That won't happen on non-Windows scopes. If manufacturers want to embed PCs in their instruments, they should use Linux. After all, Linux runs on the same motherboards as Windows, so manufacturers don't have to design special motherboards to use it. In fact, instrument makers can buy Linux already tested and installed on embedded-processor boards. For those of you who like to control a scope with a mouse, you can do so under Linux without the fear of your system crashing.
Scopes are too important to be susceptible to crashes or viruses.
I write this in the period leading up to what could be the closest election in decades. The competition among this year's Best in Test candidates is fierce. I urge you to review the candidates' qualifications and then cast your vote online . This process brings to mind a controversy stirred up in the advent to another, recent election. As the final decision-maker on news coverage in the Post, I refuse to decide, even privately, which candidate would make a better president . . . .