The modern military has to continously improve its kit to dominate an ever-more sophisticated enemy. That appllies to its hardware, its soldiers and of course to the software that enable both to do the dominating.
I was somewhat surprised to read in The Register that the UK Navy has now standardised on Microsoft Windows 2000 for the operating system of some of its newer warships. Windows!!! I don’t even want to think of the consequences of having to deal with everyday Windows problems in the middle of a live conflict.
Apparently the operating system it is replacing was even worse. The mind boggles.
What do you think? Are Microsoft products fit for military purposes? Or should the UK just declare neutrality right now and get it over and done with?
Post a comment and get the conversation going.
Graham Hill
Dear Graham
This blog entry startled me, in a time that jokes are rife about using Windows for aircraft avionics systems. Similarly, I would not want to see the day that the captain is trying to find the magic keys CTRL, ALT, and Del.
On a serious note (and your entry was undoubtedly meant that way), this brings about the question what drives such decisions in sectors where safety and security are -or should be- at the top of the agenda. Airport control towers, oil & gas, nuclear reactors, et cetera.
Note: I have been using an O2 Atom PDA Phone since last year. It has been crashing regularly. You guessed it: it runs on Windows Mobile 5.0.
regards
Chris