>>http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/25/us-military-uses-8-inch-floppy-disks-to-coordinate-nuclear-force-operations.html
>>
>>Series 1!
>>I'm surprised that it handled the Y2K.
>>I replaced several System 36 applications because IBM refused to the make the boxes Y2K compliant.
>>
>>Unlike the people at CNBC, as a taxpayer and as a developer, I'm proud of these people.
>>The ROI on this system must be setting all-time records every day that it keeps running.
>>
>>Way to go!
>
>Technical debt applies to more than just pure software, in this case the hardware technical debt is ferocious.
>
>I didn't see any mention of support contract costs - if indeed there are any.
>
>It may well be that there aren't any such contracts and that the departments involved have decided to "self-insure" and fix only as things break.
>
>Best-case scenario would be that they have multiple known good spares of all obsolete hardware and have the skills to swap out as required, and to repair or replace any of their spares stock that get used.
>
>If not, almost certainly they're at a point where everyone is afraid to make any changes or fix anything that might be thought to be going wrong. That's common in industry that's using aged control equipment (but which still works fine) and equally ancient supervisory computers.

Another prize for this kind of thing goes to a former golf partner who asked me to come to his factory in Queens, NY where he manufactures router bits and see if he'd benefit from automation.

He does his billing with Addressograph plates.
He has one of the few remaining plate-makers. He and his mechanics can machine any parts that might wear out.

I asked him if he was happy with the plate system. He loved it.

I complimented him on the efficiency of his systems and never went back.

I'd be broke with clients like him.

PS.. he had a horse in the Kentucky Derby a few years ago, so those plates must be doing something right.