Real-time-systems Memes

Nothing says "mission critical" quite like a Windows BSOD at 30,000 feet in a $80 million fighter jet. Someone really thought it was a good idea to run mission-critical avionics on an OS that can't even handle a printer driver update without throwing a tantrum. The F-35's display showing that iconic blue screen of death is the ultimate reminder that no matter how advanced your hardware is, if you're running Windows, you're one bad pointer away from catastrophe. Try Ctrl+Alt+Delete while pulling 9Gs, I'm sure that'll work great. Fun fact: The F-35 actually runs millions of lines of C++ code and uses a modified version of real-time operating systems, but the joke writes itself when you see that familiar blue screen in a cockpit. Have you tried turning it off and back on again? Oh wait, you're in active airspace. My bad.