Java crashes the departure board at Tyne and Wear Metro

Train times remain on show as an elderly Windows dialog demands attention

Java has elbowed its way onto a Tyne and Wear Metro information display, giving passengers an error message alongside their train times.  

Eagle-eyed Register reader abend0c4 spotted the sign, whose dialog design suggests a rather elderly Windows installation. Could it be Windows 7 in Classic guise, or perhaps Windows Server 2008 R2? Both wheezed their last in 2023, when the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program ended. Or perhaps POSReady 7? That kept going (again via ESU) until October 8, 2024.

Not that the end of ESU means the code will suddenly stop working. Just that Microsoft has called a halt to updates.

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The Tyne and Wear Metro is no stranger to keeping old technology running past its expiration date. Opened in August 1980, the transit network has been replacing its aging rolling stock with new units, but the signage has endured. Then again, compared to the Commodore VIC-20 and Apple II, which ruled the home computing roost in 1980, perhaps an operating system that's only been obsolete for a few years isn't such a bad thing.

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Any second now somebody will be writing an email about some hardware by Sinclair, Acorn, or their particular device maker of choice.

But back to the sign. Sadly, it's unclear which version of Java has elbowed its way to the foreground. Java's troubleshooting guidance lists video driver problems as one possible cause of this error.

The train indicator seems to be operating as normal if somewhat obscured by Java's attempt to be the centre of attention," our reader noted.

Java is longer be a bright young thing, yet it still keeps plenty of enterprise systems running behind the scenes. On this occasion, it appears to prefer the foreground.

We'd prefer it kept a lower profile. Passengers have enough ups and downs without Java throwing its toys out of the virtual pram. ®