Sometimes one can go a little too far in search of isolation
- Reference: 1588148111
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/29/bork/
- Source link:
Today's Bork is an entirely different beast to the BSODs and plaintive error messages of recent times. The computer in question here is just fine and dandy but as Register reader Mat observed "it clearly hasn't been... ahem... debugged in a long while."
Indeed, an unfortunate moth has got itself trapped between the outer and inner screens and, bereft of tech conference swag to munch through or the odd bit of flower nectar, appears to have sadly expired under the stern gaze of the pictured technician and her test tube.
While the word "bug" has long been part of technical jargon and handy when trying to explain to a layperson that a problem exists without saying something unhelpful like "argh, there is an arse-swooping cock-up of catastrophic proportions in the system", many think of the great [1]Grace Hopper and the moth discovered in the mechanical relays of the Harvard Mark II computer.
While Hopper never laid claim to originating the term, pasting the unfortunate creature into a logbook with the aid of sticky tape certainly popularised the word in the computing lexicon.
As for this ATM, located in lower Piedmont, Italy, "the machine is working just fine (spilled out the €'s I needed)," said Mat, who spotted the fluttering fail while on a mission to grab some cash.
Mat also shared a little on the current situation in his corner of Italy, telling us that "things are going well... It's just that it is veeeery slow. Major outbreak == major containment measures."
"It's not easy," he added, "but we'll manage."
While the restrictions on freedom of movement were, he acknowledged, "a bit of a pain in the neck," he added that he thought it "the right thing to do."
Still, "banks and ATMs work fine," he said brightly. Sadly this is not the case for the moth trapped within. ®
Sponsored: [2]Legacy Modernization: Finding Your Way With Low-Code
[1] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/09/iwd_grace_hopper/
[2] https://go.theregister.co.uk/tl/1936/-8553/legacy-modernization-finding-your-way-with-low-code?td=wptl1936
Re: Admiral Grace Hopper to post in 3, 2, 1...
Admiral Hopper died 1st January 1992. RIP.
Re: Admiral Grace Hopper to post in 3, 2, 1...
She still haunts these forums, however.
Re: Admiral Grace Hopper to post in 3, 2, 1...
Admiral Hopper died 1st January 1992. RIP.
But she still posts here. She has a really great internet service.
For what it's worth
On my last company laptop, a thrip climbed in between the layers of the screen somehow.
And died.
It spent the next couple of years pretending to be an apostrophe...
Re: For what it's worth
They do that all the time, and I've no idea why. It's incredibly annoying. I've seen screens with a dozen of them. And it's not just because of the screen light – they do it behind the glass in picture frames too.
Re: For what it's worth
I have a few in my screen in front of me.
Have lost count of the number of times that I have tried to delete them when editing documents.
Re: For what it's worth
A few months ago I had a live one wandering around between the layers - very annoying until I noticed that lightly tapping near it made it walk in the opposite direction. It finally disappeared off the visible part of the screen, thank goodness. I have no idea whether or not it's still in there!
That reminds me...
I really should have taken a photo last time I flew KLM on a 777 using the older in-flight entertainment systems. On a couple of flights I managed to get Tux to show up whilst the damn thing rebooted.
The newer ones (that use a decent IPS screen rather than the crap FN screens that just needs the person in front to lower their seat and you couldn't see jack all clearly) I've yet to manage get them crap out. Maybe once the planes age abit more, they might get more susceptible to falling over.
Bugs have been around forever
Just ask Buttle! Or should we ask Tuttle?
Admiral Grace Hopper to post in 3, 2, 1...
Because it's just got to happen! =-D
*Hands her a pint when she arrives*
Cheers!