OSS torpedoed: Royal Navy will run on Windows for Warships

[MacBytes]

Category: News and Press Releases
Link: OSS torpedoed: Royal Navy will run on Windows for Warships (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20040920095320)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

[Keynoteuser]

Great, what happens when some terrorist hacks it and starts shooting their warheads over here?

[mainstreetmark]

well, the good news is, the critical systems are not physically connected to anything else (at least in the US), so hackers can't get in.

[Trowaman]

and God Save the Queen.
G'night world.

[ntg]

I'm an Ex RN Weapons Technician, and have worked on a number of the Royal Navy's computer systems, and have also worked with computers since the days of the Commodore PET and RML 380Zs.

I'm absolutely blxxdy horrified that my ex-employees are going to use something that is so flaky for something so important!

Nigel Goodey
Network Manager

[macridah]

well, the good news is, the critical systems are not physically connected to anything else (at least in the US), so hackers can't get in.

hackers can't get in, but the application will crash ... BSOD or ctl+alt+del !!! :eek:

[noxes]

Note to self. Stay away from UK warships.

[shamino]

*Sigh*

What was it they said about those who ignore the lessons of history? Someone should show them the USS Yorktown and what happened to it (http://www.gcn.com/archives/gcn/1998/july13/cov2.htm) when they decided to tie all of its systems into Windows NT.

Hopefully, the Royal Navy will realize their mistake and mothball the project after the first sub has to be manually surfaced and towed to port. Hopefully the sub will be able to surface when Windows crashes and shuts down all of the boat's systems.

A surface vessel dead in the water during a test run is an embarrasment. A sub that's dead in the water at the bottom of the ocean may result in a sub full of dead people.