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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday December 20 2016, @08:37AM   Printer-friendly
from the my-floppy-drive-still-works dept.

Our office recently updated to a new version of the Office Suite, and it still has an icon in the upper-left corner to perform the 'Save' function. Floppy drives have not been in use for years, and many children would not recognize a 3.5 inch floppy disk on sight. Programs have used this icon for years, because we have yet to find a suitable replacement. The CD/DVD can no longer represent saving, because they have come and gone. Even moving to the more abstract Piggy Bank icon would not work, because they are seldom used in the modern age. A USB Key icon may represent saving in some form, but the may not be around much longer if another medium gains favor. Does this mean that the venerable 3.5 inch Floppy will represent saving information to future generations, or should it be replaced by a different symbol?


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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 20 2016, @08:48AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 20 2016, @08:48AM (#443631)

    Seriously, does it really look like I give a fuck what icon you like, or don't like, or want replaced? Children? They see that image of a floppy drive, ask Mom, Dad, or Teacher what it is, and they are told that it's the "save" button. That may go unchanged for a decade, a century, or a millenium. And, who gives a fuck?

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Francis on Tuesday December 20 2016, @11:27AM

    by Francis (5544) on Tuesday December 20 2016, @11:27AM (#443690)

    That's more or less how the Chinese got their characters. However, in this case not only do you have the option of asking for help, but there's usually a tool tip available and with a properly designed UI, it would also be available via a menu as well as the appropriate hot key.

    It's astonishing to me that people seem to think that Idiocracy was the goal and not a cautionary, if humorous, tale.

  • (Score: 2, Informative) by boris on Tuesday December 20 2016, @03:47PM

    by boris (1706) on Tuesday December 20 2016, @03:47PM (#443832)

    Exactly. My 5 year old knows what "roll your window up" means even though he's never seen a manual window in his life.

    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday December 20 2016, @05:07PM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Tuesday December 20 2016, @05:07PM (#443890)

      Roll your window probably dates back to mica sheet windows which were literally rolled up and down.

      Their modern rigid glass counterparts have the opposite directions for open and closed, but wouldn't you "crank your window up, or down" if you were putting a literal label on the hand cranked windows? (which, 3 out of 4 vehicles in my household still have, though they are all from the last millenium.)

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      • (Score: 2) by DutchUncle on Tuesday December 20 2016, @07:24PM

        by DutchUncle (5370) on Tuesday December 20 2016, @07:24PM (#443988)

        "Oklahoma", "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top", 1943: "With isinglass curtains you can roll right down, In case there's a change in the weather. "