[trhr]

> would a 20-years-exp industrial lathe engineer/specialist know what to do with a zip?

Are you kidding? That guy has to convert his files to binary, put them on a USB drive, carry them to SunOS server, plug them in, and type something in a command line to send the binary over Serial to his CNC machine.

Industrial equipment isn't EOL at 30 years, it's "lightly used." You'd be floored at how much "ancient" tech knowledge is required to operate it.

[meshaneian]

And this is why https://www.floppydisk.com/ is still doing well.

[doubleg72]

Not to mention rs-232

[voytec]

RS232 has adjustable frequency whereas USB can't be configured this way, making it useless for GPS devices used for time synchronization and such.