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Comment by lowbloodsugar | Hacker News Reader

“God news shareholders! We have decided that we didn’t make enough sales this quarter so we have EOLed a whole range of products!”

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I understand you’re being sarcastic, but yes, eventually technology gets better so a manufacturer refreshes their product line. This is extremely common in many industries.

They do but they continue to service the old lines for quite a long time. This is not consumer grade equipment, it represents a large capital expense and also at stake is valuable inventory. The consumer "you're SOL when the warranty expires" approach won't fly.

And in some industries it's extremely common to not replace something every time something newer and maybe even better is available.

We fix it when it breaks. We replace it when even the aftermarket doesn't supply the parts to keep it working.

It’s fine to leave a pneumatic HVAC control system in place as long as it’s maintained. There’s no front end that needs security updates. A 40 year old panelboard that has been maintained is similarly fine to leave existing.

When you’re exposing a microcontroller to the internet that controls the conditions that physical inventory is held in, it’s probably best to make sure you’re getting security updates.

"French supermarkets hacked because this is common in many industries". Maybe it should not be common? Maybe selling internet connected industrial plant means those things must be supported forever?

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