Both recently crashed Boeing 737 Max 8 planes may have lacked added safety features

Both crashes involving Boeing's 737 Max 8 airliners may have lacked safety features that are only available as expensive add-ons according to the New York Times.

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The Indonesian Lion Air crash

The Lion Air Max 8 that crashed did not have the safety upgrades, making it more difficult for the pilots to pull the plane out of its fatal dive. The crash Lion Air Flight 610 crashed last October shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 passengers and crew.

While the cause of the crash is still undetermined, preliminary reports indicate that the Lion Air plane may have crashed due to a faulty sensor that suggested the plane was about to stall. The anti-stall feature of the plane then pointed the nose downward to counteract the supposed stall resulting in a deadly dive downwards.

An article in the Air Current by Jon Ostrower claims that Lion Air 610 should never have been allowed to be airborne as it was not airworthy. As the plane taxied down the runway its Air Attack Sensors were off by twenty degrees.

The Ethiopian Airlines crash

Just five months after the Lion Air crash another Max 8, another crash of a Max 8 happened on March 10. Just minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed killing all 157 passengers and crew members on the plane. As a result of this second crash many airline regulators have grounded the plane pending more investigation of the cause of the crashes.

One of the safety features that could have helped the crew members struggling with keeping the planes in the air was a warning light, called a disagree light, that would go on if the plane’s angle of attack sensors were misaligned. The other safety feature was an angle of attack indicator that would show the readings of the two sensors.

After the crashes, Boeing decided it will not charge for the warning light and it will be standard on all new Max 8 737s according to an anonymous source as reported in a recent Digital Journal article. But airlines will still need to purchase the angle of attack indicator. No spokesperson from Boeing was available to answer a request for comment.

Previously  published in DIgital Journal

Microsoft to end Windows 7 support in January of 2020

Microsoft has just begun to roll out an update for Windows 7 that will also inform users about the end of support on January 14th, 2020.

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At the end of the January support date, Windows 7 users will no longer receive any security updates. The company hopes the users will update to Windows 10. Although the notification itself does not mention Windows 10, Microsoft links to a new WIndows 7 site that encourages Windows 7 users to upgrade their computers.

Microsoft revealed earlier in March that these notifications would arrive for Windows 7 users but said that the notifications would only be displayed a handful of times in 2019. The notifications will cease once Windows 7 support ends next January or users can select "do not remind again" on the notification. Windows 10 upgrade notifications have irritated some Windows users so the company decided to respect the fact that some people do not want them continually.

Windows 10 still not on one billion devices as predicted

Back in April of 2015 the Windows head made a prediction: "Windows chief Terry Myerson said today that Microsoft wants to see Windows 10 on one billion devices within two or three years of its release. "No other platform working in any ecosystem is available on 1 billion devices," he said. Microsoft believes that between its free upgrade offer for existing Windows customers, new devices, and plans for business users, it should be able to hit that target. "

Windows 10 still is closing in on being installed on one billion devices. Many Windows 7 users will no doubt decide to upgrade to Windows 10 as an operating system getting the company closer to the one billion goal. Windows 10 recently passed Windows 7 in market share earlier this year. Windows 10 now runs on more than 800 million devices.

The Windows 7 SP1 announcement

The Microsoft announcement reads in part: "Summary

After 10 years of servicing, January 14, 2020, is the last day Microsoft will offer security updates for computers running Windows 7 SP1. This update enables reminders about Windows 7 end of support. More information about Windows 7 end of support can be found here. How to get this update This update is available through Windows Update. If automatic updates are enabled, this update will be downloaded and installed automatically. For more information about how to turn on automatic updating, see Windows Update: FAQ."

Previously published in Digital Journal