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From: peter@sugar.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: What the world needs now
Message-ID: <152@sugar.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 10-Jun-87 09:08:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: sugar.152
Posted: Wed Jun 10 09:08:32 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 15-Jun-87 05:40:42 EDT
References: <12067@topaz.rutgers.edu> <408@rlvd.UUCP> <215@ttrde.UUCP>
Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX
Lines: 8
Keywords: Paranoid computers
Summary: Does deep-frying count?

The CompuColor 2 personal computer of about the 1978-80 era could be made
to fry itself from BASIC. A simple FOR loop outputting 1-255 into a certain
I/O address (it's Z-80 based) caused the screen to blank in an entertaining
fashion, followed by the smell of smoke. You had to pull the plug at the
wall to get it to stop. I was totally amazed. Just think of the possibilities.
I don't know exactly what was going on, but I suspect that they had too much
trust in software and used the CPU to control such things as the power supply
so they could save $5 worth of chips.