More fun anecdotes

docs/terminals.md

@@ -77,9 +77,9 @@ q> 566807566244
 └──────────────┴───────┴────────────────┴─────────┴────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┴──────────┘
 ```
 
-## If it's smart it's vulnerable
+It's frequent to assume that the most usual way to interact with enterprise data nawadays is with modern web-based interfaces. But there many old-school terminals still around. Point of Sales terminals tend to be very basic as well, with displays only capable of showing a handful of characters, and a button for each command. Being this a digital twin, with complete freedom to implement anything we want, building a command-line terminal is also a way of making a point.
 
-It's frequent to assume that CLI terminals are outdated, and more modern web-based user interfaces are the most common. But there many old-school terminals still around. Point of Sales terminals tend to be very basic as well, with displays only capable of showing a handful of characters, and a button for each command. Being this a digital twin, with complete freedom to implement anything we want, building a dumb terminal is important to introduce the following point:
+## If it's smart it's vulnerable.
 
 The most important constraint when designing enterprise data systems is information security, and the dumber the terminal, the more secure it is. PoS tend to be dumb because there's money inside. One key concept in information security is the *attack surface* of a system. A console with no graphical interface and a handful of commands connected to a database is inherently more secure than a web interface that needs a browser, a http connection, a web server, and a database. I can't recommend enough the book [If it's smart it's vulnerable](https://www.ifitssmartitsvulnerable.com/) by the veteran information security researcher Mikko Hypponen. Maybe that $200 cloud-connected PoS with a fancy screen from Alibaba is the door someone exploits to start a ransomware attack, or that simple web terminal that the cheapest bidder implemented is vulnerable to SQL injection.
 
@@ -87,12 +87,32 @@ The most important constraint when designing enterprise data systems is informat
 
 [From XKCD](https://xkcd.com/327/)
 
-CLI Terminals also run everywhere, and require almost no support from the operative system. Here's the Windows command prompt running the `stock` terminal application.
+## If it's complex is expensive.
+
+Mankind has been spoiled by intuitive and ergonomic user interfaces since the iPhone appeared, but mankind also landed on the moon using using a computer with the most spartan user interface ever.
+
+!!! note "Control panel of the Apollo Guidance Computer"
+
+    ![Apollo.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Apollo_display_and_keyboard_unit_%28DSKY%29_used_on_F-8_DFBW_DVIDS683588.jpg)
+
+    Here's a [working simulator](https://svtsim.com/moonjs/agc.html) where you can follow the full launch sequence that the crew of the Apollo spaceship had to introduce on the computer.
+
+CLI Terminals are robust, run everywhere, and require almost no support from the operative system. Here's the Windows command prompt running the `stock` terminal application.
 
 ![terminal.png](img/terminal.png)
 
 There's a 99% chance that the future Windows version released in 2033 is still able to run this application. That may not be valid for a web-based application developed with today's technologies. The most popular browser technology in corporate clients ten years ago was still Internet Explorer, and web applications had to implement support for it.
 
+!!! note
+
+    The Airbus A320 civil aircraft was developed in the eighties. The Multipurpose Control and Display Unit (MCDU) is a panel that the flight crew use to interact with the onboard computer.
+
+    ![mcdu.png](img/A320cockpit.png)
+
+    It took more than 20 years to move from a simple keyboard and a 5-inch screen to a trackball and keyboard when the A380 was developed. The most modern aircraft by Airbus, the A350, features the Keyboard and Cursor Control Unit (KCCU) with a QWERTY keyboard and a pointer that they can move around the panels in the cockpit. It's more modern, intuitive, enjoyable, and less error-prone.
+
+    New Airbus A320 still get a MCDU. There's very little motivation to upgrade a design that works: the Airbus A320 is the [highest-selling airliner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A320_family#:~:text=As%20of%20August%202023%2C%20a,since%20its%20entry%20into%20service.), and there are tens of thousands of crews that already know how to use MCCU. In addition, retrofitting a KCCU into the A320 design may cost to Airbus almost as much as designing a new plane from scratch.
+
 ## API-based web applications
 
 Some terminals, like PoS, run on specific hardware with a dedicated display and user interface. CLI terminals' display is the operative system's console. Web applications' display is a browser, which is today almost as capable as an operative system. The entire Microsoft Office suite can now run on a browser.