Linux May Succeed Windows XP As OS of Choice For ATMs

Dega704 sends this news from ComputerWorld: "Some financial services companies are looking to migrate their ATM fleets from Windows to Linux in a bid to have better control over hardware and software upgrade cycles. Pushing them in that direction apparently is Microsoft's decision to end support for Windows XP on April 8, said David Tente, executive director, USA, of the ATM Industry Association. 'There is some heartburn in the industry' over Microsoft's end-of-support decision, Tente said. ATM operators would like to be able to synchronize their hardware and software upgrade cycles. But that's hard to do with Microsoft dictating the software upgrade timetable. As a result, 'some are looking at the possibility of using a non-Microsoft operating system to synch up their hardware and software upgrades,' Tente said."

Comments

heartburn in the industry?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh if only Microsoft had given them more than like 10 years notice of end-of-support, they might have had time to prepare....

Embedded

[Moblaster]

So does this mean we can expect our special hardened ATM Linux OS to have names like Filching Finch, Moneybiting Mongoose, Overcharging Oranguatan?

Here's what I don't get

[dingen]

What's a desktop operating system doing on an ATM anyway?

Re:possibility...some...

[mlts]

I've seen XP on some ATMs, not XPe, although it does get annoying when an ATM is down due to an XP activation screen.

The ATM industry needs to stop being pennywise and pound foolish.

Instead, they need to design their platform once, do it right, then as time goes on, add a UI refresh every so often so the cute cartoon characters get a facelift every year or two.

Were it up to me with ATM design, I'd probably charge off a quarter profit to do the architecture right, then once done, pretty much coast from there.

First, I'd give a lot of consideration to QNX. ATMs are not really needing a RTOS, but QNX has an excellent reputation for security (with decent government certifications to back that.) From there, add a TPM chip, userland, and the application. Done right, someone plugging in an unauthorized USB flash drive won't be able to do as much, compared to XP with AutoPlay/AutoRun turned on.

Linux is also a good choice. One could go with a full userland or an Android style userland, both with SELinux to minimize damage. Linux may not have the C2 cert that QNX does, but it will hold its own in security, if done right.

Re:Ok seriously though ...

[TheRealMindChild]

you can always upgrade to a newer kernel, and you're not going to break anything in the process.

This is just wrong. Threading and libc compatibility isn't transferable between 2.4 and 2.6. There are innumerable 2.4 applications which will flat out not run on a 2.6 system. The same goes between 2.2 and 2.4. And 2.0 and 2.2.