Ted wrote:

The Space Station uses IBM 760xd laptops for their glass cockpit.


http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/...5-304-025.html


The pictures show astronauts using what appears at first-glance to be a
conventional laptop[0] computer in the space station. The way the stuff
is arranged in the pictures would imply that they're using them for
"desktop" computing tasks -- instead of as a real-time life-critical device.

As a professional systems administrator, I fully endorse the use of
desktop/laptop computers for desktop/laptop computing tasks. In fact,
my ability to eat depends on other people finding such tools to be
valuable! :-)

-Luke

[0] According to the spaceref article, though, the hardware has been
redesigned a bit and thoroughly tested to make sure that it's be better
suited to space than a consumer laptop. The deep review of information
about the hardware (look at every chip on every board) & software
(review the source for obvious brain-deadness) and the testing is what
most folks probably wouldn't have the time (or motivation?) to do
properly in a homebrew device.