The best thing they could do to new PLC's would be to have the src code live alongside the firmware inside. So any new person would be able to open it and reason about it.

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ssl-3 an hour ago | parent | next [-]

You mean like, just hang a thumb drive on a lanyard inside of the cabinet -- with source code and such?

That will probably just disappear. Maybe with good intention or maybe with bad, but it's probably gone either way.

If it doesn't disappear, then it's hanging right there for any of the competitors to use. That's a problem for the original installer's ongoing employment.

And if it includes the programming software, then that lets Joe (from over in shipping) have a go at rejiggering the packaging machine. That's a problem for whoever has to pay someone with a clue to show up and fix it.

	▲	procarch2019 28 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Even more so, if it’s just there you’re making it easy for the customer to find someone bidding less to execute new projects. Guess who they’re calling if they don’t have the plc project (or don’t understand they need it). Job security. Plus, yea, someone could really make a mess even if they have the best intention. A guy from my company almost uploaded the wrong program to a large bioreactor. At best it would have made the bioreactor just unusable until corrected. At worst it could have broken the equipment or caused a safety issue. This guy had been around the block a few times too. Luckily someone noticed before it was too late.
	▲	skinfaxi an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> If it doesn't disappear, then it's hanging right there for any of the competitors to use. That's a problem for the original installer's ongoing employment. Is that really an issue? Do PLC vendors have concerns about other vendors turning up and yanking USB drives out of critical infrastructure with reckless abandon? Do the facilities themselves see no issue with potential vendors yanking operational utilities out of their systems while they are running?

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coryrc an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Relatedly, I made an embedded product. I built a live CD (yes this was a while ago) for my employer with the entire development environment. As long as you can find an x86 machine with CD-ROM you could build, compile, test, and program using the exact environment I did twenty years ago.

Maybe today I'd do micropython on ESP32. Download text file from device, edit, upload back on.

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aliasxneo an hour ago | parent | next [-]

There's at least one customer out there who has an RPi with NixOS on it from me. Probably still works to this day. It was the best use of NixOS I think I've ever found.

	▲	Kim_Bruning an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I've switched up to NUC-ish hardware which WAS cheap until recently. All the components just a bit higher quality than the lowest-bidder you get on the Pi. Run nixos on that and you've got a really solid platform.

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xtajv 27 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

Same. (Flash drive + busybox edition).

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an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

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