I'll concede a bit on the scanners, as they're definitely still in use. They now have a lot more firmware so controlling their pitch is harder (mostly changing the requested resolution), but changing when they start and stop the noise-making part is probably prohibitively difficult for most modern models. As for floppy drives, I'm guessing someone who has gotten 512 of them knows a bit more than either of us do about how easy it is to find them. If anyone is in fact manufacturing them today, I'm guessing they're very expensive, not generally available, or both. I've found some USB ones for sale, but nothing clearly indicates that these weren't made in 2010 and they probably don't have the pitch control abilities that the ones in use have.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
