Stop Microsoft
All Things Microsoft => Microsoft Hardware => Topic started by: Calum on 8 February 2006, 03:12
-
Seen near the top of Easter road in Edinburgh. This cash machine has been like this for 3 days, and for all i know it still is!
images:
http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-1.jpg
http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-2.jpg
niiiice!
-
Yeah, I've seen quite a few at airports (the arrivial/departure monitors), train stations (only hi-tech ones), and once on an electronic billboard in NYC I think, and you could even see the mouse moving around ... someone trying to fix it frantically :D
-
You probably should've staying in Edinburgh. There tends to be money in them things. And it's protected by Windows...
-
Do any of the ATM buttons work?
There was a crashed ATM near my house after Hurricane Wilma - during the power outage, they managed to power up the bank, but the ATM was dead. There's a photo I took of it on my website (see sig).
-
Holy shit ... gameboy runs Winblow$ ?!? :eek:... I didn't know that ! Dammit ... everything runs Winblow$ (almost everything)
-
Why do they even need it to run Windows? They could probably hire someone to make a simple OS for them and every time something goes wrong just wipe the HD with the OSon it and reinstall it.
-
Okay, first off, that Gameboy photo was a joke - when have you ever heard of Windows for Motorola? ;) Second, if it'd been me, I would've sprayed the camera from an angle and accessed the icon that says "paycash.exe" for contents. Just get a trashbag and a pickup truck. :cool:
-
well, that's four days and counting it's been out of order like this (possibly longer, i didn't look there before saturday afternoon). now it's opened up some windows and thrown up an error message since yesterday but that's about it.
More Images:
http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-3.jpg
http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-4.jpg
people think i am really weird when i photograph this cash machine. i think i am going to stop unless it does something really bizarre.
-
Hehe ... they're gonna call the cops on you, saying you're trying to steal PINs :D
-
to do that, somebody would have to be using the machine! and there's not much chance of that since it's been nonworking since living memory began!
-
Why do they keep it there then ... they should get rid of it ... or maybe let it stand as an everlasting monument to a marvelous operating system
-
some one got Win95 to run on a PSP, took something like 30minutes to boot :p
-
some one got Win95 to run on a PSP, took something like 30minutes to boot :p
That was using an emulator (bochs).
Windows won't run natively on anything that isn't an x86 PC (maybe untrue for Windows CE).
-
Last week I was out with a friend when he was trying to draw money out of a machine and it just rebooted swallowing his card. I wasn't suprized to see the Microsoft Windows NT 4.5 logo when it rebooted, "fuck Bill Gates and Micro$haft Winblow$" I cursed to which my friend replied "you're just jealous of him for his sucess", so I told him why MS are bad and he said "everything crashes and besides there are far worse companies around like the oil companies. I give up MS are part of our culture now and it's getting worse. :rolleyes:
-
And it's running Win98. Thank god it's not ME. I still have horrible memories of that.
-
Last week I was out with a friend when he was trying to draw money out of a machine and it just rebooted swallowing his card. I wasn't suprized to see the Microsoft Windows NT 4.5 logo when it rebooted, "fuck Bill Gates and Micro$haft Winblow$" I cursed to which my friend replied "you're just jealous of him for his sucess", so I told him why MS are bad and he said "everything crashes and besides there are far worse companies around like the oil companies. I give up MS are part of our culture now and it's getting worse. :rolleyes:
Therefore we should fight our "culture", for it is evil.
-
he said "everything crashes" :rolleyes:
I can't believe how ridiculous people are. If your apartment "crashed" on a regular basis, you'd be all over the landlord, possibly suing him. If your car "crashed" on a regular basis you'd be leaving shoe prints all over your mechanic's ass. But if a computer crashes, well, that's just how it goes. What bullshit! Stand up for your rights as a consumer!
-
Yeah I know tell me about it, people just assume computers are unstable and they don't even consider that the software is more of a problem.
Windows won't run natively on anything that isn't an x86 PC (maybe untrue for Windows CE).
Windows NT ran on other platforms up until Windows 2000 where it became x86 only.
And it's running Win98. Thank god it's not ME. I still have horrible memories of that.
No it was Windows NT 4.5 which is actually the better and more stable from of Windows, so I was suprized to see it crash.
-
I've seen a bank atm reboot on a Saturday following a power outage, but they were using OS 2. If the cameras wren't on me I could have held down some keys and gotten into the bios. It was Phoenix 6.02, same as my eMachine. It would have been fun to see if the bios has test features like money dispensing.
I went into the bank a few days later and told the teller they should fire whoever was in charge of security, because they failed to suppress the boot screen. I stood there for almost 5 minutes watching all the stuff go past. When I mentioned that they used Warp for an OS the woman behind me in line laughed, because she knew how old that was. It's so old, IBM is has since dropped support for it.
Bank of America used to have an attached atm in a branch near here that ran Win2000 and had a touch screen. That thing had a mind of it's own. I complained to a teller that it did things on it's own sometimes and she said she knew. She said it was "hateful." Maybe there really was a Ghost in the Machine.
-
Bank of America used to have an attached atm in a branch near here that ran Win2000 and had a touch screen. That thing had a mind of it's own. I complained to a teller that it did things on it's own sometimes and she said she knew. She said it was "hateful." Maybe there really was a Ghost in the Machine.
Totally bizarre:
I was just watching season 1 of "X-Files", and there's an episode called "Ghost in the Machine", about some operating system that is so intelligent it becomes AI. But also, there was an episode called "Shadows" which featured a ghost that got photographed by an ATM security camera when it was killing somebody. Man that show is kinda freaky sometimes, especially the episode "Eve" - I had nightmares about that one.
Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled program.
-
I've seen a bank atm reboot on a Saturday following a power outage, but they were using OS 2. If the cameras wren't on me I could have held down some keys and gotten into the bios. It was Phoenix 6.02, same as my eMachine. It would have been fun to see if the bios has test features like money dispensing.
That's why you should always carry around a can of shaving cream or other opaque substance that can be sprayed :D
P.S. The only real reason to watch X-Files is for Gillian Anderson :thumbup:
-
well, that's four days and counting it's been out of order like this (possibly longer, i didn't look there before saturday afternoon). now it's opened up some windows and thrown up an error message since yesterday but that's about it.
More Images:
http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-3.jpg
http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-4.jpg
people think i am really weird when i photograph this cash machine. i think i am going to stop unless it does something really bizarre.
I would definitely inform them that they have a broken ATM outside with an active screen displaying what appears to be a list of account-transaction numbers. Either kill the screen, or - preferably - have a tech rebuild it for Linux or possibly HP/UX. When did banks start getting the idea that it'd be SMART to route sensitive financial transactions through Windows, anyway?
-
Windows NT ran on other platforms up until Windows 2000 where it became x86 only.
...So what does that mean? The kernel works? The kernel's no good without everything else, has everything else been ported to other platforms? What platforms?
EDIT: whoops... WINDOWS NT is the whole of the OS. Nevermind.
-
There was NT 4.0 for PowerPC. It ran pretty well on some pre-G3 Power Macs. Not sure about other computers. Oh, and there was NT4 for Alpha, too.
-
That's why you should always carry around a can of shaving cream or other opaque substance that can be sprayed :D
A piece of transparent tape works just as well, and fits easily into the pocket. Even a small piece will do - the camera will focus on the tape across its lens, making anything else an incoherent blur.
P.S. The only real reason to watch X-Files is for Gillian Anderson :thumbup:
Not the only reason, but definitely high up on the list.
-
A piece of transparent tape works just as well, and fits easily into the pocket. Even a small piece will do - the camera will focus on the tape across its lens, making anything else an incoherent blur.
Yeah, it might work ... the only problem is taping the camera without being seen ... and without leaving fingerprints on the area near the camera. Fingerprints on the keys are probably ok cuz so many people used them ... but hardly anyone touches the camera. Or you can wear gloves.
-
i haven't been back since to check if it's done anything else. will pop up later this evening.
i never thought of telling the bank. do you think i should?
-
i haven't been back since to check if it's done anything else. will pop up later this evening.
i never thought of telling the bank. do you think i should?
Yea, give them an Ubuntu CD while yer at it.
-
this is all getting very boring:
http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-5.jpg
http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-6.jpg
nothing's really happened since 2 days ago, the error message has gone away or been covered by a window.
the most odd thing is that on these pictures you can clearly see the word "business" superimposed onto the screen! now i SWEAR this was not there when i took the picture! maybe there really is a ghost in this machine!
edit: and while we're at it, i haven't actually touched this machine. i have no idea if pushing the buttons will do anything. i am sure other people have been trying it though.
you'd think the bank would have some sort of remote admin console telling them their applications not running, or at the very least they should be able to see that nobody's been drawing any money out. surely this very tool is what triggers them to go and fill it up with more money again!
-
the most odd thing is that on these pictures you can clearly see the word "business" superimposed onto the screen! now i SWEAR this was not there when i took the picture! maybe there really is a ghost in this machine!
It could be just a shitty old CRT screen that has displayed the word BUSINESS for so long it has burned-in (http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/what_sets_avail.html) to the screen ... it's rare, but not improbable considering the fact that it has been there forever. Or it could be some type of security watermark to prevent you from redistributing pictures taken of the machine's screen (I know, this is probably not the case ... so go with the burn-in theory) :D
-
Heh, there's a monitor at my school that has the Windows 2000 "this computer is locked" screen burned right into the middle of it. It's visible almost all the time.
-
well, this wasn't visible when i was there in person, so i'm inclined against burn in... hmm. business seems like an odd word to get burnt in in big letters on an autoteller machine though, don't you think?
now i want to see how long this machine can go without getting fixed.
Or maybe one day i will start pushing some buttons on it!
-
Too bad you can't zap computers like the old Space Invaders video machines. When I was in college we got free games for a while by zapping the coin slot with the arc from a ZeroStat (which I still have) or by shuffling your feet on the carpet. A good pop got 99 games.
The ZeroStat was for reversing the polarity of a vinyl records to make it easier to remove dirt.
Yeah, I'm old. When I was younger a 45 didn't necessarily refer to a firearm. I've owned shellac records, reel to reel and even had a Radio Shack 8-track RECORDER.
"Now available from KTel Records on vinyl, 8-track and cassette!"
This business with illegal file sharing is the RIAA's fault. Nobody could copy vinyl except to make a tape that would eventually wear out.
-
records are the best
i hope one day apple computer start making applemac compatible record players! (except they'd cost 5 times the normal price)
-
ok, here is tonight's snapshot:
http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-7.jpg
it's friday night now, so this means at least the whole weekend before it's fixed. i am hoping for it to BSOD by itself before then (but i am aware that with NT this can be a long wait, esp on systems with not much running on them).
This time i pushed some buttons. when i pushed cancel, the help message you see there disappeared, so cancel must be like escape or alt-f4.
-
So nobody was suspicious of you typing on the thing ?
-
You guys crack me up with your suggestion that they "install linux" on their ATMs. Those ATM's are most likely made by Diebold, and the banks have no choice over what OS goes on them. Diebold used to use OS2 but switched to Windows when support for OS2 went away. I beleive the new ATM's by Deibold run XP Embedded.
For the banks to put linux on their ATM's they would have to buy new ATMs from a different vendor that uses linux (if one exists), which would be very expensive.
-
I don't know bout cash machines but Linux is becomming very popular as an embedded OS, it was used in a project at work and it was great. I was dissapointed that I didn't have the opportunity to become involved with the software side, - I could've learnt a lot more about Linux. :(
-
For the banks to put linux on their ATM's they would have to buy new ATMs from a different vendor that uses linux (if one exists), which would be very expensive.
So I can get Linux on my iPod running, and these banks can't get Linux on their ATMs?
I read an article about the AIB (Allied Irish Bank) starting to get their branches hooked up to GNU/Linux. I'm not sure if that means their ATMs. Their issue with Windows is having to fuck with code when new, supposadly expected to be more secure (I suspect that's why they'd "upgrade"), Windows releases are made.
I could've learnt a lot more about Linux.
http://tldp.org Knock yourself out.
-
You guys crack me up with your suggestion that they "install linux" on their ATMs. Those ATM's are most likely made by Diebold, and the banks have no choice over what OS goes on them. Diebold used to use OS2 but switched to Windows when support for OS2 went away. I beleive the new ATM's by Deibold run XP Embedded.
For the banks to put linux on their ATM's they would have to buy new ATMs from a different vendor that uses linux (if one exists), which would be very expensive.
If they used to run OS2 then there's absolutely no reason why they won't run Linux.
-
For all we know this might not be an OS problem it could be due to shitty hardware.
-
Apparently the two of you missed his point. Of course they could run Linux, but that requires that the ATM vendor use Linux. The bank itself doesn't do anything to the ATMs.
EDIT: New page...I'm referring to P.P. and H.
-
For all we know someone coulda forgot to start the application...
-
From the pciture it looks like Windows is humming along just fine. What's missing is the app that does the ATM stuff.
Anyhow, linux is being used in ATMs. I saw an article (http://www.linux.org/people/banrisul_english.html) that talked about a bank in Brazil that switched their ATMs from DOS 6.2 to linux.
-
Good for them.
-
[OFFTOPIC]
P.S. The only real reason to watch X-Files is for Gillian Anderson :thumbup:
Take notes, kids - I was out at the bar the other night, and because I've been watching so much X-Files lately, I thought a lot of girls looked a bit like Gillian Anderson. Being somewhat drunk, I told them so. Girls fucking dig that! Seriously, they responded amazingly well. Apparently, Gillian Anderson is highly regarded by women as a hottie, so telling them that they look like her scores you serious bonus points. I recommend watching lots of X-Files, just because it can help you score. Actually, watching all kinds of random tv and movies is kinda useful too. I told some girl that she looked like Claire Forlani, and she had no idea who that was, but we talked for like 20 minutes, and she kissed me. I told some other girl that she looked like Sarah Jessica Parker, and even though she was offended, we ended up talking for like an hour, and she bought me a drink and gave me her phone number.
Thank god for beer![/OFFTOPIC]
-
why not try ascii codes
alt + them digits :D
it may work you could even control the shitty thing :D :D :D
-
That keypad is probably handled by the same keyboard driver as usual. You could probably replace it, and with a bit of work, hook in a normal keyboard. If you're crazy enough to try that, throw on a boiler suit or something and bring a box of tools, so people think you were brought in to fix it, haha (in town before these guys were replacing a window of a house, and I thought it would be very possible that they were very sneakingly robbing the place).
-
you're missing the point. he's saying the software is provided by the third party hardware provider as part of a package that they have tendered for, from the bank (as i see it). for a change to be made to linux, another company would have to go "that windows stuff sure is expensive, i bet those diebold guys are paying microsoft through the nose for that crap, why don't we start hiring out cash machines to banks and undercut the bastards? we'll write some foolproof ultra-security linux software and slap in a few adverts for the bank's products and be the new monopoly for cash machines!"
to my knowledge, no company has said this yet, or the machine would already be running linux.
by the way: http://www.polytheism.org.uk/pix/easter-road-cash-machine-7.jpg
i pushed all the buttons and couldn't get it to do anything. all the windows appear to be deselected as though somebody had clicked on the desktop. i have no idea how the display keeps changing if none of the buttons do anything.
-
Hmmmm ... you know ... it just might be a ghost in the machine :)
-
Hehe. iRobot.
-
Those keypads are not rigged to standard keyboard controllers and is thus not controlled by standard keyboard drivers.
I am pretty sure the manufacturer writes their own software. From what I read, many times they pick Windows because they have these braindead programmers coming out of college now who are used to win32.
On one hand, Linux would be a good choice for these boxes, because you could strip it down completely and tweak the kernel. OTOH, Diebold would have to release the source of their custom kernel, and this is something that would turn off a heck of a lot of managers, and would scare off many clients.
No, BSD would be the better choice.
But Windows lets you do all the pretty graphics and talking sounds and stuff easier than BSD would. All of which is utterly useless and just pisses me off. IMHO bank machines should be spartan and reliable, something Windows is not. OS/2 fit the bill nicely.