Floppy Disks

["William G. Nabor" <wgnabor@uci.edu>]

Dear Radsafers:

   Regarding the recent thread discussing the possible reasons why
floppy disks are more frequently damaged when shipped overseas vs.
domestic, I would like to ask several questions:

   1)  Is the increased frequency of damage reciprocal?  That is,
do overseas companies shipping disks to the U.S. have the same
experience?  If not, this would open up a new line of enquiry: Do
Asian users experience more problems with American disks than
Europeans or vice-versa?  If so, then is it because they have
inferior or older equipment, misuse what they have, or (most
likely) complain about it rather than go out on the web and
download a replacement without reporting the problem?  Ever try to
download a driver from a software company's web site if you don't
speak English?  I have received more than one bad disk and replaced
it with a download without going through the agonizing trouble of
trying to get through to the vendor's customer "service"
representative to report a problem that's already been fixed.

   2)  Is the damage real?  Do U.S. companies request confirmation
of the damage with the same frequency and diligence that they do
with domestic customers, or are they more likely to just ship a new
disk without bothering to confirm the complaint?  Do they request
return of the allegedly damaged disk and determine what the damage
is (e.g., mechanical vs. magnetic)?  Do they do so with the same
frequency and thoroughness that they do for domestic problems?  Are
American vendors more likely to diagnose a "bad disk" when
presented with a complaint from a customer with whom then cannot
communicate well because they don't speak the language?  Have you
ever had a vendor offer to ship you a new disk when you call to
complain and the service representative can't determine what your
problem is?  I sure have.  It's a way to put off dealing with you
until some bug is fixed and/or foisting you off on another service
representative when the replacement disk doesn't work either and/or
forcing you to try harder to get what you have to work while you
are waiting for the replacement.  Is this BS more likely if the
customer presents the additional problem of speaking poor English?
Do foreign language versions of American software have more bugs
due to language problems (i.e., the program works, but the on
screen instructions are incorrect and/or misleading)?

   3)  Do U.S. companies ship their disks at random?  That is, do
they use, say, Imation brand disks for the U.S. market and Sony
brand disks for foreign language versions or do they use floor
sweepings for both?  Do they use the same reproduction equipment
for both versions?

   4)  Does the radar equipment, communications equipment, and
other avionics aboard a commercial airliner generate magnetic
fields?  If so, then I have 3 additional questions: First, what are
the strengths of these fields in the cargo bay where the floppies
are shipped?  Secondly, does magnetic damage to floppy disks follow
a linear-no-threshold model?  That is, if a floppy is exposed to a
low level magnetic field for 6 hours (New York to Los Angeles)
without damage, will this hold true for an exposure to that same
field for 16 hours (New York to Tokyo)?  Finally, do airlines boost
power of their radar over international waters?

   I would like answers to these questions before I will even
consider the possibility of radiation damage.  Do any of you still
have floppies from the 1970's?  They have been exposed to 20+ years
of background radiation.  Do they still work?  How about your
oldest 3.5" HD floppy?  Does it still work?  How much background
radiation has it absorbed?  Are current floppies more
radiosensitive?  They are certainly cheaper!  Let's consider all
the possibilities before we assume radiation damage.
**********************************************************************
William G. Nabor
University of California, Irvine
EH&S Office
Irvine, CA,  92697-2725
WGNABOR@UCI.EDU
mailto:wgnabor@uci.edu
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