SCO.com and Caldera.com dead

Keith Mastin kmastin-PzQIwG9Jn9VAFePFGvp55w at public.gmane.org
Sun Sep 7 16:46:15 UTC 2003


> Keith Mastin wrote:
>>>I wonder what server has been ruunning without a reboot or power
>>> failure  since 1986? Not a web server!
>>>
>>>It must be something important enough to continue running, but not so
>>> important it ever needed a faster CPU or larger hard drive. I suppose
>>> it's still running on 1Mbit coax ethernet.
>>
>>
>> FAA air traffic control system? I know it's mostly still running on
>> old tube machines, but no idea how long since the last reboot on some
>> of the dinosaurs. It probably isn't anythng connected to the public
>> network, or the outdated kernels would have been hacked all to hell by
>> now.
>>
>
> How do you know that?  I had read quite a while ago, that they were
> still running some ancient radars in Canada, but they were being phased
> out, because of lack of parts.  A tube computer would date back to the
> mid fifties at the latest and wouln't be as powerful as a pocket
> calculator.  Tube computers were also extremely unreliable (I used to
> maintain & repair one in the Toronto Stock Exchange.) and not the kind
> of thing you'd want to trust someone's life to.

I dunno if the FAA operates in Canada ;)

I picked up the bit of trivia on the radio one night (I know, I know).
Seems that the cost of replacing the entire system (which they would have
to apparently) is less than replacing the parts. IIRC, their supplier only
has one customer... them.

-- 
Keith Mastin
BeechTree Information Technology Services Inc.
Toronto, Canada
(416)696 6070


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