this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2023
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Technology

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[–] [email protected] 74 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I really doubt an average Joe would buy a new computer once the old OS goes end-of-life. Joe would just continue using an EOL system and hope everything is alright.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I’m sure average Joe doesn’t even know what EOL means, or knows when it happens. :)

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago

Yeah Elastic Orange Llamas will be difficult to deal with but I think Joe can manage.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

More than anyone, they knew Mr. Blue Sky.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Yeah we're fucked :)

I liked the suggestion to throw Linux on all of the "losses"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Software updates will stop and render the possibility of an unsafe system more and more over time. Since there are no updates, if a backdoor is found it won't be patched.

Besides that you'll probably be able to use it for a few more years as long as your apps still work

[–] [email protected] 21 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

Having worked in tech fields, legacy devices as old as 20 years can pop up occasionally, functioning or not. Once was told a story where this tech was hired to fix a highschool bell system and the whole thing was running on windows 98. This took place in 2015 or so

[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I work in a field that is considered by many high tech. I have personally seen a system in use today that duel boots windows 2000 and windows 98.

The product it's used by is old generations and the system does not have any network access but still must be supported by government regulation for several more years....

[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

"Duel boots" lol.. now I'm imagining a sword fight going on in the BIOS

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Just another turning of the Wheel every time you boot it up.

"I have won again, Lews Therin. Flicker."

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah there's a lot of MRI machines out there where the brains are running windows 98

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

I think it was 2017 we got rid of our last system running freedos in a console since the original program required do to operate...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Few years ago there was a story in a local paper about building automation systems running on Commadore 64 and still doing fine. Build by some company in the 80's. They weren't online, so no security issues.

Tried to find the article online but no luck. It would have been in local language anyway.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Even if they was online, I doubt a lot of people have the knowledge for hack a commodore 64.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'd imagine it would have been some gprs-modem through an adapter for sms notifications, that was added afterwards in the 90's

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

There is a device for connect it to internet, via an ethernet cable and with some software, for bbs by example.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Getting a C64 to host an remote interface page would definitely be "beyond the call of duty".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

In this case I do partially agree with it. They are for medical implants and since the expected lifetime of the device is 10 years we need to be able to support them for 10 years after the last surgery.

If the dog eats your controller which allows you to turn on and off your device we need to be able to sell you a new controller and NOT tell you "sorry, you need to spend several hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills to replace the device and go through a traumatic surgery to install it"

Now optimally my company would make a modern program that duplicates the technology but is compatible with modern computers but since are no longer making money on these old devices they don't want to invest the time and money. So yeah..

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (2 children)

The company I work for has no control over the air conditioning in one of our facilities because it's automated and running on a computer system from the 80's. No one knows how it works.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

For a price... I could break it for you

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

It's my ass to freeze, not to pay for. I can switch between uncomfortably hot or cold; I just have to switch a lever (on top of the roof of the building) but I'm not really a heights kind of person.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

For a price... I could break it for you

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

The restaurant I work at still uses Windows XP on one of its main tills. It breaks down and freezes constantly.