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Bork!Bork!Bork! Today's bork - on a UK border control wait-time screen - is doubly unfortunate. Tired passengers get no clue how long until someone checks their passport, and of all organizations that should keep security certs current, the one responsible for keeping out criminals tops the list.
Spotted by eagle-eyed Register reader Alan Graystone while slogging through Border Control at Birmingham Airport, there are multiple borks on show here. Yes, a security certificate problem is not the greatest sight to see while waiting for paperwork to be inspected. However, worse still is the fact the display still appears to be running Windows 7.
If we're not mistaken, the revocation error message has been rendered in the Windows Aero GUI introduced in Windows Vista two decades ago and continued through the era of Windows 7. It was ditched in Windows 8 in favor of something flatter and subsequently more "fluent." Years after Microsoft abandoned the design, Apple had a go with its "Liquid Glass" user interface.
Windows 7 reached the end of the road in 2020, although some editions lingered on a little longer, and it was possible to keep the lights on via Extended Security Updates (ESU), although even that program came to an end in 2023.
As it turned out, our reader reported that it took a mere 10 minutes to whizz through the border at Birmingham – very speedy when compared to certain other ports of entry.
Assuming the time on the display is correct – just before 0730 on October 30 – that would have left plenty of time in which to enjoy a beverage or snack following passport inspection, and more than enough time to deal with whatever certificate problem has befallen the digital signage.
Although perhaps it is best to remain in the dark when it comes to wait times. Much like the progress bar of lies that occasionally afflicts modern applications, sometimes it is best to stand in Schrodinger's queue while the signage is borked and the wait time is in a state of quantum. ®
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