Mailing List Archive

Mailing List: techdiver

Message Display

> ... unlike MS Windows and Sony Betamax, a rebreather is not a
> platform for running applications software ...

>Need't it be? :-) :-) :-) ? I was told that the SMS2000 Carmellan
>rebreather's onboard computer was the innards of a PC complete with a
>data storage that functioned as a C: drive (but not actually
>rotating), and it could have run MS-DOS, and there was even talk of
>letting the diver use it as a fullscale `wet computer' in the
>intervals of it looking after the rebreather's controls.

I can just see it now...  

Diver on a rebreather ... Oh no, I hit ctrl-alt-del !!!
or
Damn - another General Protection Fault - Where are those tables???
They're on the computer!!!  Damn (again!)!!!

Seriously though, allowing anything to run on one of these computers
other than the task at hand would be asking for trouble, you now have
a multitasking OS that has REAL TIME work to do.  Think of it - how
can you guarantee that a user wouldn't crash the machine?  (this is
possible, but it makes the operating system a LOT more difficult to
write).

Now, if Carmellan wants to make a "wet pc" available as an additional
feature (i.e. not connected to the rebreather) - that's another story,
but under NO circumstances would I let anyone get anywhere NEAR the
computer controlling the rebreather (i.e. to run other apps).

-Carl-

Navigate by Author: [Previous] [Next] [Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject: [Previous] [Next] [Subject Search Index]

[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]

[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]