I was at an ATM, I was going to get some cash out of my debet card... But after typing in my PIN and going though the process, the ATM stoped and Restarted in DOS (it has 32mb ramLOL), so as I'm lookign around in the store to make sure I was not going to get blamed I started thinking this is odd that my money is basicly not safe its RUNNING DOS... so I sat llok at the machice for a few minuts to see if any free $$$ would come out but no luck... Please don't trust you money to DOS (as if you had a choose)... Just a good story for you all...
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A Funny DOS Story at the...
- Thread starter Macs R Us
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Macs R Us said:
Why should this suprise you. ATM's are just computers, PC happened to be cheap. There is many ATMS that run Windows using a VB program for the UI.
superbovine said:
Well I knew this but its funny what happend that its a pieace of cr@p (PC)... Some people might not have known this... Now they do
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AmigoMac said:sad that DOS became later Denial of service ...
No it didn't. That's DoS, not DOS. It's like ATM having two different meanings: Asynchronous Transfer Mode and Automated Teller Machine
Anyway, DOS was (and maybe still is) one of the most secure operating systems, as it has no bells or whistles that people can take advantage of. I think it is a good choice, as you don't need anything spectacular to run an ATM.
Here's another tip that might make you freak out though. Most ATM's are driven over modem lines. I think that's a huge mistake.
A lot of ATM's used to run OS/2 but that's history. I once saw an ATM with an error message dialog in a Windows NT 4 desktop.
I think DOS is not too bad for an ATM. It's perfectly possible to write solid software on top of DOS. Actually, a lot of embedded systems still use DOS. When you program for DOS, you can use DOS kernel calls, BIOS calls or control hardware directly. It might be a lot of work, but it's not complex, it's straight forward.
OTOH, when you're doing it on top of a complex system that implements multitasking, networking, a GUI (like Windows, OS/2, UNIX or Mac OS X for that matter), you also depend on the stability and security of the OS. That might be good or not, it depends on the OS. It's the price you pay for a friendly and rich programming environment.
I think DOS is not too bad for an ATM. It's perfectly possible to write solid software on top of DOS. Actually, a lot of embedded systems still use DOS. When you program for DOS, you can use DOS kernel calls, BIOS calls or control hardware directly. It might be a lot of work, but it's not complex, it's straight forward.
OTOH, when you're doing it on top of a complex system that implements multitasking, networking, a GUI (like Windows, OS/2, UNIX or Mac OS X for that matter), you also depend on the stability and security of the OS. That might be good or not, it depends on the OS. It's the price you pay for a friendly and rich programming environment.
tomf87 said:
Really?!!!
Lesson: Not everyone comes with the same mood... nevermind... There is no need for a DOS course... ECHO OFF...
to tell you the truth DOS is one of the most stable OS out there and one of the safest OS out there. Mainly because it can only run one thing at a time making it next to impossible to hack.
DOS blows OSX out of the water in the areas that matter for stuff like ATMs. It is small, extermly stable and extermly secure. All 3 areas are better than OSX. But remeber DOS can only run 1 thing at a time.
DOS blows OSX out of the water in the areas that matter for stuff like ATMs. It is small, extermly stable and extermly secure. All 3 areas are better than OSX. But remeber DOS can only run 1 thing at a time.
Worst thing I ever saw was a prototype Vauxhall with a computer LCD as its front display. The Speedo had Blue-Screened - yes it was running Windows.
Fortunately it was in a Car-Show and not on the road - brings a rather literal meaning to the word 'crash'.
Fortunately it was in a Car-Show and not on the road - brings a rather literal meaning to the word 'crash'.
Timelessblur said:
OSX is overkilled for ATM, for that matter one would like to run BSD and that will be stronger... hey, but a Brushed Metal UI would be nice... DOS/OSX is not a real comparison...
MacNeXT said:
When I interned at a bank in '98, I found that check sorters were using OS/2 1.3 powered by 386 computers!!!! These are the machines that capture images and sort checks, and they still hauled a$$.
hcuar said:Why overkill, they run Windows XP? Oh wait, yup, OS X would be overkill.
If your "they" is refering to ATMs, you misunderstand. ATMs run DOS, not WinXP.
I've seen cash registers running Winblows. The registers had small 5x5-inch black & white monitors with tiny Winblows desktops.
Chip NoVaMac said:I hope over secure lines at least.....
The lines aren't secure, they are regular phone lines, and they just use a plain-o-modem to dial-up the server. The clients do use some type of encryption, but biggest thing they have going for them is the fact that the equipment to decode a tap modem conversation is expensive.
I see those all the time. The ATM at my local bank has one of those "green screens" that were common in the DOS era - black screen with green text and no graphics. I can't tell from that alone whether it's running DOS or some other OS.Apple Hobo said:I've seen cash registers running Winblows. The registers had small 5x5-inch black & white monitors with tiny Winblows desktops.
At my bank's ATM, I pulled up and the windows XP desktop clean up wizard balloon was on the screen lol
I wished I had a digi cam at that moment.
I wished I had a digi cam at that moment.
An ATM running DOS, I wouldn't be surprised by; it's tiny, generally stable, and a good choice for embedded applications like an ATM. An ATM running Windows, on the other hand (which I'll bet a lot of the fancy color ones like BofA uses), I wouldn't feel too great about--way too much to go wrong there, especially if the thing is on a network that might be exposed to the outside world.
Still, it's always amusing to see imbedded technology crash and realize that most of what we see running off a computer in the world is really just an application on an OS we're familiar with.
Still, it's always amusing to see imbedded technology crash and realize that most of what we see running off a computer in the world is really just an application on an OS we're familiar with.