Cruel and unusual IT fail upstages Megan Fox. Transformers: Windows in disguise
- Reference: 1636976393
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/11/15/bork/
- Source link:
Snapped by Register reader Michael Wainwright, the huge example of a Windows dialog showing up where it isn't wanted can be found in Manchester. It was, according to Wainwright, "the biggest Windows desktop I've ever seen."
[1]
Click to enlarge
Indeed it is. We've all idly forgotten what screen it is we're controlling. Few, however, have had their whoopsie thrown up on the side of a building.
As for what is actually happening here, a look at the user interface shows a "Failed to initialize hardware" message. A few black blocks also indicate that all is not well. The same blocks turned up in subsequent images, meaning that whatever Ms Fox's image is being used to promote, it isn't a sequel to the Adam Sandler vehicle, Pixels .
Fox rose to fame as a human performer in Michael Bay's live action Transformers franchise, in which robots are capable of transforming themselves into all manner of objects. There is every chance that one might have morphed into a Windows PC. Although we fear that attempts to take over the world will end up being punctuated by that error sound.
[2]Windows terminates here. Please remember to finish setting it up on arrival
[3]The future: Windows streaming through notched Apple screens
[4]Happy birthday, Microsoft Money: Here's a cashpoint calamity for Windows and .NET
[5]Years of development, millions of lines of code, and Android can't even run a toilet
Still, in a world where IT fans like to brag of their epic monitors, few will be able to better this bad boy. Sure, the refresh rate might make gamers queasy and, unless the erstwhile Transformers star is suffering from a particularly distressing rash, the colour reproduction is not all it might be.
But look at the size of that thing.
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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/11/15/bork.jpg
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/15/bork/
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[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/08/bork/
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Re: It really is surprising
You would hope that the big display is configured as the second windows display and the primary desktop is in a little waterproof box somewhere nearby (or at least a VGA cable).
Re: It really is surprising
Well, apparently they don't give two hoots about that.
Well, as they say: "There's no such thing as bad publicity". Even bork gets people talking about you.
Re: It really is surprising
Tech is the last thing on their minds, even though their product is almost entirely tech based.
I never will understand why a full version of windows is required for displaying a static image, surely there's a better way. Oh! there is don't have these wastes of electricity running in the first place.
We've all idly forgotten what screen it is we're controlling sharing on video conference.
Indeed, while happily browsing some pron* on one screen and quickly reacting to a request to please share that other screen. And in the heat of the moment sharing the wrong screen...
*No, it wasn't. It was just some online tabloid, might have been El Reg itself.
A decade ago I was working at a security industry exhibition at the NEC.
Samsung had a huge hi-def screen that took up most of the rear wall of the hall. The engineer had just finished configuring it and decided he'd definitely earned a little R&R, so he settled down to watch some adult entertainment on his laptop, forgetting he was still hooked up to the huge video wall...
Apropos of nothing and a bit off the thread topic, I recently learned the old Commodore 128 could do [1]dual screen out of the box, no hardware mods. Apparently the 40 and 80 column modes used two independent video sub-systems with separate outputs and it was possible to run both at the same time just from clever software.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDhFfSjvEvQ
In 2016, a video billboard in Jakarta showed a Chrome window playing Japanese adult video. The video played for about 20 minutes.
look at the size of that thing...
yes it's supposed to be the biggest LED screen in the UK. There was a mural on the building before, which they now show as an occasional slide but with garishly "enhanced" colours.
I bet it was the ghost of Hitler that did it. Still haunting her career...
It really is surprising
In an era where alerts abound and computers have never been under so much scrutiny, it is really surprising to see that public ad panels basically have no controlling software that decides whether or not everything is working fine before throwing an image on screen.
You'd think that ad agencies would prefer to ensure that their Windows box was able to function before activating the public panel.
Well, apparently they don't give two hoots about that.