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From: ham@hpsmtc1.HP.COM (Bob Hamilton)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Looking for Computer Folklore
Message-ID: <11630010@hpsmtc1.HP.COM>
Date: 1 Feb 89 01:36:24 GMT
References: <7143@pyr.gatech.EDU>
Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino
Lines: 48

> 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.

"Pulling out the slow-down boards" is an old IBM marketing tactic.  When I
worked at Memorex, I heard IBM did it when we upgraded one of the CPU's in
the data center.  I leave it as an exercise for the reader to characterize
the ethics of a company which would build slow-down boards into its
products in the first place.

I once worked in a computer center (not at Memorex) where the following
actually happened.  However I got some of the details second hand, since it
happened around 06:00, and I came in around 10:00.  So don't sue me.

The computer room contained, among other mainframes, an Amdahl 470 V8.  One
morning a component inside the CPU, near the floor, caught fire.  Flames were
fanned upward by the cooling fans, and each burning component set the next
higher component alight until the box was blazing merrily.

Now Amdahl machines have really good error correction built into them, and
they do single bit error correction in real-time (i.e. a single bit error
arrives inverted, thus correct).  The memory in this machine was inter-
leaved in such a way that the burning modules all represented a single bit
in the affected data fetches.  Therefore, although seriously damaged by
the fire, the machine was still running (correctly) at full speed.

This condition persisted until one of the computer operators arose to
leave the console (which faced away from the burning computer). Upon
seeing the flames, the operator shut down the computer and called in
the emergency.

Amdahl people appeared forthwith to fix the machine, and we were running
production on it by mid-afternoon.  (Fabulous service!  I understand there
was no charge.  Amdahl is reported to have said  "Our machines are not
supposed to burn, and if they do, we fix 'em free.")

We WERE a little curious to know why the smoke detector above the machine
didn't sound the alarm, so that vendor was summoned.  His verdict: "The
sensor is upwind of the computer."  So the smoke detectors were
repositioned to accommodate the aerodynamics of the computer room.
Oh, we also turned the operators's consoles to face the computers.

--Bob Hamilton			Disclaimer:  "Computers?  What are they?"
  Software Methods Lab			     I didn't say it.  If I did,
  Hewlett Packard Company		     I didn't mean it.  And besides,
  Cupertino, California			     I was quoted out of context. 
  (408) 447-5113  ham@hpda