Flight delayed? So are these codec updates

There are few things less likely to reassure a nervous passenger awaiting a delayed flight than the Windows desktop putting in an unexpected appearance and demanding an update.

Take this display at Alcantarí International Airport, which serves Sucre, Bolivia's constitutional and judicial capital. Eagle-eyed Register reader Phil Pearce spotted the Windows 11 desktop and its update prompt while waiting for a delayed Boliviana de Aviación (BoA) flight.

The prompt comes from K-Lite Codec Pack, a collection of components that enables Windows to play various audio and video formats. Its presence suggests the passenger display is powered by a fairly ordinary Windows installation rather than some mysterious specialist signage system.

REG AD

Whoever configured the display does not appear to have disabled K-Lite's update notifications or arranged for them to run silently. In this instance, it appears the updater spotted newer versions and lumbered to the foreground with an update prompt – useful on a PC with a keyboard and mouse, but less so on a passenger-facing display beyond anyone's reach.

REG AD

The exposed desktop also displays the Microsoft Store, Outlook, a weather widget, and several shortcuts – more than one might expect a departure board to require. Why airport signage needs Outlook is anyone's guess, although Microsoft has not been shy about preinstalling it. The app even surfaced during NASA's recent Artemis mission and promptly required technical support.

Our reader could not dismiss the prompt or update the codecs, but at least the wayward desktop gave delayed passengers something else to watch while wondering what had happened to their flight. ®