As we went from zero to 10K+ embedded systems (full PCs with significant RAM) the issues got weirder.
The best was a one-off error log along the lines of "unknown type System.DateTime". Huh? That's a system defined type that just went missing. Never saw it again.
Another at a different employer was a crash that occurred after a check condition that absolutely should have gated the crash from being reached. Single threaded. Simple microcontroller. Had to reflash it to flip the bit back. After doing the math on how much RAM we had in the wild vs. cosmic bit flip rates reported in super computers, we had to expect one flip per year.
If it's a safety critical system, server or not, use ECC RAM!!
I am of the opinion that far more than safety critical systems should use ECC. You should use ECC anytime bit flips might cost you more money then the ECC does, which is why I insist on ECC for my desktop computers.
And the effect will be the opposite of the intent - now only students wealthy enough to afford private tutoring or that have a stable enough home environment to self-study can pass AP exams. Wonder what races those students will be?
I'm admittedly talking my own book, having come from the lower end of middle class. I was also the runt of the litter and at the bottom of the social pecking order. Students of all races enjoyed looking down on me to feel better about their own situation.
I retired from working for other people at age 40. I credit gifted/AP courses in 8-12th grade for a significant portion of that. Did my racial background still advantage me? You bet. I had a stable home environment and low crime neighborhood.
Perhaps we should focus on how to offer children stable home environments and low crime neighborhoods.
I can't speak for other cultures, but non-wealthy first generation Asian immigrant parents consciously and constantly sacrifice their own well-being to afford tutoring and extra curricular for their kids.
That's certainly what I experienced at Lowell High, a San Francisco "test school."
I recall that in my AP Chemistry class, 100% of the students were Asian. Nothing kept non-Asian students from taking the class, except the desire to work hard and be there. (The other section had at least a few white kids.)
I had the luxury of time in my last move, which I used to go to a lot of open houses and talk to the attending realtor (which is not always the listing agent btw). Treat it like a behavioral interview and judge agreeableness and conscientiousness. Also, study basics of sales tactics so you know when they are being deployed on you. This will filter for honest, hardworking people in many situations.
The best was a one-off error log along the lines of "unknown type System.DateTime". Huh? That's a system defined type that just went missing. Never saw it again.
Another at a different employer was a crash that occurred after a check condition that absolutely should have gated the crash from being reached. Single threaded. Simple microcontroller. Had to reflash it to flip the bit back. After doing the math on how much RAM we had in the wild vs. cosmic bit flip rates reported in super computers, we had to expect one flip per year.
If it's a safety critical system, server or not, use ECC RAM!!