Take a look at the follow two links:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Real-time_operating_system
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_real-time_operating_systems
Windows CE is a real-time OS, but not any other version of Windows. The foundation of Windows is not good enough for real-time, but it can go a long time without crashing.
You don’t want Windows to run your car’s electronics. Period.
Slight clarification - there are versions of Windows with real-time extensions, such as iNTime and Venturecom RTX, that are used by some industrial applications. No idea what BP was using, but I’m sure it will come out. And despite what Microsoft says, I wouldn’t trust CE or Mobile or embedded XP for anything boom-able or critical. Been there, done that.
It seems they’ve left out HP’s RTE and RTE-A real-time OS’s. I can think of several sites still running HP-1000’s. Bullet-proof, maybe but I can personally attest to it being oil-proof.
Oh.... but some of them do. Chryslers do. Their car electronics runs Windows. I used to pop in a CD to install factory updates.
I doubt the oil drilling ship was actually “run” by a Windows computer. The machinery is operated by industrial computers (Usually called PLC’s, but it can be proprietary computers designed for that specific equipment) that interface directly with real-world I/O. The Windows machines act as a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system and HMI (Human-Machine Interface). All the safety and interlock features in the system are in the PLC or even hard-wired into the machinery controls.
If the people that designed and programmed this rig actually use Windows computers to directly operate machinery, then they are fools. But no one does that. It is unheard of in any industry, especially a dangerous one.
This whole “BSOD caused the explosion” story is a red herring.