• @shalafi@lemmy.world
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    1121 month ago

    They’re not merely replacing floppies, swapping in some emulators to take over. They’re attempting to redesign and future-proof the entire system. That kind of a big deal. Oh, and it all has to run flawlessly during the transition period.

    This ain’t your homelab boys.

    • @reddig33@lemmy.world
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      201 month ago

      According to the article, the other improvements are priced separately from the $212 million de-floppy-ing.

      • @halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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        301 month ago

        And that cost includes decades of support.

        The $212 million contract includes support services from Hitachi for “20 to 25 years,” the Chronicle said.

      • @exasperation@lemm.ee
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        201 month ago

        No, the $212 million includes the entire upgrade (and 20 years of support) of the automatic train control system. The full $700 million plus is for the overall modernization of multiple systems.

        • @reddig33@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Not disputing what you said — just clarifying that other upgrades are not part of the $212 mil and what is meant by “whole system”. The $212 is just to replace the floppy based system with something newer that includes a service contract.

          “Beyond the floppies, though, the Muni Metro needs many more upgrades. The SFMTA plans to spend $700 million (including the $212 million Hitachi contract) to overhaul the light rail’s control system. This includes replacing the loop cable system for sending data across the servers and trains. The cables are said to be a more pressing concern than the use of floppy disks. “

          Supposedly the new system is five gens ahead of the old system and would have additional features. Some would say “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” but whatever. I’m sure it will be as fancy as upgrading to Windows 11 at that price.

          • @exasperation@lemm.ee
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            21 month ago

            Yeah, I understand the article to be saying that the Hitachi contract is for the train control system, including the software and equipment necessary for the operation of the train underground. The broader system upgrades include communications systems between trains and stations. At least how I read it.

  • @cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de
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    391 month ago

    5.25" floppies were obsolete for years before they even installed the system in 1998. They could have been using compact flash cards by then.

    • @dgmib@lemmy.world
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      31 month ago

      It’s not quite as crazy as it seems. The older/larger floppy disk formats were more reliable due to their lower track density.

      There was more surface area per byte of data. The old floppy disks could be written once and read for years in harsher environments. New floppy disks we more prone to failure after a few years.

    • @Zyrxil@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Yeah if that’s all that needed replacing. The entire system is ancient, not just the disks, like:

      Much more critical than the dated use of floppy disks is the system’s loop cable, which transmits data between the central servers and the trains and, according to Roccaforte, “has less bandwidth than an old AOL dial-up modem.”

      The SFMTA’s website adds:

      The loop cable is fragile and easily disturbed. This makes subway maintenance more difficult. This also means the system cannot be extended outside the subway, along surface rail, where currently we don’t have automatic train control.

      • @reddig33@lemmy.world
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        61 month ago

        The loop cable and other non-floppy improvements are priced out separately according to the article.

  • EleventhHour
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    171 month ago

    Gee, I wonder how much this would’ve cost in the past before they kept putting it off

    • Not a replicant
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      161 month ago

      “If you think this is expensive now, wait for 20 years” “Not a problem, I’ll be retired by then, it’ll be someone else’s problem”

      • ddh
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        61 month ago

        Hands up who’s “someone else” where they work right now✋

  • @fubarx@lemmy.ml
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    141 month ago

    All the deserved ribbing aside, if you had to design a removable, R/W, high-capacity, environmentally tolerant, secure, fault-tolerant, mission critical storage system that could last 25 years, starting NOW…

    What would you pick?

    That’s a tough one, even if you design future hardware upgrades into the system.

  • @Olap@lemmy.world
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    71 month ago

    This is clearly a tender fail. Byte code can be emulated for a fraction on that price. And it’s a two or three man job with a rota