Why does nobody talk about the old AI that used to run the auto parts inventory?

I was over at a buddy's salvage yard last Saturday and he still uses this clunky 90s DOS program to track parts across three lots. It just works, no updates, no cloud nonsense. Anybody else got a beat up old system they refuse to replace?

3 comments

3 Comments

simon_coleman26d ago

Hang on, is this really that big of a deal? I mean, a beat up old DOS program working fine isn't exactly a crisis. It's like having an old pickup truck that still hauls parts, you just don't need to upgrade it. Plenty of small places keep using old tools because they do the job. If it's not broken, why mess with it? You're acting like it's some huge secret when really it's just a normal thing for a lot of guys.

shaneb1626d ago

Yeah I had a buddy who worked at this small auto parts shop. They had this ancient DOS inventory system running on a 486 tower that had like no hard drive, just booted from a floppy. The owner refused to upgrade because "it just works." One day a power surge hit and fried the motherboard. They had to find some obscure replacement part on eBay and it took them two weeks to get back up. Meanwhile they were guessing stock levels and double ordering everything. So yeah it's not a secret crisis but eventually that old pickup breaks down.

piperb9323d ago

Booted from a floppy" in 2025? That's not a system, that's a museum exhibit with a barcode scanner.