Joshua gets a no-prize that won't communicate with him for bringing us this story of an apparent Borg meltdown:

A major breakdown in Southern California's air traffic control system last week was partly due to a "design anomaly" in the way Microsoft Windows servers were integrated into the system, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

It would seem they've been slowly migrating to Windows systems, replacing their Unix systems with them. According to the article, these new "more efficient" Windows systems require regular reboots (every 2 months or so) in order to continue functioning. Someone forgot to, and so eventually the whole thing crashed.

Ya know, now that I think about it, this is almost certainly not a classic case of "Borg meltdown", but is instead a far more mundane example of bureaucratic CYA. While not as stove-bolt reliable as Unix, modern Windows installations are actually pretty bulletproof. What are not always so reliable are the applications that these Windows systems run.

The symptoms are actually classic indications of what's known as a "memory leak". This happens when a poorly written application uses a bit of memory, is done with it, but then doesn't give it back. Imagine a bucket brigade... someone scoops water into a bucket, then passes it down the line so eventually the water gets dumped on a fire, then the bucket gets passed back to the person with the water. Now imagine the water gets dumped, but the bucket never gets back. Pretty soon, no buckets.

So, from the article description, it would seem SCAT (ha!) has purchased (at the expense of Cali taxpayers mind you) a poorly written application that gradually eats away at the memory of the servers that run it. Only by rebooting the system does this "greedy" app release all the memory. Now, a Unix system wouldn't require a flat reboot, but it would require some sort of user intervention (technically, a process reset).

In utterly classic government butt-covering, instead of actually explaining the problem (and accepting blame for it), they are instead blaming Microsoft. Because everyone knows how bad they are. Now, don't get me wrong, I think the Borg are as tacky and nasty as any slashdot weenie. But when some ninny tries blaming the road for their truck throwing a rod, well, that's when I have to call bullshit.

Pardon me. I have to go pick Jeff up off the floor. Yes, Virginia, I actually defended the Borg. Mark your calendars, 14th sign of the apocalypse, etc. etc. etc.