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"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." - Bert Lance
by egil 13y ago
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." - Bert Lance
- ivanca 13y ago"If it ain't broke you still have to upgrade, because delay in doing so will bring compatibly nightmares upon you" - Ivanca
- EpicEng 13y agoCompatibility with what? It's not being upgraded because it works. There's a reason that most POS systems still look like something out of Tron. They work, they're battle hardened, and they're fast. Upgrade to some new system and only if you're a glutton for pain (unless you have to absolutely change systems for some reason, then you're just forced to be in pain for a while.)
- ghayes 13y agoand when a component breaks?
- RamiK 13y agoMore so considering the city might want to close down the bridge (eh... open it? lift it?!) remotely in case of an emergency. They might also want to throw in some traffic condensation sensors and cameras for security and/or tickets and so on...
- userbinator 13y agoIt wouldn't surprise me if the new system turns out to be less reliable and not last as long, due to all these added things. This isn't aerospace-level, but it's still an application where bugs can be truly dangerous (e.g. bridge attempts to open while you're driving across?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect
- koenigdavidmj 13y agoWe actually have relevant history of that in Seattle. The 520 bridge opened whilst traffic was running back in the 80s, killing one.
- egil 13y agoIf it breaks, you surely need to fix it (and having plans to fix it or upgrading it due to lack of replacement parts etc is of course neccessary). However, there is also inherent risks in upgrading such appliances, so it should not be done simply because the hardware is old.
- pilsetnieks 13y agoFrom the original article: > The old-school electric resistors and other parts are wearing out, so that replacements must be scavenged from city shops or eBay, he says. Finnick recalls a 12-hour stoppage, when the city used a backup diesel motor to lift the bridge for boats. Other times, the city dispatched a second bridge tender to help open the bridge manually. It does break and replacement parts are hard to find.
- clouds 13y agoCompatibility with the rest? Like, the users? Everyone, but the US is paying mobile. US are still using magnetic strip credit cards. It wasn't that painful in Europe.
- sgift 13y agoLast time I checked Germany wasn't part of the US and we use magnetic strip cards all the time here.
- ygra 13y agoI think the magnetic strip isn't used by terminals; the chip is.
- legulere 13y agoThe magnetic strip can't even be used anymore: http://www.n24.de/n24/Wissen/Finanzen/d/1798604/der-magnetstreifen-wird-abgeschafft.html http://www.n24.de/n24/Wissen/Finanzen/d/1798604/der-magnetst... It was barely used anymore before
- ericd 13y agoWhy would I want to have to pay mobile when I can carry a much more durable and less valuable piece of plastic that performs just as well and never runs out of battery?
- fnordfnordfnord 13y agoPOS systems "battle hardened"? We're all paying through the nose right now because credit card companies refuse to update their POS POS magnetic stripe readers and pendants.
- weland 13y ago> "If it ain't broke you still have to upgrade, because delay in doing so will bring compatibly nightmares upon you" - Ivanca It's a fucking bridge. The only thing the system operating it is connected to is the. Fucking. Bridge. Software works? Check. Software doesn't have to be compatible with anything? Check. These are systems where feature creep is actually actively avoided. The amount of testing and deployment effort that goes into them is so large that changes are made to them only if there really is a pressing, existing need.