"Aviv Hod" wrote in message
...

Well I'm glad that this was sorted out as quickly as it was - the article
mentioned that they just rebooted the machine. However, the interesting
thing to me is that this super-duper $1billion computer system is merely a
support mechanism for what seems to me like an archaic paper strip system.
They're already dependent on the computer for generating the strips, so I
don't really see why it's necessary to use strips at all. There are
plenty
of examples of complex systems that lives depend on that have accordingly
been designed with enough redundancy to be trusted by themselves, without
being held back to a merely supporting role of a manual process.


Yeah, like a DC-10's hydraulic system.

The paper strips may seem archaic but once they are printed they are
reliable. I've seen screens go blank, I've never seen the print fall off a
strip.