Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!mcsun!sunic!spocm2!lhv
From: lhv@spocm2.UUCP (Leo Vermeulen)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: Frac game posted to c.b.i.p
Summary: Same thing over here...
Message-ID: <1118@spocm2.UUCP>
Date: 5 Mar 90 13:38:45 GMT
References: <1990Mar4.002359.19030@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca>
Organization: Philips TDS, Stockholm, Sweden
Lines: 45

In article <1990Mar4.002359.19030@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca>, sarathy@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Rajiv Sarathy) writes:
> It's probably just a coincidence, but the following series of events
> occurred a couple of days ago (Thursday, I think):
> 
> 	1. I read news.
> 	2. I downloaded, uncompressed, etc. a game "Frac" posted a couple
> 		of days ago -- a 3d "Tetris".
> 	3. Played game several times (and scored miserably).
> 	4. Used computer yesterday without problems.
> 	5. Used computer today without problems.
> 	6. Until I noticed that my AT's system clock had been changed to
> 		01-01-1980 -- the same date that the copy of "Frac" has on
> 		my hard-disk.  This may just be because the date was somehow
> 		reset BEFORE I downloaded Frac (plausible), or because
> 		Frac plays with the CMOS.
> 	
> Did anyone else who downloaded frac experience this problem?
> Please say no!!
> 
> --Raj

The same thing happened here. I hadn't made the connection between the 
Frac game and the date/time being reset, but it is very plausible. 

Yesterday I tried to do a disk back-up to tape streamer. I started the
procedure as usual, but the 'fastape' software I use complained, saying
'You will not be allowed to use this software until you have properly
set the system date and time!'. I then checked the date and time which 
were set to 6 Jan 1980, and 13:08:20. The date had changed, but the time
was still correct. I blamed it initially on some experimenting I had
done with the pc-shell published recently on the net, but it might well 
have been the Frac game. Assuming the date had been reset to 1/1/80, that
means the reset occurred 6 days before Sunday, which is before the game was 
published (I think, but our articles expire quickly). Checking the directories
that I created to store the game and to archive it, I think my system date
was reset to 4 Jan 1980, rather than 1 Jan 1980, but even so...

I will not run the game again!

PS. I am using a 16MHz 386 clone made by Philips (P3302) running MS-DOS 3.3
-- 
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