Last week, a software glitch caused the loss of the air traffic control communications system for the western United States. Not only did it crash, it stayed down for three whole hours! Two planes came within two miles of colliding during the outage.
This system was originally running on Unix, but a recent so-called “upgrade” switched the platform to Windows 2000 AS. According to links on Doc Searls’ IT Garage, the bug is one well known to Windows users: the 49.7-days-and-hang bug.
If confiscating pocket knives from little old ladies doesn’t bolster your confidence in air safety, how do you feel knowing Microsoft is keeping the skies safe?
so, the 49.7 bug, which affects 95 and 98 users, now affects 2000 AS?
Wow, either they’re way behind or something’s not right. I’m not sure the article has it’s facts totally correct.
I see your point. Then again, the problem could have been in a Windows 98 client, while the server was fine.
I don’t think we’ll ever know exactly what happened if all we’ve got to go on is the press quotes.
This is what happens when you reuse bad code.
If they had been applying their weekly critical severity security patches with their resultant reboots this never would have happened. Clearly the customers fault.
Steve Balmer