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DataStorm V1.0, a Full-Auto Floppy Disk Cannon

Bob Loblaw writes "I ran across a huge stash of floppies at our office, and after some discussion, it became clear that rather than throw them away, we should build a gun that fires floppies. I had just bought a welder so this was a challenging first project. After about a month of work in my garage at night the DataStorm was born. It was constructed of scrap metal, a kid's bike, a weed-eater motor, and an electric screwdriver. The most difficult task ended up being how to add spin to the disk without significantly reducing its velocity. After a week and a half of trying different options, a stack of zip ties was found to work best. Since we had so much time in it we elected to shoot an infomercial showcasing the device, and had to learn to shoot & edit video as we went. It was basically an office joke that spiraled out of control. My wife is not amused. At all. I hope you like it."

26 of 153 comments (clear)

  1. Great by amrik98 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Lock and load those Windows 95 floppies!

  2. Together with "don't copy that floppy"... by sznupi · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...this could form really fun mash-up.

    Hmm...at the end of shortened old video, sequence of somebody walking in "Terminator 2 flower box"-style and shooting at the kids/Mac?

    --
    One that hath name thou can not otter
    1. Re:Together with "don't copy that floppy"... by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can see the preview right now...

      As Arnold shoots a bad guy with the gun he says, "Bad Sector"

      --
      "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
    2. Re:Together with "don't copy that floppy"... by OldManAndTheC++ · · Score: 5, Funny

      FORMAT B: if you want to live!

      --
      Soylent Green is peoplicious!
    3. Re:Together with "don't copy that floppy"... by BattleApple · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hasta la Windows Vista

  3. That's funny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Whenever I come across large amounts of anything, my first thought is "I should build a gun to shoot x." This has led me to my pencil gun, paper gun, paperclip gun, staple gun (turns out this already existed), trash gun, concrete gun, and co-worker gun. I'm currently working on a car gun.

    1. Re:That's funny by calebt3 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Go with a trebuchet

    2. Re:That's funny by aurispector · · Score: 3, Funny

      The internet: The same crap, over and over, forever.

      --
      I have mod points. The reign of terror begins now.
  4. Good, bad, and ugly by eggman9713 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Good - Floppy warfare and all around destruction.
    Bad - Sure, you can buffer those floppies into a pile at 2.88MB/s, but can your drive read the data that fast? Methinks not.
    Ugly - Damn those evil girl scouts and their cookies. The spawn of satan they be! FIRE AT WILL!

  5. I was just wondering by zappepcs · · Score: 4, Funny

    what to do with the box of floppy disks I found when cleaning the garage this weekend... hmmmmm

    There seems to be no video evidence of it's efficacy against marauding home invading Homeland Security driven police.. but it looks like it might be some sort of deterrent to unwanted guests who are unarmed.... hmmmm

    That long forgotten subscription to PC World and all the free disks will come in handy after all :-)

    Seriously, does anyone know of a website with plans for a gun like this that shoots tennis balls? My pit bull is waiting tirelessly for a machine to play fetch with. It seems the basic parts are similar here.

    Shame they offered no officially sanctioned Hasbro scoring method!

    1. Re:I was just wondering by antic · · Score: 5, Funny

      > Retail: http://www.buygodoggo.com/ [buygodoggo.com]

      Blasphemy! God Oggo is not for sale!

      --
      'Thats they exact same thing a banana wrench monkey.'
  6. Datastorm 2.0 by wiredlogic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't lose hope. I'm sure you can find a way to amuse your wife with the second revision.

    --
    I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
  7. when i was in the army... by gandhi_2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...it became clear that the ultimate weapon would project dead AA batteries a few thousand feet per second. We were never in short supply.

    But yeah, now that I work for a school district, it's quite clear that a microfloppy cannon is the way to go. For anti-armor purposes, maybee a zip-disk launcher.

  8. Re:What the hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    What's up with Slashdot and the Whiny Malcontents lately? I was hoping to read a comment with humorous anecdotes, etc of other crazy office jokes. Instead it went straight to the angst.

    The comment was obviously written directly for Slashdot, one big slashdot cliche (the value judgement of the Internet Video) 'Keyboarded' in.

    I like both the article and the comment for different reasons. If I want whinging blowhards, I'll get them in the comments.

  9. Great timing for Win2K8 server ad... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just when the guy's vomiting, the ad changes to Windows 2008 server! They should've used Vista instead!!

  10. Re:Skip to the good bit by Free+the+Cowards · · Score: 4, Funny

    I dunno, the little girl hoisting the shotgun over her head and saying "This is my boomstick!" was pretty awesome.

    --
    If you mod me Overrated, you are admitting that you have no penis.
  11. Re:Skip to the good bit by tloh · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think we should offer that girl, credited as Raven, a complementary slashdot account.

    --
    Stay sentient. Don't drink bad milk.
  12. Re:What the hell by Andrew+Kismet · · Score: 3, Funny

    without requiring undue work
    And you use Linux?

  13. Amazing Video by dunezone · · Score: 4, Funny

    I never thought that a video about a weapon that fires floppies would start off talking about abortions.

  14. Re:Skip to the good bit by Atario · · Score: 2, Funny

    The rest is padding^W stupid.
    Fixed that for you.
    --
    "A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
  15. your wife was not amused? by the+brown+guy · · Score: 5, Funny

    It was constructed of scrap metal, a kid's bike...
    Your kid won't be amused either.
    --
    Orbis terrarum est non altus satis
  16. Re:What the hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Now if they can design one that shoots CD's, then I have 15 years worth of AOL discs to contribute to the effort >:)

  17. Re:What the hell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    A goatse that shoots CD's? What a disgusting idea.

  18. Re:Skip to the good bit by karbyn-aceous · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think we should let *any* girl have a complimentary slashdot account

  19. Re:What the hell by greeze · · Score: 2, Funny

    Seriously. Everyone knows that goatse is far better suited to shooting tennis balls.

  20. Procomm not Windows by erice · · Score: 2, Funny

    Granted, you won't get as many shots as Windows 95. But, you know, Datastorm is registered trademark. Launching Procomm should keep the lawyers at bay.

    I'm pretty I still have a unopened box for Procomm Plus for Windows 1.0 if you need it.