Design started in 1989 so I can understand 3.5” was a little too bleeding edge, but 5.25” had been standard for years.
but 5.25” had been standard for years.
For civilian use but perhaps not in the West German Military. I say West Germany because the ships were ordered in June of 1989 and the Berlin Wall didn’t come down until November.
Europe in general, and Germany in particular, had some very peculiar technology quirks and companies back then.
I was system operator for an IBM System/36 in the mid-late 1980s and that thing used two 10-slot magazines of 8" floppies for backup.
It was replaced in 1989 with an AS400 that used half-inch tape.
And that backup solution was replaced with an LTO library.
ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
And the 8" were probably the cheapest.
So, as always in government, you get the minimum that satisfies the contract.
dgmib@lemmy.world 4 months ago
The old 8” floppy disks were more expensive but known for being incredibly reliable.
The newer 5.25” and 3.5” floppies used cheaper and mass produced coatings on the magnetic surface, plus the smaller and higher density tracks had less surface area per byte and less material to hold the signal.
The net result was the newer floppies often couldn’t be reliably read after a few years of use.
It’s not at all surprising they stuck with the more reliable system for so long.
Korkki@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It might have been selected just for reliability sake. That is how especially militaries usually want them. better to have a tested lesser product of the last gen, than to have the current gen wild card tech that may or may not have a intolerable amount of bugs and problems that could in a combat situation get the ship wrecked and the crew killed.