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This one will run and run

Duncan Munro works for NHS Grampian Department of eHealth, so he knows a thing or two about sick technology.

He was looking at the data sheet of a 3Com 4500 26-port switch the other day (we are assuming this was during a lull in the excitement that pervades the Grampian region) and the mean time between failure rating of 47 years caught his eye.

"Will there be a prize given to anyone in 2055 who is still operating one of these switches? What speed will the rest of the network be running at?" he asks.

"Has there been a little old man tucked away in a test facility for the past 47 years waiting for one to break? Perhaps they can only claim their pension once it does. Does anyone else know of equipment destined to last that long?"

So many questions, all of which deserve an answer, we think. If you've been sitting in a back room for 47 years waiting for something to go wrong, this is your time in the sun.

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