Confusion at Gare de Rennes as Windows shuffles off for a Gauloise
- Reference: 1633344426
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/10/04/bork/
- Source link:
Our tipster, Paul Stopford, was whisked off to Brittany on business aboard one of French railway SNCF's finest. By all accounts his journey on the top deck carriage was first class, right up until Gare de Rennes, a station in the Brittany capital that is a major hub for Western France.
The station's signage was, however, running a distinctly economy-class operating system in the form of what looks remarkably like Windows XP.
[1]
Click to enlarge
Rather than informing passengers of the location on the platform for each carriage of the lengthy train, Windows has thrown in the towel with the equivalent of a gallic shrug and a "Ce programme ne répond pas."
[2]Years of development, millions of lines of code, and Android can't even run a toilet
[3]Take a look, and you'll see... Windows XP? Bit of Dairy Milk, Fruit and Bork at Cadbury World
[4]Parking is expensive. It can cost an arm, a leg, and a Windows licence
[5]Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nah, it's just Windows suffering from a bit of vertigo
It might be borked, but somehow the localisation has softened the harsher edges of the very, very unsupported operating system. At least it wasn't an écran bleu de la mort.
"I hope this train's software is not composed of Windows XP," remarked Paul.
[6]
To be frank, since the TGV (and its derivatives) predate the ancient OS that Microsoft would rather we all forgot, the code behind the scenes is likely quite a bit older. And quite a bit more reliable.
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Paul noted, however, that the software snafu could have a serious consequence: trains divide at Rennes, "so you may well be heading towards Brest instead of Quimper."
Either sounds impossibly glamorous to us. Brest lurks on the sticky-out bit in the west of the country and has wonderful chicken, while Quimper, just over an hour away by train, is notable for its cathedral. Both look like delightful places to visit.
[8]
As for which we'd choose... only Windows knows the answer and "Ce programme ne répond pas." ®
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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/10/01/bork.jpg
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/29/bork/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/28/bork/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/24/bork/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/23/bork/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YVslUJhhpHtXfhWTKTgCVgAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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Brest has two very enjoyable museums, the Océanopolis (a beautifull aquarium) and the Musée de la Marine
a bracing walk
Is that a legal term for a specific way of walking sanctioned by the EU?
I think it's just word association. Sticky out -- Brest.
The town was destroyed by our lot in the war and rebuilt in concrete. Maybe sticky out in the sore thumb sense. Pretty it ain't.
-A.
Brest of chicken
"I fear you may be confusing it with Bresse"
It's possible that a pun was missed here.
I must say, however that the chicken and chips I had in Brest was very nice, so it does have wonderful chicken.
TGV software woes
I was once on a TGV Est (returning from Strasbourg). We were bowling along, when we began to decelerate and coasted to a gentle stop, where we stood for about 15 minutes. We were getting slightly anxious about our Eurostar connexion home, but then all the train lights and electrics went out. After a few nervous seconds power came back on and, shortly thereafter, the train set off again, as normal. My guess is that the driver had been talking to the SNCF help desk and they'd asked whether he'd tried turning it off and then on again.
Having just recently been to Rennes
(as it's my préfecture, I live nearby)
My advice is simple - go to Nantes. Went for the first time by train in August, and the attitude and behaviour was remarkable. I found Nantes open and friendly and vibrant. Rennes, on the other hand, is best described as shades of grey devoid of colour (though, I will grant, the métro is nifty).
Re: Having just recently been to Rennes
It's a university town and I was there a business trip a couple of years back on either side of the start of term. It's far more lively once the students are back. As for the borked screen at the station, it was borked at the weekend of my stay, when I made a day trip to St Malo.
The composition of the train?
It has Windows and a desktop.
Brest lurks on the sticky-out bit in the west of the country and has wonderful chicken
I fear you may be confusing it with Bresse, home of the admittedly very nice Poulet de Bresse.
In Brest I'd recommend a bracing walk along the beach, and perhaps lunch on galettes (savoury crepes) and local cider, or a fresh seafood platter if you're so inclined.