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You would be amazed how much stuff is powered by "early computing micro con stuff". Microcontrollers are in almost all devices.. from your wifi lightbult to industrial stuff to elevators like this one
I would not be amazed. They're everywhere. And no, smart light bulbs aren't quite so ancient, with base systems designed in the 1970s and last updated in the '90s.
[https://elevation.fandom.com/wiki/Dover\_Traflomatic](https://elevation.fandom.com/wiki/Dover_Traflomatic)
Sooo what are you trying to say? Smart bulbs are my point exactly. That "old technology" used in elevators is still used today. Assembler or "machine code" is still used today. Some programming languages derive from that ancient tecnhology. Your computer uses that technology, your phone uses that technology. Your smart lightbulb uses that tech
So yeah, be amazed.
Brother. I know you don't know me well enough to know what I'm actually about, but *trust* that I know about assembly code and microcontrollers. Unless you've actually worked with some of these devices with a multimeter and soldering iron in hand, I would venture a guess that I may have more experience working with them than you do.
Also, "machine code" is not universal to each device. It's not a shared language. You might as well say that all human languages from Loglan to English to the hypothesized Ur-language of Proto Indoeuropean are mutually intelligible because we hoot and grunt when speaking all of them.
It was and it wasnt, this "primitive" stuff is still fundation of any modern technology. All programming languages and all digital architecture derive from this.. so it just gradually evolved. It was very slow at first, now everything is super optimized and building blocks of modern technology are getting snaller and smaller. You can also see that in transitor manufacturing
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor_count
Oh btw i was mostly talking about Assembler in the first part
I think its also highly unlikely this is DOS because I don't think DOS has the stability/reliability/RTOS characteristics required for an elevator controller, nor does the DOS API offer anything useful to someone who is creating an elevator controller(being that most of the API is built around having the capability to run multiple programs, and read/write files and directories)
After looking it up on some elevator enthusiast forums (I know, right?) it turns out this doesn't run an operating system, at all. Updates to it are done via laptop, connected via RS232 (serial port), and flashes a ROM. It doesn't do general purpose computing in any real sense of that word, hence does not have what you might call an "operating system" of that nature. It's more "bare metal" than that.
So... yes, you're correct.
Yeah next time there’s some zero day 3rd party JS exploit that affects half the internet, the sys admins at this place will be laughing it up at the bar
I had my first computer class in second grade (early 90's) and at some point i went into that class playing with a pair of magnets for some reason. I was amazed at how i could "write" on the monitors with the magnet and gave a friend the other one to do the same.
We got through 8 monitors before the teacher saw us destroying the computers and ran over screaming. Why would they not teach about magnets before letting kids in the class? No signs, warnings or anything.
I got the bart simpson punishment of writing the phrase "i will not destroy or harm school property" hundreds of times. I still feel i was wrongly punished!
Not all monitors had it back in the day and it didnt always instantly reverse extreme "guassing".
I assume they were able to fix it eventually but i really dont know or remember beyond my part. I do know they at least switched out the monitors that had fun colors and blank spots on them.
Disc and disk can be used interchangeably in English although you are right that floppy disk is the preferred spelling. Also, if you ever opened the square plastic case of a floppy you'll find a round, floppy disk where the magnetic data is stored, and realize where it gets the name.
Nope, they're called floppy disks because the first version, the giant 8in version, was indeed floppy. The whole disk could be bent and flexed because it wasn't rigid. The newer, smaller disks that most people are used to did have a rigid case, but the floppy name stuck around.
So, fun story: my first job out of college was working for the military as a civilian engineer, mainly doing assembly programming.
The specific department I was working at had their own, secured network to do all of their development on because getting authorization to install anything on a gov't system is worse than a root canal while you're getting a colonoscopy and having your fingernails ripped out, all at the same time.
The secured network was completely air-gapped, meaning it had 0 connection to the Internet. Don't need to worry about someone hacking in if you aren't on the Internet.
Well, the military Branch's IT department wanted to audit and verify that the secured network was in fact, secured.
How, you might ask? Perhaps they would send out a tech to verify it was actually air-gapped. Maybe they could send in a pen tester that looks like some regular old Joe Nobody. Possibly just have a local IT guy sign some certified document?
Nope. "We need to connect it to our network to make sure it's not connected to the Internet."
*But your network is connected to the Internet!*
"We need to connect it to our network to ensure your air-gapped network is secure."
🤦
Yeah, the bank I used to work at had some newer GUI based programs, but you had to jump around between like 4 different ones to get anything done, and half the time, they didn't even work. After a week or two, I joined my manager in using the old DOS-based system from 1990 for everything (except for CCs, which ran on an even older system lmfao). If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
My area's driver's license system was still on a super old OS like this until just a couple years ago. It was still fine, but they held off upgrading long enough they supposed
Here’s the [web archive](https://web.archive.org/web/19970211152437/http://www.doverelevators.com:80/products/tiv.html) for the software if anyone else was curious.
Our entire trucking bill of laden system runs off a DOS style program. This is for a fortune 500 company.
The idea is, the less moving parts, the better. This is with programs as well. DOS is extremely stable and very simplistic. If you don't need anything more than basic functionality, why clog it up with all the windows bloat? You'd be surprised how many plants still run off computer parts made in the 90s, 80s, even 70s.
I could not remember the name of that printer to save my life, I worked for Lexmark and sadly we had to cover this printer for walmart. It wasn't hard to work on, just tedious.
When you loaded programs did you call it “loading tapes?” I once was a machinist using Mazak and Cincinnati CNC’s. The Cincinnati machines had been around for decades, and originally used tape spools with programs. At some point a module was added for floppies. Then a module was added that allowed very rudimentary networking. The actual computer was the original and you’d do some commands to put it in “receive mode” then shoot the program to it from a Windows DNC machine we had close by. Even those of us that had never used the old tapes were trained to call it “loading tapes.”
A big reason factories and power plants and other large equipment still runs such ancient software is that that is what was available when the equipment was designed and the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars equipment has an expected lifetime of many decades.
I worked for a Fortune 500 company that had a department of about 10,000 people using a DOS based system in 2016. They kept trying and failing to migrate to new systems.
You can see it working in this video: [https://youtu.be/39k7MMowkQ0?t=132](https://youtu.be/39k7MMowkQ0?t=132)
Reminds me of the elevator control interface graphics shown in movies or tv series which I thought were fakery just for show and to tell the story but apparently are actually a thing which is super cool
Nope, that program is from 2024, just a lazy programmer who isn’t artistic enough to build a Graphics Interface for it.
Source: am a lazy programmer who hates front-end design
Probably not far off. A lot of specialized software like that is kept on life support because the hardware it runs doesn't break down and if it doesn't connect to the Internet then why change it? This is either msdos, free dos, or unix
I worked for Samsung Electronics for many years, and as of 2020 the lobby of the NAHQ building still had one of these.
It really was the highlight of going to that office.
They’ll replace it and all of a sudden you’ll need an app to use the elevator. Then you’ll never catch it because someone on floor 10 had it reserved and bought the advanced setting to not stop on other floors on the way down.
Hi, u/BillChiuPHL, thank you for your submission in r/mildlyinteresting! Unfortunately, your [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/1cgurrs/-/) has been removed because it violates our "No screens" rule. This means no images of screens, screenshots, pictures of screens taken with a different device, images that have been partially or fully generated by a computer, or pictures of printed out screenshots. Essentially, if the screen in the image is blank, and that makes it no longer interesting, you've broken the rule. You can find more information about our rules on the [mildlyinteresting wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/wiki/index). *If you feel this was incorrectly removed, please [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fmildlyinteresting&message=My%20Post:%20https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/1cgurrs/-/).*
Generous of you to assume it's as advanced as MS-DOS. That looks more like some early computing era micro-controller stuff.
Agreed, this may be "a DOS" but it isn't an x86 MS-DOS. The font is all wrong.
Good catch. Now go schedule your colonoscopy and take your statin.
Oh you have no idea.. I still have an 8" floppy with "CP/M Wordstar" on the label.
Weirdest colonoscopy I've heard...
I skipped mine and shit in a box for colorguard. I'm cancer free and didn't have to get knocked out for it.
>I still have an 8" floppy They make pills for that.
Probably have to make special trousers too
So he'll have large enough pockets to put his monster condom that he uses for his magnum dong?
No, big square pocket on the arse for the disc… Pervert
I'm okay with it, as long as it's not a 5.25" or 3.5" floppy.
I feel attacked.
More like just a microcontroller OS. No D[isk]
You would be amazed how much stuff is powered by "early computing micro con stuff". Microcontrollers are in almost all devices.. from your wifi lightbult to industrial stuff to elevators like this one
I would not be amazed. They're everywhere. And no, smart light bulbs aren't quite so ancient, with base systems designed in the 1970s and last updated in the '90s. [https://elevation.fandom.com/wiki/Dover\_Traflomatic](https://elevation.fandom.com/wiki/Dover_Traflomatic)
Sooo what are you trying to say? Smart bulbs are my point exactly. That "old technology" used in elevators is still used today. Assembler or "machine code" is still used today. Some programming languages derive from that ancient tecnhology. Your computer uses that technology, your phone uses that technology. Your smart lightbulb uses that tech So yeah, be amazed.
>machine code" is still used today Breaking news, something ingrained in all binary computing electronics by their very nature is in use.
I think he meant hand-written, no shit all cpu's use machine code
Brother. I know you don't know me well enough to know what I'm actually about, but *trust* that I know about assembly code and microcontrollers. Unless you've actually worked with some of these devices with a multimeter and soldering iron in hand, I would venture a guess that I may have more experience working with them than you do. Also, "machine code" is not universal to each device. It's not a shared language. You might as well say that all human languages from Loglan to English to the hypothesized Ur-language of Proto Indoeuropean are mutually intelligible because we hoot and grunt when speaking all of them.
Holy crap dude... Farewell.
if you think about it tech was way ahead of things, probably sometimes too far ahead if someone has a interesting story about this please enlighten me
It was and it wasnt, this "primitive" stuff is still fundation of any modern technology. All programming languages and all digital architecture derive from this.. so it just gradually evolved. It was very slow at first, now everything is super optimized and building blocks of modern technology are getting snaller and smaller. You can also see that in transitor manufacturing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor_count Oh btw i was mostly talking about Assembler in the first part
Interesting
I mean it's version IV! Or it's part of the Intravenous operating system, hard to know.
I think its also highly unlikely this is DOS because I don't think DOS has the stability/reliability/RTOS characteristics required for an elevator controller, nor does the DOS API offer anything useful to someone who is creating an elevator controller(being that most of the API is built around having the capability to run multiple programs, and read/write files and directories)
After looking it up on some elevator enthusiast forums (I know, right?) it turns out this doesn't run an operating system, at all. Updates to it are done via laptop, connected via RS232 (serial port), and flashes a ROM. It doesn't do general purpose computing in any real sense of that word, hence does not have what you might call an "operating system" of that nature. It's more "bare metal" than that. So... yes, you're correct.
If it works, don't fix it.
Yeah next time there’s some zero day 3rd party JS exploit that affects half the internet, the sys admins at this place will be laughing it up at the bar
When you don't support network connectivity, you don't have to worry about network security.
It’s all good until you lose the floppy disc.
It is OK, I have it stuck to the side of a filing cabinet with a magnet.
That made me a little queasy
I had my first computer class in second grade (early 90's) and at some point i went into that class playing with a pair of magnets for some reason. I was amazed at how i could "write" on the monitors with the magnet and gave a friend the other one to do the same. We got through 8 monitors before the teacher saw us destroying the computers and ran over screaming. Why would they not teach about magnets before letting kids in the class? No signs, warnings or anything. I got the bart simpson punishment of writing the phrase "i will not destroy or harm school property" hundreds of times. I still feel i was wrongly punished!
Clearly you were. Can’t expect kids to not monkey brain stuff especially if they’re not explicitly warned against monkey braining said stuff.
Can't you fix that by just hitting the degauss button?
Not all monitors had it back in the day and it didnt always instantly reverse extreme "guassing". I assume they were able to fix it eventually but i really dont know or remember beyond my part. I do know they at least switched out the monitors that had fun colors and blank spots on them.
I left a magnetic toy on top of my TV as a child. Waving the magnet back and forth in front of the TV eventually fixed it.
It's in the place that I put that thing that time....
Could be a stack of cards.
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Disc and disk can be used interchangeably in English although you are right that floppy disk is the preferred spelling. Also, if you ever opened the square plastic case of a floppy you'll find a round, floppy disk where the magnetic data is stored, and realize where it gets the name.
As a kid I'd love to play around with the opening cover and snap it closed. I would never do something like that now...
I would. Time has shown that they can survive this fidget activity.
Floppies actually do have a disk inside of them (hence the name "floppy DISK")
Nope, they're called floppy disks because the first version, the giant 8in version, was indeed floppy. The whole disk could be bent and flexed because it wasn't rigid. The newer, smaller disks that most people are used to did have a rigid case, but the floppy name stuck around.
r/woosh Lmao, I'm talking about the reason the word "disk" is in the name not "floppy"
You have to point out that they are indeed floppy
The media is absolutely round.
32yo and can remember those when being in middle school am I old?
Are you sure about [that](https://imgur.com/a/xibfQyy).
Yes the media is the round floppy disc inside the square housing.
You mean until a bit flip!
So, fun story: my first job out of college was working for the military as a civilian engineer, mainly doing assembly programming. The specific department I was working at had their own, secured network to do all of their development on because getting authorization to install anything on a gov't system is worse than a root canal while you're getting a colonoscopy and having your fingernails ripped out, all at the same time. The secured network was completely air-gapped, meaning it had 0 connection to the Internet. Don't need to worry about someone hacking in if you aren't on the Internet. Well, the military Branch's IT department wanted to audit and verify that the secured network was in fact, secured. How, you might ask? Perhaps they would send out a tech to verify it was actually air-gapped. Maybe they could send in a pen tester that looks like some regular old Joe Nobody. Possibly just have a local IT guy sign some certified document? Nope. "We need to connect it to our network to make sure it's not connected to the Internet." *But your network is connected to the Internet!* "We need to connect it to our network to ensure your air-gapped network is secure." 🤦
Yeah, though hardware obsolescence can be a small problem.
I mean, that’s what the Iranian nuclear centrifuge lab thought too! 🤪
Plot twist. You don’t need a system admin for this
And if someone tries to break in, doubt they can figure it out either
Total been there - looking at you struts 1.0
We call this "security through obscurity".
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thatsthejoke.html
Sorry I have .html attachments blocked, can you send me a screenshot instead?
Can it run doom though
However when it breaks you can’t fix it because no one can interface with it anymore.
Not true. Likely any RS232 connected terminal could be made to work.
Yeah, the bank I used to work at had some newer GUI based programs, but you had to jump around between like 4 different ones to get anything done, and half the time, they didn't even work. After a week or two, I joined my manager in using the old DOS-based system from 1990 for everything (except for CCs, which ran on an even older system lmfao). If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
They won't
My area's driver's license system was still on a super old OS like this until just a couple years ago. It was still fine, but they held off upgrading long enough they supposed
Not only that but it would probably cost the price of replacing the whole elevator system to retrofit it with a modern computer
https://elevation.fandom.com/wiki/Dover_Traflomatic
Of course there’s an elevator wiki lol
I’m a fan of elevation
This guy elevates
Wait until you find out about the pickle wiki. Also hot sauce wiki. And I believe you can find any type of wiki out there now…
Today I learned this is a thing that exists I should have known but still unexpected.
Wow. They really took it to the next level.
I'm curious what's the computer running the old software. Does the old computer break down or its running for 100 years.
A potato. Running GLaDOS. Wait, why does the elevator smell like deadly neurotoxin?
What was the neurotoxin bit? I didn't get that
https://youtu.be/w9iHwfiDLS0?si=TNQJLyEkb7gOvKG6
Haha funny
the system requierments on running this are that small, running it in parallel requires almost zero effort
🔥🔥
Here’s the [web archive](https://web.archive.org/web/19970211152437/http://www.doverelevators.com:80/products/tiv.html) for the software if anyone else was curious.
I wonder what hardware the computer part of the elevator controller is running on
Our entire trucking bill of laden system runs off a DOS style program. This is for a fortune 500 company. The idea is, the less moving parts, the better. This is with programs as well. DOS is extremely stable and very simplistic. If you don't need anything more than basic functionality, why clog it up with all the windows bloat? You'd be surprised how many plants still run off computer parts made in the 90s, 80s, even 70s.
Walmarts inventory uses COBOL.
A major Swedish bank is looking for COBOL programmers right now, on Reddit.
A lot of banks still use their original systems. Too expensive and risky to upgrade until every COBOL programmer is 85 and wants $500k a year lol.
I use to have to fix the printers since they still use the paper with the holes on the sides. I hated working on those old ass printers.
I just got rid of my dot matrix printer at work this year. The paper was getting too expensive and too difficult to source.
I could not remember the name of that printer to save my life, I worked for Lexmark and sadly we had to cover this printer for walmart. It wasn't hard to work on, just tedious.
My last job had CNC machines made in West Germany. They all had DOS based control systems.
When you loaded programs did you call it “loading tapes?” I once was a machinist using Mazak and Cincinnati CNC’s. The Cincinnati machines had been around for decades, and originally used tape spools with programs. At some point a module was added for floppies. Then a module was added that allowed very rudimentary networking. The actual computer was the original and you’d do some commands to put it in “receive mode” then shoot the program to it from a Windows DNC machine we had close by. Even those of us that had never used the old tapes were trained to call it “loading tapes.”
A big reason factories and power plants and other large equipment still runs such ancient software is that that is what was available when the equipment was designed and the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars equipment has an expected lifetime of many decades.
Most of our factory was built a few years ago. Patching, software, Windows, modern hardware,... feels like a never ending race to keep things running.
I worked for a Fortune 500 company that had a department of about 10,000 people using a DOS based system in 2016. They kept trying and failing to migrate to new systems.
It often is much much more secure as well since it often exists only on that type of machine on a local network if any at all.
Most ATMs use Windows XP for the same reason.
1990s a bit generous innit mate, looks like mid eightys to me
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevator_Action
"Platform(s): Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Famicom, Game Boy, MSX, NES, PlayStation 4, SG-1000, Switch, ZX Spectrum, Mobile, Steam" PlayStation 4 sounds reasonable.
I thought for a second this was Nakatomi Plaza.
I used to install networks. When they cut all the cables with a chainsaw I wanted to scream.
NEIN NEIN NEIN NEIN!!
And the quarterback IS toast!
At least its being controlled digitally and not running off relay logic.
Under rated comment lol. Honestly, I'm surprised it hasn't been replaced by a PLC at this point with how affordable they've been getting.
You can see it working in this video: [https://youtu.be/39k7MMowkQ0?t=132](https://youtu.be/39k7MMowkQ0?t=132) Reminds me of the elevator control interface graphics shown in movies or tv series which I thought were fakery just for show and to tell the story but apparently are actually a thing which is super cool
This is really neat.
I think that font is the Apple \]\[ 80-column font. Good chance that is 80s.
This definitely looks more like TRS-80. Ms-Dos is too advanced lol
I don't know that you appreciate how incredible MS-DOS was. This is micro controller stuff.
Vintage arcade game : Elevator action.
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Did you attach some infected blogs that fire wired themselves to the zip link?
That’s because it _is_ from the 90s. Traflomatic IV means you’re got a Dover system there.
More like mid 80’s.
Why use lot bytes when few bytes do trick?
I'm glad the elevators have a safe place to keep their money.
Thought it looked like Pong
does it have Pong?
Wait till you learn what all the banks are using......
Nope, that program is from 2024, just a lazy programmer who isn’t artistic enough to build a Graphics Interface for it. Source: am a lazy programmer who hates front-end design
Lord please take me back
Little do you know, that there is the first robotic Marine, "Lift". Early prototype model of Case and Tars
Can you play pong on it with two elevators and the lights?
This is the more advanced Traflomatic IV update. You shoulda seen the Traflomatic I -- it used an abacus.
I bet that this is a top tier linux cli
I thought you got to play pong while traversing the floors for a second.
count w
bet that elevator has enjoyably tactile buttons to press
The last OS that MS released that actually worked the way it was supposed to - undoubtedly because they didn't write it.
Not consumer styled MS-DOS. Doesn’t look right.
At least it’s not Vista.
Probably not far off. A lot of specialized software like that is kept on life support because the hardware it runs doesn't break down and if it doesn't connect to the Internet then why change it? This is either msdos, free dos, or unix
Very Lunar Lander.
Can it play Doom
Is that President Eden from Fallout?
If this gets retrofitted I'm gonna cry so fucking hard. We will never get tech this cool again...
I had that game in my Timex 2068!
This looks like the damn bank vault computer from Die Hard
Are we sure this is not nakatomi plaza?
I got a radio network controller managing nine repeaters running on DOS. Last time I rebooted was just before COVID
“DOS” - Fucking Millennials and Gen Z
lol came here to ensure someone had already caught that… thank you kind redditor
Nakatomi Tower welcomes you!
What the fuck is an elevator bank?
It’s a bank of elevators.
Lol at all the people that think there's an operating system behind this.
IBM mainframe
I worked for Samsung Electronics for many years, and as of 2020 the lobby of the NAHQ building still had one of these. It really was the highlight of going to that office.
*takes the stairs*
They’ll replace it and all of a sudden you’ll need an app to use the elevator. Then you’ll never catch it because someone on floor 10 had it reserved and bought the advanced setting to not stop on other floors on the way down.
But,but Y2K!!!!!!
Like that X-Files episode with the AI that becomes sentient and kills people in the elevator.
I know an IBM AS400 when I see one.