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

Posted by kdawson on from the tres-bouchee dept.

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."

11 of 153 comments (clear)

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

    Lock and load those Windows 95 floppies!

  2. 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.

  3. Drive gun by Garridan · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In 1997, I had a number of floppy drives sitting around, so I stole the ejector springs from some, and made a floppy drive that would shoot a disk about 10 feet. Incredibly, it didn't harm the drive itself, so I installed this into my home computer. Scared the hell out of my friends the first time they'd retrieve their disk. The only giveaway was that it got difficult to push the disk in.

  4. What the hell by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's up with Slashdot and the Videos lately? I was hoping to be taken to a page with drawings schematics, etc of a floppy gun. Instead it was a straight to video.

    The video was obviously shot directly for Fark, one big fark cliche (the B&W picture of the chick with White Teeth) 'Photoshopped' in.

    I like both sites and for different reasons. If I want stupid internet videos I'll get them on Fark.

    1. Re:What the hell by Mikachu · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Hey, come on now. No one RTFA anyways, so what difference does it make? They can link to a picture of goatse, and everyone would just be arguing about how great/bad of an idea it is.

    2. Re:What the hell by Quantum+Jim · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Like whatever you want, videos directly linked from Slashdot (autoplaying, stupid and loud ones especially, not marked NSFW) are not amusing. Not at all.

      There are sites for people who like this stuff. On slashdot, something like this should never get through moderation and firehose.

      Why isn't it amusing? If a transcript of this video was created, and pictures demonstrated the device, it would be ok? Why? What if it had links to the demos and just had the "padding" as text? Would that be ok? So why not the entire thing? The article is entirely entertainment, and the video was not only funny but also presented the topic in an entertaining way. This /. article was actually written a lot better than most others. I really hate those stories that copy the first few paragraphs from the source. It shows no creativity and is borderline plagiarism. (One even had a dangling footnote still in the /. summary.)

      If you are angry because you got caught at work, well that sucks for you. But don't blame us. I have my browser set up not to autoplay flash unless I specifically allow it. This not only blocks spam, but also prevents this issue. You are already playing around. Why do you have your speakers on? Why do you not check the address first (which is not hidden - the domain is Revver.com aka a well-known video site). Why do you not take precautions when browsing /. at work? Especially for an article clearly marked for entertainment.

      You are at work. It is your responsibility to take precautions when you are doing non-work related stuff on your computer. You don't have to be an robot slaving away - I can understand browsing /. on your off time. But you should be smart about it and take precautions like using the mute button or using headphones at very least when at work. Personally, I am not amused by coworkers who keep their speakers on so everyone else can hear Windows startup, beep, alert, and shut down.

      --
      It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do.
      - Jerome Klapka Jerome
  5. 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
  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. 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
  8. 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.'
  9. Re:Together with "don't copy that floppy"... by OldManAndTheC++ · · Score: 5, Funny

    FORMAT B: if you want to live!

    --
    Soylent Green is peoplicious!