PC users open doors to such worms as Conficker, Taterf Nov 9, 2009
in the 1980s spread viruses by sneaking bad code onto the floppy disks needed to boot up early PCs. Conficker and Taterf do much the same: They rely on the circulation of tainted memory sticks, music players, cameras, camcorders and smartphones that plug into the universal serial bus ports of modern PCs. (USA Today)
Thieves targeting Facebook, Twitter Oct 25, 2009
By the early 1990s, viruses transmitted on floppy disks became ubiquitous. When the World Wide Web became widely available that same decade, viruses, worms and malware became problems in e-mail accounts, frustrating users who clicked on messages thought to be legitimate. (CNN -- Tech)
When Memory Fails Oct 17, 2009
Just think back to floppy disks of a decade ago. A lot of computers these days don't have a place to play them notes Jansen. (W-USA News, DC)
2-day sweep nets 28 arrests Oct 16, 2009
Investigators seized 30 computers, numerous digital cameras, cell phones, external hard-drives, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs and floppy disks. Dupre said more arrests are likely once the investigators analyze the evidence. (Modesto Bee, CA)
Boric acid mixture will rid home of pesky black ants Oct 16, 2009
Individuals and businesses may bring up to three boxes or bags of documents, CDs and floppy disks to be shredded ... Individuals and businesses may bring up to three boxes or bags of documents, CDs and floppy disks to be shredded. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
17 Notably Bad Products from Great Tech Companies Oct 7, 2009
It ran in DOS, it was big and bloated (it came on a dozen floppy disks), and it lacked many of the features of stand-alone word processing and database programs of its era. Curiously, IBM has re-used the name for a currently shipping product that is based on the OpenOffice suite of software. (Datamation)
The Future Has No Moving Parts (Or Hard Disks or Keyboards…) Oct 6, 2009
What started as paper with holes in it transitioned to tapes, floppy disks, not-so-floppy disks, CDs, DVDs and now Blu-ray. Although the general trend in these advancing technologies has been toward fewer moving parts, total solid state functionality isn't practical. (Datamation)
Guest Commentary: Ranch girl enjoys years of writing for Tri-State Neighbor Sep 23, 2009
She helped me learn to put my stories on floppy disks ... I've gone from typing my stories on a typewriter to floppy disks, CDs and now e-mail. (Sioux Falls Tri-State Neighbor, SD)
Bomb plot: What happened Sep 8, 2009
OPERATION OVERT IN NUMBERS 26,000 exhibits collected 102 property searches 80 computers and other devices seized 226 seized from inside internet cafes 15,000 CDs 500 Floppy disks 14,000 Gigs of data Countries visited: Japan (because of the type of batteries they had), Pakistan, South Africa, Mauritius and Belgium. Source: Met Police. (BBC News -- UK)
Etched in memory Jul 30, 2009
Just think of those large sized floppy disks we used only a couple of decades ago, now inaccessible to all but the early PC enthusiasts. So imagine the headache archivists face having to figure a way to back up and preserve our digitised heritage and make it accessible for future generations - even 1,000 years into the future - and avoid what many dread: a digital Dark Age. (BBC News -- Technology)
Logan police chief admits to dumping sensitive information Jul 23, 2009
5-inch floppy disks containing sensitive department information that ended up in the hands of a Dumpster diver. Steve Bower of Logan wrote on a Herald Journal online comment board Tuesday that two months ago he searched through a trash container police were using during their days-long move into a new wing of the Logan City Justice Building. (Logan Herald Journal, UT)
Paper jam: Document management company stays busy after flood Jul 9, 2009
Records stored on modern media: CDs, floppy disks, photographs, tapes, etc. could be damaged irreparably. (Casper Star-Tribune, WY)
> DCL in Fremont is a key link in supply chain Jul 9, 2009
TOUGHEST BUSINESS DECISION: Reinventing DisCopyLabs into DCL. In 1992 the company was copying 50 million floppy disks. Today it does at most 100,000. (San Jose Business Journal, CA)
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY: GILLETTE, July 1 Jul 2, 2009
The man was repairing Sheetrock in the garage when a bundle of 90 floppy disks fell from the ceiling. The mans wife called police after discovering that the disks contained child pornography. (Gillette News-Record, WY)
ON THE RISE: 20 young Cleveland professionals whose careers are ascending (1) Jun 1, 2009
Thanks to his guidance, the company changed from floppy disks to CDs and DVDs and implemented flash media. He knows how to increase business and how to have great customer satisfaction, says Shannon Klee, Diskcopy s vice president of finance. (Cleveland Jewish News, OH)
A health-care parable from a post office line Jun 1, 2009
He's sending out dozens of floppy disks from a law firm, each in its own cardboard envelope, each with its own certificate of mailing obtained from the clerk. He assembles a few of these at a time and hands them back to the clerk to be bundled into stacks of overnight-mail packages. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
A LOT OF FISCHER May 31, 2009
And, mysteriously, the lot includes what is described as "nine personal floppy disks (unexamined).". The collection came from a 10-by-10-foot storage room in Pasadena, Calif. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Editor's notes: Geometric progression May 24, 2009
I bought a Hyundai computer with two floppy disks and 256K of RAM. I got Wordperfect 5. 0 (didn t everybody. (Kingston Mariner, MA)
Bits of thought in a terabyte world May 18, 2009
As data storage space has grown over the years, I've gone from saving my computer stuff on big diskettes to small floppy disks to Zip disks to optical disks to CD writable discs to DVD writable discs to multigig external drives to, now, 1 terabyte externals. You'd think I'd have enough space now with a terabyte drive. (Bismarck Tribune, ND)
Gadget Graveyard: 10 Technologies About to Go Extinct Apr 15, 2009
Floppy disks: Storing something on an external device. C'est possible. (Fox News)
AOL: You've got irrelevancy? Apr 15, 2009
Like floppy disks and dot-matrix printers, AOL is best considered nostalgically and not as a day-to-day reality of 21st-century life. 2009 msnbc. (MSNBC -- Technology)
Short-lived Web malware: Fading fad or future trend? Apr 3, 2009
Recently, security software vendor AVG Technologies asserted that Web-based malware attacks are now so prevalent that attackers craft them to be " It's an acceptable premise, but why the sudden shift? Is it because more active and open attacks aren't as successful or noteworthy? Well, not quite. Let's explore why attackers do this, how they do it, and how enterprises can defend against short-lived Web malware. Transience is key Malware delivery has mutated since the arrival of traditional... (Search Security, MA)
Rocks Don't Need to Be Backed Up Mar 28, 2009
Commentary: What a 4,000-year-old Egyptian obelisk can teach us about data backup, archiving and preservation of our history and why it's critical that we get started now (EnterpriseStorageForum)
5 nuggets of knowledge about the 1970s Mar 25, 2009
Computer floppy disks introduced 1972. Swimmer Mark Spitz wins seven gold medals - Advertisement. (Gaylord Herald Times, MI)
Mishler’s students are computer wizards Mar 16, 2009
Mishler s students are computer wizards. From spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations to Microsoft word documents and online classes children under Deb Mishler s guidance are on the cutting edge of technology in education. (Somerset Daily American, PA)
1 Bruce Perens: Analyzing Microsoft's TomTom Lawsuit Mar 3, 2009
FAT was the filesystem provided by Microsoft systems, and thus it was on nearly all floppy disks. Apple implemented FAT to be compatible with Microsoft. (Datamation)
Cellphone giants connect on chargers Feb 20, 2009
Inside thousands of Canadian homes there exists a junk drawer; one that is practically overflowing with discarded floppy disks, old Walkmans and dozens of orphaned cellphone charger cords from devices long since discarded. On Tuesday, 17 of the world's largest cellphone companies - including heavyweights Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. - struck a deal to create a universal standard charging system for cellphones by 2012, one that may help to reduce the number of... (Globe and Mail)
Former teacher sentenced to prison for viewing, downloading child pornography Feb 13, 2009
When questioned, Paisley admitted to viewing the pornography and downloading some of the images to floppy disks that he later threw in a wood stove to avoid getting caught. According to court documents, when Paisley was questioned, he said he was addicted to viewing the images and that it was an escape from the stresses of (his) job. (Helena Independent Record, MT)
