People stuck using ancient Windows computers

Summary

In a brightly lit room in San Diego, California, you'll find two of the biggest printers you've ever seen, each hooked up to servers running Windows 2000, an operating system named for the year it was released. "We call 'em boat anchors," says John Watts, who handles high-end printing and post-processing for fine art photographers. The printers are LightJets, gigantic machines that use light, rather than ink, to print on large-format photographic paper. Watts says the result is an image of unparalleled quality.Sometimes it would take 15 minutes just to log into the computer... I'd hold on for dear life. It was excruciatingly slow – Eric ZabriskieLong out of production, the few remaining LightJets rely on the Windows operating systems that were around when these printers were sold. "A while back we looked into upgrading one of the computers to Windows Vista. By the time we added up the money it would take to buy new licenses for all the software, it was going to cost $50,000 or $60,000 [£38,000 to £45,000]," Watts says. "I can't stand Windows machines," he says, "but I'm stuck with them."It's a common predicament with specialised hardware. Scott Carlson, a woodworker in Los Angeles, is steeped in the world of Microsoft thanks to CNC machines, robotic tools that cut or shape wood and other materials based on computer instructions."Our workhorse machine runs on Windows XP because it's older. That thing is a tank," Carlson says, but the same can't be said for the operating system. "We actually had to send the computer back to get completely rebuilt a few years ago because XP was getting more and more errors," he says "It was practically a brick."