Why didn't Starfleet replace the Cardassian tech on DS9?

[kkt]

In "The Forsaken" the Pup was integrated into the station's computer. O'Brien walled the Pup off as it was misbehaving, but even afterwards O'Brien thought the station's computer was more cooperative than it had been at the beginning of the episode.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

In "The Forsaken" the Pup was integrated into the station's computer. O'Brien walled the Pup off as it was misbehaving, but even afterwards O'Brien thought the station's computer was more cooperative than it had been at the beginning of the episode.

That's a software change, not an upgrade.

 

[kkt]

That's a software change, not an upgrade.

Software can't be upgraded? What?

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Ok, I explained that badly.

The "Pup" situation is analogus to say.... running an anti-virus on Windows $500 budget box and installing the latest service pack.

Switching to a Starfleet system is more like... migrating the data to a $2,000 Mac Pro/OSX system.

Both are "upgrades" but not in the same way, or of the same sort.

 

[BillJ]

It was a Bajoran station administrated by Starfleet. Bajorans needed to foot the bill.

 

[at Quark's]

Now I'm imagining an episode where o'Brien is half way through replacing the systems- but since the station can afford no 'downtime' everything is just left running as much as possible, and the two "competing" systems drive all inhabitants of the station crazy with their continuous "alien computer programs detected- launching countermeasures" babbling - (like in that voyager "Dreadnought" scene when b'Elanna manages to re-activate the original Cardassian program ).

 

[F. King Daniel]

Set design was done, they didn't have the budget to replace all the computer props and set parts.

When DS9 was conceived (and design work done) it was a dilapidated outpost. Plots changed to make it the most important location in the galaxy, but they were stuck with what they could afford.

In any kind of realistic Trek world, DS9 would have been replaced with an ultra-heavily-armed and armoured Starfleet space station.

 

[Jedman67]

Set design was done, they didn't have the budget to replace all the computer props and set parts.

When DS9 was conceived (and design work done) it was a dilapidated outpost. Plots changed to make it the most important location in the galaxy, but they were stuck with what they could afford.

More precisely, DS9 was designed to retain the Cardassian style throughout the shows run, although dialog throughout certainly states that computer software and technology has been updated by Starfleet.
Season 4, with a war with the Klingons imminent, DS9 got a major weapons and shields upgrade.

 

[XCV330]

Would have loved to see a Bajoran makeover with interiors like the old lightship.

 

[Lance]

In real life, according to the book 'The making of Deep Space Nine', the producers considered this question and came up with three scenarios: you replace the Cardassian technology and have a bizarro look, you show it with Cardassian tech and gradually upgrade to LCARS as the season progresses, or you maintain the show's unique visual identity and keep the Cardassian look. They chose the latter (rightly, I think.)