Southwest Airlines, the fourth largest airline in the US, is seemingly unaffected by the problematic CrowdStrike update that caused millions of computers to BSoD (Blue Screen of Death) because it used Windows 3.1. The CrowdStrike issue disrupted operations globally after a faulty update caused newer computers to freeze and stop working, with many prominent institutions, including airports and almost all US airlines, including United, Delta, and American Airlines, needing to stop flights.
Windows 3.1, launched in 1992, is likely not getting any updates. So, when CrowdStrike pushed the faulty update to all its customers, Southwest wasn’t affected (because it didn’t receive an update to begin with).
The airlines affected by the CrowdStrike update had to ground their fleets because many of their background systems refused to operate. These systems could include pilot and fleet scheduling, maintenance records, ticketing, etc. Thankfully, the lousy update did not affect aircraft systems, ensuring that everything airborne remained safe and were always in control of their pilots.
qisope@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Or, for your consideration, could it perhaps be because they don’t use crowdstrike?
KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
Yeah, what? 3.1 not getting updates has nothing to do with this. Software developed for 3.1 can still be updated. This article is just silly.
SSJMarx@lemm.ee 1 month ago
The interesting thing here is wondering why they never upgraded. Perhaps managing flights digitally just hasn’t changed much since the early nineties and they never needed anything else?
InFerNo@lemmy.ml 1 month ago
It isn’t even a Windows update, but a software update.
xantoxis@lemmy.world 1 month ago
My Linux servers weren’t affected either. I think it’s because of Windows 3.1
Monument@lemmy.sdf.org 1 month ago
My wife shared this with me yesterday, but I didn’t see it:
A joke tweet with an attached image of a smart refrigerator. The refrigerator displays a blue screen of death. The tweet reads “I can’t even open my fridge.” Another tweet is replying to it, taking it seriously and indicating they do not embrace smart technology.
Somebunny is gonna learn those things aren’t windows-based today!
noisefree@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I feel like every article out there is missing this and keeps blaming Windows Update vs an update pushed to a specific piece of software by a third-party developer. I get end-users not understanding how things work but tech writers should be more knowledgeable about the subject they write about for a living.
BlackAura@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Yeah what a badly written article, with awful takeaways.