Want to launch a nuclear missile? You'll need a floppy disk.

James Griffiths reports at CNN,

Want to launch a nuclear missile? You'll need a floppy disk.

That's according to a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which found that the Pentagon was still using 1970s-era computing systems that require "eight-inch floppy disks."

Such disks were already becoming obsolete by the end of that decade, being edged out by smaller, non-floppy 3.5 to 5.25-inch disks, before being almost completely replaced by the CD in the late 90s.

Except in Washington that is. The GAO report says that U.S. government departments spend upwards of $60 billion a year on operating and maintaining out-of-date technologies.

That's three times the investment on modern IT systems.

Read more here.