Having worked in tech fields, legacy devices as old as 20 years can pop up occasionally, functioning or not. Once was told a story where this tech was hired to fix a highschool bell system and the whole thing was running on windows 98.
Comment on Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 could send 240 million PCs to landfills: Report - CNA
EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 9 months ago
I really doubt an average Joe would buy a new computer once the old OS goes end-of-life. Joe would just continue using an EOL system and hope everything is alright.
Cannibal_MoshpitV3@lemmy.world 9 months ago
vrek@programming.dev 9 months ago
I work in a field that is considered by many high tech. I have personally seen a system in use today that duel boots windows 2000 and windows 98.
The product it’s used by is old generations and the system does not have any network access but still must be supported by government regulation for several more years…
smeenz@lemmy.nz 9 months ago
“Duel boots” lol… now I’m imagining a sword fight going on in the BIOS
Pips@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
Just another turning of the Wheel every time you boot it up. “I have won again, Lews Therin. Flicker.”
Toes@ani.social 9 months ago
Yeah there’s a lot of MRI machines out there where the brains are running windows 98
vrek@programming.dev 9 months ago
I think it was 2017 we got rid of our last system running freedos in a console since the original program required do to operate…
random_character_a@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Few years ago there was a story in a local paper about building automation systems running on Commadore 64 and still doing fine. Build by some company in the 80’s. They weren’t online, so no security issues.
Tried to find the article online but no luck. It would have been in local language anyway.
topinambour_rex@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Even if they was online, I doubt a lot of people have the knowledge for hack a commodore 64.
tpihkal@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Good ole’ government policy!
vrek@programming.dev 9 months ago
In this case I do partially agree with it. They are for medical implants and since the expected lifetime of the device is 10 years we need to be able to support them for 10 years after the last surgery.
If the dog eats your controller which allows you to turn on and off your device we need to be able to sell you a new controller and NOT tell you “sorry, you need to spend several hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills to replace the device and go through a traumatic surgery to install it”
Now optimally my company would make a modern program that duplicates the technology but is compatible with modern computers but since are no longer making money on these old devices they don’t want to invest the time and money. So yeah…
tpihkal@lemmy.world 9 months ago
The company I work for has no control over the air conditioning in one of our facilities because it’s automated and running on a computer system from the 80’s. No one knows how it works.
doppelgangmember@lemmy.world 9 months ago
For a price… I could break it for you
tpihkal@lemmy.world 9 months ago
It’s my ass to freeze, not to pay for. I can switch between uncomfortably hot or cold, I just have to switch the lever (on top of the roof of the building). I’m not really a heights kind of person.
doppelgangmember@lemmy.world 9 months ago
For a price… I could break it for you
Snowpix@lemmy.ca 9 months ago
The restaurant I work at still uses Windows XP on one of its main tills. It breaks down and freezes constantly.
Noerttipertti@sopuli.xyz 9 months ago
I still do monthly service checks to industrial computers that use win3.11, 2000 and unix from early 90’s. When machines that costs even up to million to replace require legacy os, you scrounge up older hardware to run them as long as you can.
kennebel@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I’m sure average Joe doesn’t even know what EOL means, or knows when it happens. :)
Arthur_Leywin@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Yeah Elastic Orange Llamas will be difficult to deal with but I think Joe can manage.
tpihkal@lemmy.world 9 months ago
*ELO it was a band.
Pips@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
More than anyone, they knew Mr. Blue Sky.
doppelgangmember@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Yeah we’re fucked :)
I liked the suggestion to throw Linux on all of the “losses”
moonburster@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Software updates will stop and render the possibility of an unsafe system more and more over time. Since there are no updates, if a backdoor is found it won’t be patched.
Besides that you’ll probably be able to use it for a few more years as long as your apps still work