You sure the new operating systems are better?

Remember that recent report where data from the hard disk from the Columbia shuttle crash was recovered despite the fact that it plunged from the stratosphere badly burned and lay exposed to the elements for six months before somebody found it?

Edwards had reason for pessimism. Not only were the drive's metal and plastic
elements scorched, but the seal on the side that keeps out dirt and dust also
had melted. That made the drive vulnerable to particles that can scratch the
tiny materials embedded inside, destroying their ability to retain data in
endless 0s or 1s, depending on their magnetic charge.

And yet he was able to recover the data. The reason?

Edwards attributes that to a lucky twist: The computer was running an ancient
operating system, DOS, which does not scatter data all over drives as other
approaches do.

There you have it. Today's OS's are prettier, but theyre not necessarily better. (Hello, Vista.) That just shows the inexorable downward slide of consumer gadgetry that is often the result when the marketing department trumps the tech department. This brings to mind grifter and the dude's recent geek-war on Treo vs iPhone on email.