Where Windows generally fails in my experience is in the idot proofing /
automation mechanisms. I can really only comment on Windows 7 as it's what we
use in production on our client boxes.
Granted this is a different environment where all machines have access to the
internet and thus Windows updates / aplication updates.
Group Policy is something I struggle with regularly. Automatically feeding
Group Policy updates to clients is not always straightforward, especially when
you need to push application updates to fix important security or functionality
bugs. Yes, you can gpupdate /force, but that's only seems to work about 50% of
the time and requires user intervention on an admin account.
I've seen issues with the Print Spooler randomly crashing from a partially
install printer through group policy. Some kind of event happens similar to a
power outage at some point and the printer only partially installed. According
to Windows and the group policy management utilities the printers were
successfully installed, but all of the driver utilities didn't quite make it
causing the Spooler to freak out. When something like this happens event log is
almost useless because it just tells you the prinint spooler crashed from an
uknown error.
Windows update seems to regularly stop working when a malformed update package
is downloaded. You would think it could just checksum it and delete the package
rather than failing to install it a few hundred times before a user complains
that their workstation won't stop installing upates. I even had a case where a
failed update created new registry keys every time it tried to install and
after a few months of not being able to do so the machine slowed to be
unusable.
Roaming profiles is an absolute mess, and folder redirection Works decently as
long as you disable offline files on all of the clients. Otherwise windows will
just randomly decide that it can't connect to the server and only show the
users their offline files.
Windows deployment services on the other hand Works absolutely great and is
perfect to put fresh installs on the machines that died from various other
issues with windows and / or malware.
This is starting to somewhat turn into a rant, and in all honesty for most
things Windows does a pretty good job. Pretty much all the issues I outlined
would only affect people using Windows as a workstation OS. Embedded
applications generally don't have updates or network connectivity, and thus are
probably fine.
That being said my *nix machines have never given me an issue that wasn't
easily fixed since they were put in place. I almost forget about them sometimes.
Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device
-------- Original message --------
From: Rod Smallwood <[email protected]>
Date: 5/27/2016 5:37 PM (GMT-05:00)
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Windows use in medical spaces (Re: vintage computers in active
use)
On 27/05/2016 22:04, Ali wrote:
>
>> It makes me wonder how many patients have had to wait on care or didn't
>> get proper care because of an IT screwup related to Windows. I have to
>> say just _seeing_ Windows on machines in the ER made me livid. I found
>> it breathtaking they were that caviler about getting people checked in,
>> keeping records straight, etc... I guess I shouldn't have visited the
>> sausage factory, so to speak...
>>
>> Then again, folks in hospitals probably should be more concerned with
>> patients than with their IT tools. Ugh. Still. Windows? I'd have felt
>> better about paper forms. At least they don't blue screen.
>
> I would say very few. You have to remember critical systems are not running
> a general windows system i.e. people are not surfing the web on them and
> installing the latest games recommended by friends from facebook. Windows on
> its own is very stable. I.E. if you take a clean install of windows SW on
> recommended HW and just use the built in apps and never go on the internet
> it will run without any issues. Medical HW makers are basically using
> recommended HW, building one application on top of the OS, and test the hell
> out of it. Since they limit the HW, SW, and modality of use it runs stable.
>
> Almost all (maybe 80%) of your medical HW is probably running some flavor of
> windows.
>
> Pyxis/Omnicell: Windows CE
> Sonosite: Windows 2K or XP
> EMRs: Windows XP or 7 (usually virtualized through Citrix).
>
> Heck DOS is still around too!
>
> The more specialized equipment (fluoro machines, MRI/CT, etc.) usually have
> their own OS although I am seeing C-Arms w/ windows back bones now a days as
> well. As the focus is going toward cost saving more and more generalized
> HW/SW is being used. After all why re-invent everything for each device when
> you can use windows to run the HW, network, input, etc. and just have the
> medical device (e.g. ultrasound probe) act like a peripheral with its own
> drivers.
>
> Where windows causes an issue for the hospital is in the general business
> areas (HR, accounting, administration, etc.).
>
> -Ali
>
Please can we have some specific instances of Windows causing problems.
Not unqualified people at home or students but real production
environments with qualified support on hand.
I used every version of windows from 1 to 10. yes XP and millennium too
I wrote time and mission critical food distribution related software for
the ten years before I retired in vb and then vb.net (oo) I would have
seen just about every possible bug in windows and in developing
applications under it.
Lets hear what others experienced.
Rod
