The Pentagon Plans to Finally Upgrade From Floppy Disk Technology

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" can be applied to many objects in our lives, but our technology usually isn't one of them. That is, unless you work in a few U.S. government agencies. According to The Verge, a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that several government agencies are still using technology and programming languages that date back to the '50s, '60s, and '70s. For instance, the Department of Defense uses vintage IBM computers and 8-inch floppy disks for a system that handles operations for U.S. nuclear bombers, tanker support aircraft, and ballistic missiles.

In an interview with AFP, a Pentagon spokeswoman said that the outdated Strategic Automated Command and Control System is still used because, "in short, it still works." However, in an attempt to "address obsolescence concerns," she added that there are now plans to replace the floppy disks with secure digital devices by the end of 2017 and that the entire system will be upgraded by 2020.

The DoD was not the only department found to have severely outdated tech. The Department of Veterans Affairs still uses an automated system running on IBM computers that is written in a programming language that's at least 50 years old, as do the Department of Justice and the Social Security Administration. Each has stated plans to update its systems by 2017.

[h/t The Verge]