Topic: Floppy Disk

John C. Dvorak shares a piece of obscure tech history regarding a short-lived computer line produced by John Deere in the early 1980s. The hosts sign off by inviting listeners to their upcoming 17th-anniversary celebration. The episode concludes with a musical mix featuring clips of Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and various show themes.

A musical montage titled "Believe in the Lies" satirizes the public's reliance on mainstream media outlets like the New York Times. The lyrics mention "orange man," contact tracers, and social media censorship. The segment ends with a surreal, repetitive loop featuring the phrase "B is a floppy disk boy," which the hosts find particularly creative and "dynamite."

A host recounts traveling to Taiwan and South Korea in the 1980s and 90s to have custom shirts made for approximately $15 to $20. These shirts featured specialized oversized breast pockets designed to hold 5-inch floppy disks or CDs, allowing for the discreet transport of media.

A discussion on digital privacy recalls the legal precedent that employers are entitled to read employee emails. The hosts share anecdotes from their time in the tech industry, including how IT staff would often snoop on executive salaries. They also mention an old hacker trick of hiding viruses in Excel files labeled "salary spreadsheet" to entice curious employees into opening them.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals that the U.S. military still uses 8-inch floppy disks from the 1970s to coordinate nuclear forces. While the media portrays this as a dangerous security flaw, the hosts argue that legacy COBOL systems are more secure because they lack modern internet connectivity. One host recounts owning a collection of vintage 8-inch disks and custom shirts designed to hold floppy media.

A listener brings an original copy of one of John C. Dvorak's early computing books to a meetup, complete with a five-and-a-quarter inch floppy disk. Dvorak reflects on his prolific output of technical books during the early PC era and the durability of old magnetic media.