Oh good, "Launch torpedoes!", "I can't captain, I got a damn BSOD.", "****".

Cue the Windows bashers...

Jesus, when will we get rid of the propaganda? The Windows OS is not inherently unstable, definitely not more so than a lot of competing OS.

The machines will be isolated and I'm sure they're going to be locked down, so as long as some mouth-breather doesn't decide to bring his iPod to work and hook it in to the sub then there shouldn't be any problem.

That said, I really hope that they have failsafe controls in place in case their retrofit goes bad.

I thought they would use Windows in prisons because it's soooo good at locking up....tehehehe ^_^

I'm sure its will be as reliable as whatever they were using before, but I'm sure eventually, one day, somebody on one of the ships will get a BSOD and everyone will make fun of M$ for it. I was just beating them to the punch.

I am sorry but the torpedo you want to launch can not happen right now because windows has recovered from a error & needs to reboot thank & have a nice day.

I highly doubt they will ever get a BSOD. The only reasons why you get a BSOD is bad software loaded on top of windows or hardware running windows.

These systems will be tested to no end to insure no problems arise.

Oh and to anyone think any hacking attempt can launch a nuclear missile, get real. THG stop spreading stupid fear creating BS.

and they couldnt get Ubuntu or debian why?

Believe it or not daft, sometimes(especially dealing in political circles) you have to purchase software due to contractual obligation. I'm not saying it's right.

I've built many a computer and the only time I have ever encountered a problem was bad software or hardware conflicting with the fine and dandy OS. The problem is that people think Windows is so user friendly that you should be able to do whatever they want with it. /endrant

Anyway, I would love to see what they have done with this. It's a step in the right direction if you ask me.

"Sir I can't launch torpedo's" ...."I thought you fixed that problem when you installed SP2"..."I did but now the targeting system is down."

here comes WW 3

just think of how many of our naval boats and subs already use windows. no problems, but then again, who knows.

Because Ubuntu is the most unstable OS I have ever used.

Hopefully no malcontent at M$ has put in a backdoor to controlling the world's navy.

This could give a whole new meaning to "This program has preformed an illegal operation."

Switch to MS = 25% cost reduction. Switch to Apple = 25% cost increase and limited to Soviet era hardware.

This is so wrong at so many levels I am not sure where to begin. And it does not have anything with OS stability or anything related to computers, but rather human nature. Now any operator, unknowingly and due to serious neglect (or moment of dumbness, inebriation, or whatnot) can sneak aboard e.g. an USB stick with some porn or whatever, infected with some sort of malware. God know what it can do when it starts spreading. Before, with custom system, you simply did not have the possibility of consumer-grade viruses to roam through submarine computers. Now you have to implement and enforce just another layer of staff regulations that are, as always, prone to violation, just to be safe from something you had before as a given.

I agree with the guy above. Linux would have been the best choice... and I'm a windows/mac user. Free costs much less than even $.01 per OS. Oh, and you can pretty much tweak it to whatever means necessary. Not to mention, Linux is known for it's stability.

Since when did Toms turn into a windows fanboy site anyways? I get that everyone hates Apple, but how does that turn everyone towards M$?

Clippy says It looks like you are trying to shoot a torpedo do you need help?

Well now, if we look at the other options:

Linux: You only need to edit three configuration files and recompile the kernel source to get to the mission area. A scant twenty or thirty commands from the console. Easy!

OS X: Firing is as easy as either hitting the Command-shift-tab-5-backspace hotkey or finding the correct way to massage the mighty mouse. You can't aim that shot with current hardware, but that sub is gonna look great and that is all that matters.

I agree with the Linux comments. They could use off the shelf parts AND a free OS. They could even create a special distro.

Did you read the article on the future of the Desktop market? The Apple fanaticism was so pungent that people with ageusia could taste it.

To everyone speculating about USB drives, do you seriously think any of the designers would be stupid enough to leave an exposed USB port? And even if they did leave one open, what's to stop that same person from running a malicious script on linux or osx?

holy crap

Sorry, I should clarify, I meant that all of the USERS here are windows fanboys. I use Windows every day and rarely use Linux and never use Mac and I prefer Windows over any other OS. I just don't get why people here can't take a joke about M$. Did all the Intel fanboys around here get bored and jump on the other major tech monopoly bandwagon?

Windows (or Linux for that matter) is not a problem for this type of use -- management applications. All this does is unify some command and control functions which were previously separate systems. If the system goes down, individual stations would be able to manually override.

Where both Windows and Linux fail and should not be used are applications where a deterministic time period is involved. For these applications, a RTOS like QNX, VxWorks, or RTLinux must be used. For instance, if you are going to run the reactor control system using a computer governed by an OS, and the computer must sample plant pressure at least every 100 msec to ensure proper protection, you cannot use a standard OS kernel like Windows or regular Linux, because they cannot guarantee that a particular code block will always be able to run at that interval. An RTOS can.

British submarines have been running Windows for four years. The first British nuclear sub, HMS Torbay, was outfitted with SMCS back in 2004. This is just the completion of the rollout to all twelve of their nuclear subs.

Compared to the consumer arena, there are many things that are very different in an embedded application. First, cost. Windows is essentially free. Not zero, but basically negligible when compared to the price of the overall system. Printing the training manuals probably cost more than all the licenses of Windows.

Second, certification and access to source code. Yes, you read that right. It's closed-source to you, but it's not closed source to large customers who need to do security auditing. The Ministry of Defence has surely used Windows 2000 and XP previously in other apps, so these two OSes would already be certified and ready to go. A different system would have had to start at square one.

Finally, availability of developers. If you've got Windows developers on staff, you don't make them run out and learn something new, or go out and hire a bunch of new people. Especially since they have to be vetted and granted security clearance.

yeah that's right, the kernel of any normal OS like Windows or mac or etc, cannot guarantee the code's wanted exact execution time , so there will be delays, delays to errors, errors to system hangs, and the missle directly hit Washington DC, not Bin Ladan! haha!
but BSOD? come on man! I haven't seen it in years, after XP SP2 or some time, if you keep windows clean, like you keep your room or clothes clean, you wont get a BSOD, or get sick!
[ i got a BSOD from vista, when my P35 board was cracked when I was pushing HARD inserting STUPID pins of the intel cpu heatsink holder or what else you call it in the mobo, stupid thing! these PINS, we should discuss this ]