Windows for critical infrastructure (was Re: UNIX V7)

Dave McGuire wrote: Unfortunately there actually ARE hospitals using Windows servers for their critical infrastructure. I've seen them, and I've seen what happens when they blue-screen. I've heard stories about banks that have migrated their transaction processing from IBM mainframes to Windows, but they may just be stories. I have no idea what railroads are using. The US Navy at one point was switching from Unix to Windows. They had major problems with this on the USS Yorktown, and had to tow it back to port. I don't know whether they've completed the switch. "We are putting equipment in the engine room that we cannot maintain and, when it fails, results in a critical failure" -- Anthony DiGiorgio, civilian engineer with the Atlantic Fleet Technical Support Center in Norfolk "Although Unix is more reliable, NT may become more reliable with time." -- Ron Redman, deputy director of the Fleet Introduction Division of the Aegis Program Executive Office Redman said that NT had been chosen for political rather than technical reasons. Where's the line between stupidity and treason? It's been more recently reported that the British Royal Navy is using Windows to run their nuclear submarines. One of the best reasons not to use Windows for critical infrastructure has nothing to do with flaws in Windows. Over and over again I've seen people have failures of Windows-based systems that were intended to serve a single purpose, such as control the HVAC systems for a large building, because some damn fool thought it would be a good idea to install a bunch of extra software on them, including games, and various random software downloaded from the Internet. Eric