On 10/06/2017 04:46 PM, Rick Stevens wrote: > On 10/06/2017 04:18 PM, Tom Horsley wrote: >> In my experience, hardware deliberately waits till >> the worst possible time to break. For instance: You've >> just loaded a new operating system, and suddenly >> nothing works right. Because the hardware knows >> you'll be sure the new OS is the problem, it chooses >> that precise moment to break. >> >> I have seen this happen many times. I can only >> assume computer hardware is both sentient and >> malevolent :-). > > As I understand it, the curriculum of hardware design courses require > potential engineers to develop CUD (critical use detector) circuits. > To show how smart they are when they hit the real world, they insert > them into any hardware they design. > > The original concept was invented by Xerox and the early versions were > only able to cause massive paper jams when you needed that report to > give to your boss. This also gave rise to the adult version of the old > childhood "my dog ate my homework" excuse. > > It has since become more sophisticated and can cause far more subtle > faults. I suspect this was to get even with those who stole the public- > domain PARC desktop metaphor and would sue anyone else who used it (are > you listening, Apple?) > > The auto industry has a similar device which explains why your car > always does something weird--but only when there's no mechanic around. I should also mention that the television industry has an even more evil device. It's called a "kardashian". :-) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Rick Stevens, Systems Engineer, AllDigital ricks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx - - AIM/Skype: therps2 ICQ: 226437340 Yahoo: origrps2 - - - - Cuteness can be overcome through sufficient bastardry - - --Mark 'Kamikaze' Hughes - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ users mailing list -- users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe send an email to users-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
