Nearly 2,000 government procedures still require the use of these devices.
Japan It is a country of contrasts at all levels: cultural, social, work, sexual and more. Also as regards the use of technology: Although it may be surprising to many, this Asian power, often associated with modernity and the latest trends in technological innovation, is also a graveyard of obsolete devices and workflows.
Both the public administration like some of the major companies in the country they still use objects as old-fashioned as floppy disks for the computer or the fax machine.
Now the Japanese Minister of Digital Affairs, Taro Konodeclared war on floppy disks and other obsolete technologies that are still used in the country’s public administration.
This is because even today nearly 1,900 government procedures still require the use of this type of storage devices, such as floppy disks, minidisks and CDs.
Kono assures that the nation will update the regulations for the access to online services and will be provided to users.
This information is paradoxical since Japan is a pioneering country in high technology, at the forefront of innovative and original devices. However, this has not been applied to your office culturesince companies use obsolete technologies in their routine tasks.
The history of floppy disks
The diskettes, ‘floppy disks’ in English, coming onto the market in the 1960s and it was in the nineties when they stopped being used. They were replaced by more efficient storage solutions that saw the light of day shortly before the 2000s. A current 32 GB memory card stores the same amount of data and information as 20,000 floppy disks.
Floppy disks fell out of use almost everywhere in the world more than two decades ago, but their legacy has remained with Japanese companies. Production of this device, whose shape inspired the ‘save’ emoji, was reduced to a minimum as of 2010. However, according to a Japanese government committee, almost 2,000 areas require its use to store data or create applications.
Minister Kono assured during a press conference that took place this week that the prolonged use of obsolete technologies in the country must come to an end. “I’m trying to get rid of the fax machine, and I haven’t done it yet”, commented. Referring to old storage devices, she asked “where do you buy a floppy these days?”
With information from La Vanguardia.
SL
