21 Oct
1998
21 Oct
'98
7:36 a.m.
This reminds me of a claim I hear in Y2K discussions,
but can hardly
believe: that businesses are running the same *executables* since
the 1950s/60s/70s, and that they don't have the source code to fix it.
All the time. In many cases, the customer never saw the source code.
(Did you get the source code to the microcontroller in your microwave
when you bought it?)
Sure, they might not have the source to the OS, but
their own apps?
I'm intimately familiar with an example where the company selling
the OS no longer has all the source code to it. (And, in one
specific case, they can't recompile a tool distributed with the OS
because they've even lost the binaries of the compiler.)
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology Voice: 301-767-5917
7328 Bradley Blvd Fax: 301-767-5927
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817