My professor is from Germany.

Well, that explains why he had to leave

-t

Dakar² · Jan 12, 2007, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by Railroader

My professor is from Germany.

And if he was still there this wouldn't have happened!

(or some obscure logic like that)

scaught · Jan 12, 2007, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by keekeeree

When it comes time to hand in your first assignment, hand in one of these:

Of course have the assignment ready to go on the 3.5" floppy, but it'd be worth it to see the look on his face when you drop that on his desk...

You: "What? You don't have a 5.25" drive on your PC?!?"

I get those at my work sometimes (historical data from the early 90s). We tracked down a drive online and had to search through a local computer junk warehouse for a cable, but it works.

Railroader · Jan 12, 2007, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Well, that explains why he had to leave

-t

Is that why they made you leave?

Railroader · Jan 12, 2007, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar²

And if he was still there this wouldn't have happened!

(or some obscure logic like that)

I'd probably be writing on the back of a shovel if it wasn't for that German prof.

turtle777 · Jan 12, 2007, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

Is that why they made you leave?

-t

Dakar² · Jan 12, 2007, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

I'd probably be writing on the back of a shovel if it wasn't for that German prof.

Completely over my head.

brokecollegestudentF04 · Jan 12, 2007, 02:11 PM

Floppy Diskettes!!.. I had to hunt for one of those 2 weeks ago when i went to install windoze 98 on an old P133 IBM Thinkpad LOL.. Anyways.. Ive got a LS120 Superdisk drive if you want one.. works under os x on the intel mini.. You can have it for free because im in abundance of them.. Good luck with that prof. Id load that thing up with viruses.. get his windows computer sick.. then again im pure evil when it comes to stuff like that.. Floppy disks are antiquated technology.. I havent bought them in about 9 years.. I think the bf's mom still has a bunch of old FileMaker II records stored on old Double Density Floppys 800k from the days of the Mac SE

CharlesS · Jan 12, 2007, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by shifuimam

Wow... "shitty" made it through the profanity filter. Weird.

Huh, that is indeed odd. I thought "shit" was definitely one of the words censored by the profanity filter. Wonder why it isn't?

kmkkid · Jan 12, 2007, 02:19 PM

Burn your assignment to a cdrw, then in the lab, transfer from cdrw to floppy. Don't tell me the lab computers don't have cd drives?

Then when finished you can just wipe the cdrw, no wasted media.