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Started By
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Windows 95 and floppy disks are still crucial for modern US air traffic control
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:23 pm
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:23 pm
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2809293/windows-95-and-floppy-disks-are-still-crucial-for-modern-us-air-travel.html
I don't know if Windows 11 would be an upgrade...... But hard to believe some people are still seeing this legendary startup screen:
quote:
Ancient technologies like Windows XP, Commodore 64, and legacy COBOL programs are still being used for all kinds of critical functions, and here’s another example to add to the list. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) still relies on Windows 95 and floppy disks for air travel, though hopefully not for too much longer.
NPR reports that the FAA wants to finally bring the United States’ aviation control system up to 21st century standards—and that means getting rid of floppy disks. The legacy storage format is still used in many air traffic control towers, in computers that still run on Windows 95. In some cases, paper flight strips are still used.
I don't know if Windows 11 would be an upgrade...... But hard to believe some people are still seeing this legendary startup screen:
27
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:24 pm to Contra
Floppy disks are incredibly reliable storage mediums, though.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:24 pm to Contra
WinXP and Win95 seem to be the most stable of all Windows products 
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:25 pm to Contra
quote:
Ancient technologies
like Windows XP,
Oh for fricks sake.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:31 pm to Contra
So are some nuclear plants
And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. For OT environments, the priority is stability of the system. Computers that must interface with really old equipment can’t all be new. The software just doesn’t exist. And any cyber concerns can be mitigated using alternate controls to protect systems: firewalls, diodes, SIEM infrastructure, physical and electronic access limitations, etc.
And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. For OT environments, the priority is stability of the system. Computers that must interface with really old equipment can’t all be new. The software just doesn’t exist. And any cyber concerns can be mitigated using alternate controls to protect systems: firewalls, diodes, SIEM infrastructure, physical and electronic access limitations, etc.
This post was edited on 11/3/25 at 2:35 pm
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:32 pm to Contra
fricking Bob Lazar portrait above the Windows 95 PC perfectly maintained is fitting
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:38 pm to Contra
quote:
Windows 95
GOAT
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:45 pm to Contra
quote:
Ancient technologies like Windows XP, Commodore 64, and legacy COBOL programs
Ow, my back
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:46 pm to ell_13
quote:
or OT environments, the priority is stability of the system. And any cyber concerns can be mitigated using alternate controls to protect systems
The surge to put more IT devices into OT environments is not being done very thoughtfully by some of my clients. They'll claim to follow Purdue when they're putting PCs into level 2, but then they start blowing holes in the firewalls in L3 and L4 to be able to manage those PCs.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:46 pm to FearTheFish
quote:
Floppy disks are incredibly reliable storage mediums, though
From my understanding tape storage is still a much preferred option for long term and large quantity.
Everyone assumes if something is old it has to be bad. If someone is servicing the media and the media works then there are some advantages.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:49 pm to LemmyLives
Yeah, we would get railed by our regulators if we tried send traffic around our diodes.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 2:53 pm to Contra
quote:
COBOL
Most of the fed gov runs on COBOL
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:00 pm to Contra
Do you know what an old woman and an old computer will accept?
A 3.5 inch floppy
A 3.5 inch floppy
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:00 pm to idlewatcher
I miss Windows XP so much. I'm going to get another XP system again one day for gaming. I kind of want to get a 95 system too just for nostalgia.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:11 pm to Contra
quote:
I miss Windows XP so much.
Yeah baw. That is the GOAT OS. It had incredible longevity, like '95.
Now I want to download winamp.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:38 pm to idlewatcher
quote:
Win95 seem to be the most stable
Win95 was not stable but WinNT which came out around the same time is. WinNT is the foundation of everything we know. WinME was the end of the Win95. WinNT evolved intoWin2k, XP, 7, 8, 10, 11, etc.
personally, I feel Win2k was the most stable and best version of windows ever.
This post was edited on 11/3/25 at 3:39 pm
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:41 pm to idlewatcher
quote:GOAT
WinXP
i still have a CPU running on XP
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:42 pm to notsince98
quote:
personally, I feel Win2k was the most stable and best version of windows ever.
It rarely crashed and just freaking worked.
We finally decommissioned a 2000 box we had last year that was not connected to anything but a pylon sign that it ran. In the 20 odd years that computer was in place, I think we only had to boot it a handful of times due to a power outage.
It ran a simple CLI program for the sign and was very easy to use. We finally had to retire it when got the pylon board updated.
Posted on 11/3/25 at 3:43 pm to Contra
That's wild but not surprising given the fedgov contracting guidelines and length of time it would take to modernize the system.
I think I remember reading somewhere (maybe here) that the older IMAX theater projection systems require a Palm Pilot to run.
I think I remember reading somewhere (maybe here) that the older IMAX theater projection systems require a Palm Pilot to run.
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