The world of information technology is one that constantly evolves and changes, with most work computers barely seeing a decade of service before they are too slow for purpose and IT services in Colchester are tasked to provide suitable replacements.
With cloud computing and thin clients the norm in many offices, these transitions are more frequent and less disruptive.
However, in certain specialist industries, much older technology than one might expect is still being used, often to the amazement of onlookers.
Palm Pilots In IMAX
For regular cinemagoers, IMAX is a highly popular type of high-resolution projection that aims to make films more immersive and turn watching a film into an event.
However, when showcasing the immense work that goes into filming and projecting the film Oppenheimer, IMAX inadvertently revealed in a video that they rely heavily on the use of Palm
Pilot personal digital assistants.
Once ubiquitous before the rise of the smartphone, PDAs are apparently rare enough that some IMAX cinemas rely on an emulated version of the Palm OS software to operate the quick turn reel unit.
Pagers In Hospitals
Designed for rapid two-way communication, pagers have been used for over six decades and whilst the NHS has phased them out in 2021, they still see regular use in the healthcare sector across the world.
The reason for this is that whilst for most people the pager has been superseded by smartphones and other tools for rapid communication, they are often too slow and unreliable for crisis situations, where messages need to be sent and received in a matter of seconds.
COBOL
The Common Business Oriented Language has been around since 1959, but is still surprisingly common in the finance and business world, to the point that in 2020, when there was a global health crisis that made a lot of people unemployed, COBOL programmers needed to be brought out of retirement to help quickly make adjustments to decades-old programmes.
