Debugging Behind the Iron Curtain (2010)
4 days ago
- #Chernobyl
- #Embedded Systems
- #Soviet Computing
- Sergei, a veteran of the Soviet computing industry, mentored the author in embedded programming and life lessons.
- In 1986, Sergei investigated a bug in an SM-1800 computer at a railroad station near Sverdlovsk, which crashed only at night.
- He discovered the crashes occurred when processing live cattle shipments from northern Ukraine and western Russia, areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster.
- Sergei suspected radiation was causing memory bit flips in the computer and confirmed this by measuring high radiation levels in the rail cars.
- The Soviet government planned to mix contaminated meat with uncontaminated meat to lower average radiation levels, leading Sergei to emigrate.