Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!bellcore!ulysses!burl!clyde!cbosgd!gatech!gitpyr!kludge From: kludge@gitpyr.UUCP (Scott Dorsey) Newsgroups: net.rumor Subject: Re: Computer Horror Stories Message-ID: <1462@gitpyr.UUCP> Date: Sun, 23-Feb-86 15:17:48 EST Article-I.D.: gitpyr.1462 Posted: Sun Feb 23 15:17:48 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 26-Feb-86 06:11:20 EST References: <14700001@hplabsb.UUCP> <476@mmm.UUCP> <9345@ritcv.UUCP> <1335@osu-eddie.UUCP> Reply-To: kludge@gitpyr.UUCP (Scott Dorsey) Organization: Georgia College Of Universal Knowledge Lines: 29 In article <1335@osu-eddie.UUCP> sutter@osu-eddie.UUCP (Bob Sutterfield) writes: >A professor of mine told the story of how to bring down a line printer: > >Your average line printer has 132 hammers arranged across the width of the >paper, with letters, numbers, etc arranged on a band that passes between the >hammers and the ribbon, which then strikes the paper. The characters on the >band are arranged carefully, based upon frequency-of-use statistics. As the >appropriate character arrives at column "c" the hammer is actuated and the >impression is made. During the printing of an average line, at any >particular moment, only some small "n" (maybe 5) of the hammers are actuated >at once. Then the band moves one more character position to the left and >another sparse group of hammers are actuated. So on until the line is >printed, then a linefeed happens. >chewed up. Some fun, huh? for the third-shift operator! This is true... There used to be software to allow you to play music on older IBM line printers. It turned out that if all the correct letters were printed on a line (which was used in the 1812 overture software that I coded), the printer would blow a fuse. This isn't good, but it's better than burning out the printer. ------- Disclaimer: Everything I say is probably a trademark of someone. But don't worry, I probably don't know what I'm talking about. Scott Dorsey ICS Programming Lab, Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!kludge