Xref: utzoo rec.humor:18281 rec.humor.d:1499 comp.misc:4849
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!ncar!ames!amdcad!sun!pitstop!sundc!seismo!uunet!mitel!sce!cognos!geovision!pt
From: pt@geovision.uucp (Paul Tomblin)
Newsgroups: rec.humor,rec.humor.d,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Looking for Computer Folklore
Summary: got a few
Message-ID: <532@geovision.UUCP>
Date: 28 Jan 89 21:14:14 GMT
References: <7143@pyr.gatech.EDU>
Reply-To: geovision!pt
Organization: GeoVision Corp, Ottawa, Canada
Lines: 34

In article <7143@pyr.gatech.EDU> isusevm@pyr.gatech.edu.UUCP (Vernard C. Martin) writes:
>[asking for computer myths]

I can remember a few that supposedly happened where I used to work before
I started there:

1) A computer kept crashing, and every time service was called, it
worked fine.  It turned out that one of the users would come in, sit
down at the console and put his papers and stuff on the top covering the
cooling vents.  When it crashed, he'd pick up his stuff and leave,
removing the evidence.  Service people didn't figure this one out until
they decided to watch him work to see why it crashed.

2) We had an IBM cluster controller controlling some 3270 terminals.  We
paid $5000 for an upgrade that would allow more users to be connected to
the controller.  The IBM service rep came in and REMOVED a board, that
was put there to deliberately slow things down.

3) (This one happened to me)  A Northern Telecom 3270 terminal caught
fire, with flames coming out of the top.  I guess I was doing some hot
stuff.  I was not putting stuff on top of the terminal cooling slots.

4) Somebody working on an Airline Reservation System, trying to get
maximum response out of the machine, was looking at a OS listing and
found a delay loop that was executed by a timer interrupt every 100th of
a second.  Removing it brought the performance up, but they had to
replace one of the chips in the machine that wasn't fast enough.

I don't know if these classify, but it's the best I could come up with.
-- 
Paul Tomblin,  Second Officer, Golgafrinchan B Ark      |   o o     Are we
    UUCP:   nrcaer!cognos!geovision!pt ??               |    v      having
    Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here aren't      |   \_/     fun, yet?
    necessarily even mine!                              |