It looks like they are using Amigas at the SAAQ

[alenppc]

Yesterday I went to the SAAQ for my driver's licence knowledge test. Unlike Ontario, where the tests are done using pen and paper, in QC the tests are done on a computer.

Well, immagine my surprise when I saw a room full of Commodore 1080 monitors. Wow! The machines these monitors were connected to were well hidden but I'd bet they were A500s... :-D
They were running the test software in 320x200 and the picture was clear enough so I'd say they were probably connected through the RGB port.
I didn't actually count the colours but I think it was most likely a 32 colour mode with typical DPaint hand drawn graphics.
Now isn't that really cool?

I tried asking the clerk for more info about the machines and if he could tell me how and when they started using them, but he had no idea whatsoever. He only said that they were "really old".

[Amiduffer]

Nah. Its a good bet that they have A2000's. That seems to be the model that got installed in a lot of institutions.

[weirdami]

@Amiduffer

I say they're A500's!!!! :madashell:  :madashell:  :madashell:  :madashell:  :madashell:

[Ral-Clan]

I hope the Quebec gov't auctions those off as surplus when they upgrade.  However, knowing governments, they will probably all be sent to a trash compactor because the IT people will deem them "too old" to have any value.  The IT people at my office seem to deem anything manufactured over 6 months ago to be "ancient".

[Amiduffer]

TASTES GREAT!! :pint:  :flame:  :argue:  :destroy:

[InTheSand]

@alenppc: did you pass the test, or was the sight of real Amigas just too much?!  :-D

 - Ali

[alenppc]

ral-clan wrote:
I hope the Quebec gov't auctions those off as surplus when they upgrade.  However, knowing governments, they will probably all be sent to a trash compactor because the IT people will deem them "too old" to have any value.  The IT people at my office seem to deem anything manufactured over 6 months ago to be "ancient".

I know what you mean. I suspect these machines were probably installed in the '80s and they still do their job perfectly well. I hope they won't "upgrade" them just because someone thinks they are old, it's not like a 3 ghz x86 is going to be any more efficient. If anything it is probably going to be less reliable because of overheating, power consumption etc...

[alenppc]

InTheSand wrote:
@alenppc: did you pass the test, or was the sight of real Amigas just too much?!  :-D

 - Ali

Lol, yes I did. Actually the whole knowledge test is a joke. Although the questions were not as dumb as those you get in Ontario, they still allow way too many mistakes to be made if you ask me.

I was thinking how they hooked up the interface with the controls... were they using the joystick port (5 digital controls) or maybe a parallel port? The joystick port would make more sense to me.