Thread: Brits using windows on Nuclear subs

  1. #1
    'AlHamdulillah
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    790

    Brits using windows on Nuclear subs

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09..._for_warships/

    anything seem wrong about this????
    there used to be something here, but not anymore

  2. #2
    Banal internet user
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Posts
    1,380
    Nope.

    Hating Windows is so 1998

  3. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    4,912
    I don't have a problem with it. Microsoft very often uses unethical business techniques (like the rumored blocking of GMail invites from Hotmail and MSN inboxes), but Windows itself I think has made some great strides in quality. Like BMJ said, the anti-Microsoft senitment is left over from some really crappy decisions made on their past OS's, like ME. XP I think is a great operating system. No doubt the British military will be making some changes to it to make it even better, but it certainly would not surprize me if most distros of Linux have more bugs than XP. The only thing that would worry me is Microsoft bad history with security holes. I don't know if that would be a problem when communicating using military-grade networks, however.

  4. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    100
    I think windows on subs is a very bad idea. Think about it.

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    4,912
    Is that a pun about literal windows?

  6. #6
    i get my own title?
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Posts
    35
    >>XP I think is a great operating system
    have you tried sp2? have you tried the service packs of service pack 2?

    >>but it certainly would not surprize me if most distros of Linux have more bugs than XP
    you can't be serious! i run windows xp and suse. do you know how much harder i have to work to keep windows updated? (and yes, i do all the bug fixes in both of my OSes). in suse, there are occasional updates of software, some security some functionality. other than that, it's mostly smooth sailing. but hell in windows, i download the patches and the next day i figure out that those patches created more holes and i need to download more patches to patch the holes the patch before created while trying to cover up some holes that were before. and the cycle continues. ever seen anything like that in any of the linux distros you used?
    face it man, unless you are running some stupid distro and installing software that aren't trusted, a Linux distro itself can never have as much holes in ten years as windows does to date.

  7. #7
    Obsessed with C chrismiceli's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    501
    I was on a navy survey ship, and they used redhat linux, I feel safe now .
    Help populate a c/c++ help irc channel
    server: irc://irc.efnet.net
    channel: #c

  8. #8
    'AlHamdulillah
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    790
    ace it man, unless you are running some stupid distro and installing software that aren't trusted, a Linux distro itself can never have as much holes in ten years as windows does to date.
    I would say that you are partially right; however, it more has to do with what is done with those holes that really makes linux shine. Most security exploits are found and fixed within the first week of a new release if there are any.
    there used to be something here, but not anymore

  9. #9
    Toaster Zach L.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    2,686
    Cii... I'm no fan of Windows, but there are so many random Linux distributions that I would be willing to bet that most of them have more bugs/flaws than Windows. If you just look at mainstream distros or purpose-built systems, things probably change (especially in the latter case). There are really so many random ones, though.

  10. #10
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    4,912
    i download the patches and the next day i figure out that those patches created more holes and i need to download more patches to patch the holes the patch before created while trying to cover up some holes that were before
    Let's say you're in a submarine. Somehow you get a hole in the wall and water starts coming in. You try stuffing things up against the hole but everything you try tears away the material and the hole just gets bigger. In that case, most inteligent forms of life would stop stuffing their belongings up against the hole and try a different method. There are other solutions to the problems in Windows. I've only ever installed the urgent virus patches, and then when I hear about a new security hole, I use a different solution. Most people I think hate Windows because it's popular to hate Bill Gates and makes you look like thoughtful, well-informed, IT-person. Now if someone like Thantos had made a well-argued post why Windows was a bad idea, I'd listen and take it into consideration. I will admit that I used to be one of those people.

    Most of the Microsoft software out there is illegal whether you know it or not. I heard a story about some Microsoft employees ordering some workstations to get started on a new project, and while setting them up discovered boot-leg versions of Windows 95 (It was a while ago) on every one of them. You recommend that I only install trusted software. This is the MS equivalent.

    edit:
    If you just look at mainstream distros or purpose-built systems, things probably change (especially in the latter case).
    I am of course also not saying that Linux would be a bad idea, but to add to this thought, the British Navy is probably not going to go down to their local electronics store, get some end-user software, install it, and then smash a bottle of wine on the front of the sub. I can almost guarantee you they're going to make changes to the software. It'll just all be based on the NT Kernel.
    Last edited by sean; 09-11-2004 at 09:20 AM.

  11. #11
    Registered User whackaxe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    332
    Quote Originally Posted by sean_mackrory
    the British Navy is probably not going to go down to their local electronics store, get some end-user software, install it, and then smash a bottle of wine on the front of the sub. I can almost guarantee you they're going to make changes to the software. It'll just all be based on the NT Kernel.
    they might get a discount on Microsoft Visual Cruise Missile mind you

    frankly, I don't think thats its going to be your average I-just-wanna-see-my-email user that will be working for the navy. I could be wrong, but i doubt that the radar, periscope, torpedo launcher, engines etc. are plug and play with USB ports :/ windows 2000-3 doesn't sound to bad an idea. although a custom built distro sounds like a better option to me, i don't think its such a big deal that they are using windows
    I loathe pointers

  12. #12
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    9,607
    We use Windows to run our entire factory. If it fails you just reboot the system. But since its Windows 2000 we really don't have much trouble. Every program will hard lock at some point and its not all that disastrous. Just reboot. When you reboot all systems go into idle mode and keep doing what they were doing prior to the reboot. Since a reboot only takes like 3 minutes or so this usually does not cause any problems.

    Plus you also have backup systems that are running at all times. If the central computer system is down then each individual system controls a certain zone of the system instead of one computer controlling the whole thing. When the system dies, the zone systems take over.

    With redundancy and failsafe's built in using Windows is really not a bad idea.

  13. #13
    Registered User whackaxe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    332
    my mum works for a company called Mapics that makes factory software (or something like that) and aparantly they decided to step up their windows support because all the developers were raving about .NET
    I loathe pointers

  14. #14
    Mayor of Awesometown Govtcheez's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    MI
    Posts
    8,823
    > (like the rumored blocking of GMail invites from Hotmail and MSN inboxes)

    I got mine in my hotmail box

  15. #15
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    4,912
    > (like the rumored blocking of GMail invites from Hotmail and MSN inboxes)

    I got mine in my hotmail box
    Hence the "rumored".

    my mum works for a company called Mapics that makes factory software (or something like that) and aparantly they decided to step up their windows support because all the developers were raving about .NET
    .NET was a big part of what made me switch back to a Microsoft fan.

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. Dialog Box Problems
    By Morgul in forum Windows Programming
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 05-31-2005, 05:48 PM
  2. dual boot Win XP, win 2000
    By Micko in forum Tech Board
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 05-30-2005, 02:55 PM
  3. The destructive power of a nuclear bomb
    By InvariantLoop in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 03-24-2005, 02:46 AM
  4. SDL and Windows
    By nickname_changed in forum Windows Programming
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 10-24-2003, 12:19 AM
  5. IE 6 status bar
    By DavidP in forum Tech Board
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 10-23-2002, 05:31 PM