Irony of the universe is that one of the cradles of technology is technologically obsolete. This is the case of San Francisco, which although it is not considered the capital of Silicon Valley like San José, it is one of the most relevant cities for big tech. And despite everything, one of its main means of transportation still requires a floppy disk.
Perhaps the youngest people don’t even remember, but floppy disks had their peak several decades ago until first CD-ROMs, then USB flash drives and finally the cloud replaced them. So much so that Companies like Apple eliminated floppy drives years ago. More specifically 26 years ago and with the iconic iMac G3.
When Apple removed floppy disks, San Francisco installed them
The aforementioned iMac G3 was the first Mac of the new era of Steve Jobs at Apple, who we remember left the company in 1985 and returned triumphantly in 1996 to become CEO the following year. Just a year later, in 1998, it was presented that computer that was so revolutionary for the time in terms of features and design. Although also controversial because he said goodbye to the floppy drive.
Of those, there were those who still saw floppy disks as a valid storage unit despite the emerging CD-ROMs. So much so that That same year, the San Francisco subway established a system with floppy disks that is still in force.. It was called (and is still called) Automatic Train Control System and it is essentially a system that allows controlling the movement of light trains in tunnels.
Recently we have seen how Apple rushed to say goodbye to certain technologies, such as the 2016 MacBook Pro that eliminated ports such as MagSafe, HDMI or card reader. Years later, in 2021, they had to be sheathed and brought back because they were still necessary. However, that was not what happened with his decision to eliminate floppy drives.
Why the San Francisco subway still uses floppy disks
In the end, it has ended up proving that Apple was right in the way it viewed floppy disks 26 years ago. However, the San Francisco city council was not so convinced and when they realized it was too late. The reason is none other than economic.
Setting up that system cost a lot of money and removing it too. Especially because to remove it, a system is needed to replace it and in a city in which public transportation is not a priority, it has ended up being the least of the concerns for its leaders.
However, this is about to change. As will also happen in other countries that continue to use floppy disks, such as Japan, San Francisco has decided that it is time to modernize and champion the latest technology. Or at least not so vintage like that of floppy disks.
Given that this system that has prevailed since ’98 also requires workers who are loading the software every morning, the municipal board has made the decision to implement a system that works via Wi-Fi and mobile data. It will also help them track the position of trains in real time and remotely from anywhere. For this they have signed an agreement with Hitachi Rail.
The San Francisco city council says that it is in 2027 when they hope to have this system ready. It will be at a rate of 700 million dollars in an ambitious project of digital transformation for the city’s metro. Of course, regarding the part of the train control system, the amount that will be allocated will be 212 million. All this, they explain, to position themselves five generations ahead of the already obsolete floppy disk system
Via | Xataka
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