FAA manages air traffic with Linux
The Federal Aviation Administration has saved $15 million by migrating computers that manage air traffic flow to Linux, according to an announcement issued last week. The upgrade is part of a broader service-oriented architecture initiative that will replace proprietary traffic management systems with applications using Java, Web services, open-source software and Oracle products.
If there’s one class of application that really, really doesn’t need a hideous, bloated, complex, consultant clusterfuck of buzzword-laden bullshit behind it, it’s the software that stops giant lumps of metal in the sky crashing into each other. I mean, sure, this is great for all the Open Source weenies now, but when four hundred people die in a screaming ball of fiery death because some sweaty, greasy fingered thirteen-year old in his parents’ basement missed a bracket at 2am, are they going to just sit there and say:
Well, if you found a bug, submit a patch and maybe it’ll get in the next release.
I say again: We are all going to die.
Or worse yet, the one guy who works their who really knows how things work leaves.
At least the fear of bad publicity and being sued out of existance keeps (some) commercial software companies on their toes.
You know that air traffic control is actually a computer game, right? It was one of the first network games in existence, even before most PCs were capable of running such applications. The aim is simple – get all your blobs from one side of your screen to the other. Player with the fewest collisions wins. 🙂
(and yes, I have seen the real thing and no, it isn’t actually like that or like any ‘standard’ computer system – many many failsafes and backups)