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back to article Penguins in spa-a-a-ce! ISS dumps Windows for Linux on laptops

The crew of the International Space Station (once they've fixed their leak) will trade their old Windows XP laptops for Debian-powered systems to use in their Operations Local Area Network (Ops LAN). The six-person ISS has over 140 laptops on board, around 80 of which are working at any one time, along with a variety of …

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      1. Dodgy Geezer Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        ...reaction mass tanks...

        I'm not sure what these are meant to be? Are you confused with the lack of heat radiators , which were specifically left off for the reason mentioned below?

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        1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
          Reply Icon
          Headmaster

          Do you think Discovery has a NON-NEWTONIAN SPACE DRIVE? No, in fact it needs HUGE TANKS FULL OF LIQUID AMMONIA to pump stuff through its nuclear Vesta reactors to get that MOMENTUM THING GOING WHEN IT ARRIVES AT JUPITER (or Saturn).

          WHERE ARE THOSE TANKS?? They AIN'T THERE, kid!

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          1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
            Reply Icon
            Paris Hilton

            Reaction mass downvotes?

            I guess some people here really have no idea about how you obtain momentum changes in SPAAACE.

            Fracking trekkies, go back to your tricorders.

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    2. Martin Maloney
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      "...I prefer to think of them getting EVERYTHING right except one thing - the economics."

      Yeah, like the January 8, 1991 bankruptcy of Pan Am.

      I saw 2001 in a theater when it was in first run. I remember two points when the audience laughed:

      1, The in-your-face commercial placement of Pan Am, and

      2. The instructions for the use of the zero gravity toilet.

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      1. Peter Simpson 1
        Reply Icon
        Happy

        Howard Johnson's and the "old" Bell System logo, for me.

        IIRC, Bell changed their logo to the "outlined bell" very shortly thereafter.

        //still my favorite movie

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  2. Alister
    WTF?

    In testing on the agency's zero G "Vomit Comet", Apple's iPad failed to deliver, but astronauts still bring them up.

    Vomiting an iPad must take some effort...

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    1. Mephistro
      Reply Icon
      Devil

      (@ Alister)

      "Vomiting an iPad must take some effort"

      Yes, but the alternative method is even worse!

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    2. mrfill
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      They must have been eating it incorrectly

      0 0
  3. Cameron Colley

    They really did miss a trick.

    This is an application crying out for a Plan 9 install.

    4 0
  4. dssf

    They wanted to exceed 99

    Bottles of Beer on the Wall...

    Hahahaha

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I guess they got sick of the tech support in India whenever they had an issue?

    3 0
    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Trollface

      You have to be done when India drops below the horizon again...

      4 0
  6. G R Goslin

    Fuming

    MS must be fuming at this. Do you think that the'll go out and do a 'Nook' on this. Go out and buy the ISS so they can have it use their systems?

    7 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Fuming

      I doubt if Microsoft will be upset - as stated they already bought XP licences for all of these laptops, and the main reason was that they wanted an OS that they could customise.

      Undoubtedly they will (like Munich council) have to install Citrix Servers when they want to get real work done like using a version of Office that actually works....

      1 19
      1. eulampios
        Reply Icon

        @Anonymous Coward

        Of course, they won't be upset, otherwise they wouldn't be known for squandering huge amounts of money on ads and PR campaigns like "get the facts", "don't get scroogled", "Android and Linux infringe our 1005000 patents" etc. Since it is said that a good, well paid offense is always the best defense.

        As with office, you might be talking about that almighty ribbon thing? They will definitely have craves for it as well as for those good ol' viruses and AV, so very dear to everyone's heart.

        7 0
      2. Paul Crawford Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Fuming

        I am amazed that somehow you think an astronauts "real work" consists of making power point slide shows or arsing around with word processing style sheets.

        12 0
        1. Chemist
          Reply Icon

          Re: Fuming

          "somehow you think an astronauts "real work......."

          I'm amazed that a Vogon doesn't know about working in space, mind they are a right bunch of bureaucrats.

          1 0
      3. Tom 7
        Reply Icon

        Re: Fuming citrix

        According to some sources it seem that they have these (Citrix servers) because MS claims that linux violates some patents - not because they cant do what they want to in Linux, but its cheaper to bow to legal blackmail than try and fight MS in court over whether MS invented a whole bunch of ideas ten years after they appeared in unix. Smacks more of an MS fail - raising money through legal and not technical means, though shareholders may not give a shit about that.

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        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Fuming citrix

          Link to these sources? Or it didn't happen.....

          1 0
      4. Marshalltown
        Reply Icon
        Trollface

        Re: Fuming

        What version would that be?

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        1. Ru
          Reply Icon

          Re: Fuming

          get real work done like using a version of Office that actually works

          I'm interested to know what 'real work' you're expecting ISS crew to be doing using Office?

          1 0
  7. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge
    Alien

    140 Laptops?

    Reminds me of the scene in District 9 where the aliens had cobbled together a bunch of junked PCs in their command module.

    3 0
  8. tuxtester
    Meh

    The real story ...

    After Microsoft successfully test-fires a new orbital projectile weapon that hits the ISS, causing a critical coolant leak on the space station, a spokeswoman for MS says this was: ' ... an accident which coincidentally coincides with ISS ditching Windows for that other un-American, commy operating system.'

    3 1
    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Linux

      Re: The real story ...

      Michele Bachmann will declare it to be GOD'S PUNISHMENT for SANIC BIRD LOVE!

      0 0
      1. TheVogon
        Reply Icon
        Mushroom

        Re: The real story ...

        SANIC BIRD LOVE?

        Is that having a shag in a Portaloo?

        1 0
  9. Mystic Megabyte
    Linux

    Congratulations to Debian.org

    That's the sort of PR that money cannot buy.

    As for Microsoft, tough shit, you're yesterday.

    13 0
  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lots of Debian 'out there'

    Noone on Earth could have coded Debian so quickly , it must've come from space

    0 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Lots of Debian 'out there'

      Or Hell....

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  11. JaitcH
    FAIL

    "we needed an operating system that was stable and reliable" AKA Up yours, MS

    It seems that MS is not having a very good year.

    Huge swathes of users hanging on to XP; Win 8 in the garbage; fancy coloured notebook-type thingies not selling and the MS cellular OS in the doldrums.

    For the ISS to switch to Debian has to be the last insult it can take for a while.

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  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They have created a reason for a Linux virus

    Its there, so someone will hack it. And succeed.

    0 1
    1. Silverburn
      Reply Icon
      Linux

      Re: They have created a reason for a Linux virus

      Does it involve guess the password in 3 attempts while some sinister action music plays in the background?

      1 0
  13. Miek
    Linux

    One small step for Mankind, one giant leap for Penguins ...

    2 0
  14. Parax
    Joke

    "While software isn't the main cause of failure for the station's laptops"

    I bet they dropped a fair few too...

    2 0
  15. Dr. Mouse

    "Tablets are also in used on the ISS, but they are not as useful as here on Earth since, according to NASA, the accelerometers don't work in zero G."

    Surely the accelerometers do work in "zero G". They do exactly what they were designed to do.

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    1. Old Handle
      Reply Icon

      Heh, imagine trying to use a tablet application that's designed to keep the image upright no matter how you cold it while in zero-g.

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    2. The Real Tony Smith
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Up

      "Tablets are also in used on the ISS, but they are not as useful as here on Earth since, according to NASA, the accelerometers don't work in zero G."

      Surely the accelerometers do work in "zero G". They do exactly what they were designed to do.

      You Sir....

      Are an engineer!

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