>>>>> "CL" == Carl Lindgren <devel_support at crlc.net> writes:

    >> 
    >> So, apparently ATMs are x86 clones running DOS (at least the text based
    >> ones).  I wonder why they don't use linux?  Lighter, cheaper, more secure,
    >> flexible, the benefits go on.  Makes ya wonder....
    >> 

    CL> Mostly because the Banking Industry is afraid of OpenSource
    CL> and partly because of way Banking Regulators and Policy Makers
    CL> set policies. This is something the Linux/OpenSource Unix
    CL> Communities have to work though to be competitive in that
    CL> industry.

There needs to be a firm that supports these boxen, and that firm
needs to be big, so that the bank folks believe it will continue to
exist.  Red Hat might only BARELY qualify, and I don't believe they're
in this market (which is a hardware/software market; supplying
software only would not be enough).  That's the rational side.  The
less rational side is the old "nobody ever got fired for buying IBM"
(is there a more modern equivalent of this old adage?) phenomenon.
Why would a bank purchasing officer want to stick his or her neck out
to adopt something new?

R