3 ms·

Many universities have systems like that. Banks too. Probably true of many early adopters: they built systems that worked and didn't rewrite them simply for the

• organsnyder 11y ago
  When I interned at IBM from 2003-2006, we submitted our timecards using a terminal application accessed over telnet. I don't know exactly what system it was, but the key commands certainly evoked thoughts of early mainframes.
• nine_k 11y ago
  It's not for the sake of having something new. New technologies do often provide obvious benefits. It's the cost of a new version (both in software development and reorganization of processes) that may be too high to justify these benefits.
• HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
  At my first job, we built I/O cards that did stuff like the Amiga in the article does. The cards used adapters so they could run on anything from TRS80's to PC's because at the time the system was conceived, the IBM PC hadn't emerged as the dominant desktop yet. The company is long out of business, but every so often someone finds some of their products at a garage sale or industrial auction or it comes in a box of other things on eBay. When they search for manuals on the product they often find me because by coincidence someone asked about those products on a forum I frequent and that conversation tends to come up in the first page on google. It's amazing how many really old systems are still running after decades without change and no one gives it a thought until something breaks. I've often wished I had a list of their old customers so I could contact them and offer my services to upgrade old controls. [sigh] another business opportunity missed.
  • sitkack 11y ago
    Make a webpage with all the info you have on the subject, state what you just stated. Done. Free business.
    • hoggle 11y ago
      Yes and please do blog about it regularly if you feel like it - this whole thread on legacy systems is the most interesting read on HN for a long time IMHO.
    • HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
      [smacks self on head] Thank you. For some inexplicable reason the most obvious solution honestly never occurred to me!
• ams6110 11y ago
  Most of my credit cards will not update the balance immediately after I make a payment. It takes a day (sometimes more, depending on timing). Clearly batch processes are involved. There's nothing wrong with batch processes. They are often easier to reason about than having a system where everything can change in real time. Sometimes you want real time. Sometimes (many times) a daily batch is just fine.
  • mixmastamyk 11y ago
    Also gives you a chance to change your mind, say to cancel a pending bank transaction in the evening.
    • icebraining 11y ago
      You can have delays for that purpose in real-time systems too. And they'd actually be consistent, instead of having variable lengths to cancel the transaction.
  • saryant 11y ago
    Credit card processing does seem to be moving towards real-time. Lately I've found more and more merchants where I get a notification on my phone instantly after my Amex is swiped.