Suppose you want to launch a nuclear-tipped ICBM. Never mind why. Never mind at whom. Just worry for a moment about how, because how involves a bit of kit you probably last saw in a computer you used decades ago.
Want to launch a nuclear missile? You'll need a floppy disk.
Not just any floppy. We’re not talking an snazzy new 5 1/4” inch disk as seen on such modern titans as an Apple II or Commodore 64. No, we’re talking it’s big brother, the 8” floppy. The type of storage device found on machines from Xerox and Armstad back when CP/M was considered the most serious operating system.
And while you might think that failing to update the most dangerous weapons in our arsenal to devices and systems made in this century would at least save a little money, it’s actually the other way around.
The GAO report says that U.S. government departments spend upwards of $60 billion a year on operating and maintaining out-of-date technologies.
That's three times the investment on modern IT systems.
Keeping relatively ancient computer systems functional means having specialists who can tend those systems decades after the companies that created them either went out of business or ceased providing support. It means keeping in stock parts that are increasingly fragile and finicky. It means paying ever more, without getting more for it. And it’s a problem that goes beyond A-bombs.
Bringing government departments into the 21st century has proven difficult across the board.
Megan Smith, the current U.S. Chief Technology Officer, told the New York Times in 2015 of the "culture shock" experienced by the tech-savvy Obama campaign when they took control of a White House still dependent on floppy disks and Blackberrys.
The Pentagon has plans to finally replace the 70s-era tech controlling the nuclear arsenal some time next year. But between legislators’ reluctance to allocate funds for updating systems, and the turnover of administrations that makes it hard to keep priorities on track, you can continue to expect government agencies to double as IT museums.