Dylan Smith writes:

I recently saw a photograph of the flight deck of the Airbus A380.
Inside, one on the captain's side and one on the FO's side is a pull out
keyboard and display, the display was clearly showing a Windows start
menu. I doubt the PC had anything to do with _flying_ the plane itself ...

I certainly hope it doesn't. But knowing Airbus, and its tendency to
install bleeding-edge gadgets on its aircraft in a desperate attempt
to have _something_ that Boeing does not, it wouldn't surprise me at
all if Windows were being used for safety-of-life applications (even
though Microsoft itself recommends against this in the strongest
terms).

... it was probably a general purpose information system that could be used
in flight.

I should think that pilots would have better things to do than type on
a PC. There's enough to worry about in commercial aviation as it is.

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