The Ghost of Windows Past haunts a street corner in Bermondsey
(2022/01/02)
- Reference: 1641117665
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/01/02/bork/
- Source link:
12BoC Bork goes big in the latest edition of The Register's 12 Borks of Christmas, with Windows reporting problems in the southeast London district of Bermondsey.
[1]
Click to enlarge
Snapped by the passenger of eagle-eyed Register reader Duncan, the offending display can be spotted on London's Jamaica Road. Should you ever fancy taking a trip around the geography of bork, by our reckoning you'll find this sign normally slinging ads at passersby on the [2]corner of Jamaica Road and West Lane , not too far from Bermondsey tube station.
The dialog belies the low resolution of the screen and appears to be running the OS that will not die, Windows 7. Its grandparent, XP, is considered the cockroach of operating systems but luckily for the residents of Bermondsey, this sign has escaped its clutches.
It has not, however, escaped a hard disk error and the suggestion from Windows that a backup would be a good idea. Unless this is some clever ad to persuade punters to part with cash for a PC protection program. Still, it's good to see the old thing shining out like a beacon of bork.
As for the sign itself, it seems likely that it is one of [3]Global's outdoor digital screens. The company lays claim to more than 253,000 outdoor sites across the UK, reaching a lucky 95 per cent of the population.
[4]
There is every chance that the screen exhibiting unhappiness here is one of the company's digital roadside units. Ads must be 576 x 288 pixels to meet Spec A of the group's requirements, which looks to be what is on show here. Each ad receives a 10-second slot, although we fear that the Windows bork could well have been on show for considerably longer than that.
[5]
[6]
Poor Microsoft. Despite trumpeting Windows 11 and its rounded corners, and spirited attempts to kill off Windows 7, the operating system of Christmas past, replete with what could be Aero effects, continues to make its presence felt. ®
A little ditty we are calling: The 12 Borks of Christmas '21
♬ On the ninth day of Borkmas, the bork gods sent to me:
the ghost of Windows Past;
[7]you need an OS upgrade ;
[8]
[9]catastrophic failure ;
[10]IKEA's not updating ;
[11]some... leaky... memoryyyyyy ....♬;
[12]
[13]playful scripting stuffup ;
[14]plea for a battery ;
[15]picturesque Paint job ;
and [16]a Notepad where nary one should be ♬
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/12/14/12boc_10.jpg
[2] https://www.google.com/maps/place/51%C2%B029'55.2%22N+0%C2%B003'38.5%22W/@51.4986782,-0.0614644,18z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x4876033b614e4499:0x70b574f73981aea9!2sWest+Ln,+London,+UK!3b1!8m2!3d51.4995254!4d-0.0606051!3m5!1s0x0:0x6d4de1ab489f7d49!7e2!8m2!3d51.4986775!4d-0.0606857
[3] https://global.com/outdoor/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/01/bork/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/31/bork/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/30/bork/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/29/bork/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/28/bork/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/27/bork/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/26/bork/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/25/bork/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
[1]
Click to enlarge
Snapped by the passenger of eagle-eyed Register reader Duncan, the offending display can be spotted on London's Jamaica Road. Should you ever fancy taking a trip around the geography of bork, by our reckoning you'll find this sign normally slinging ads at passersby on the [2]corner of Jamaica Road and West Lane , not too far from Bermondsey tube station.
The dialog belies the low resolution of the screen and appears to be running the OS that will not die, Windows 7. Its grandparent, XP, is considered the cockroach of operating systems but luckily for the residents of Bermondsey, this sign has escaped its clutches.
It has not, however, escaped a hard disk error and the suggestion from Windows that a backup would be a good idea. Unless this is some clever ad to persuade punters to part with cash for a PC protection program. Still, it's good to see the old thing shining out like a beacon of bork.
As for the sign itself, it seems likely that it is one of [3]Global's outdoor digital screens. The company lays claim to more than 253,000 outdoor sites across the UK, reaching a lucky 95 per cent of the population.
[4]
There is every chance that the screen exhibiting unhappiness here is one of the company's digital roadside units. Ads must be 576 x 288 pixels to meet Spec A of the group's requirements, which looks to be what is on show here. Each ad receives a 10-second slot, although we fear that the Windows bork could well have been on show for considerably longer than that.
[5]
[6]
Poor Microsoft. Despite trumpeting Windows 11 and its rounded corners, and spirited attempts to kill off Windows 7, the operating system of Christmas past, replete with what could be Aero effects, continues to make its presence felt. ®
A little ditty we are calling: The 12 Borks of Christmas '21
♬ On the ninth day of Borkmas, the bork gods sent to me:
the ghost of Windows Past;
[7]you need an OS upgrade ;
[8]
[9]catastrophic failure ;
[10]IKEA's not updating ;
[11]some... leaky... memoryyyyyy ....♬;
[12]
[13]playful scripting stuffup ;
[14]plea for a battery ;
[15]picturesque Paint job ;
and [16]a Notepad where nary one should be ♬
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/12/14/12boc_10.jpg
[2] https://www.google.com/maps/place/51%C2%B029'55.2%22N+0%C2%B003'38.5%22W/@51.4986782,-0.0614644,18z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x4876033b614e4499:0x70b574f73981aea9!2sWest+Ln,+London,+UK!3b1!8m2!3d51.4995254!4d-0.0606051!3m5!1s0x0:0x6d4de1ab489f7d49!7e2!8m2!3d51.4986775!4d-0.0606857
[3] https://global.com/outdoor/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/01/bork/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/31/bork/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/30/bork/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/29/bork/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YdGF3YuY0q93pn6l0F3dHgAAABA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/28/bork/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/27/bork/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/26/bork/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/25/bork/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
contact the computer manufacturer to determine if you need to repair or replace the disk
tin 2
As if! Who writes this stuff?
Knock on wood, I've only had two hard drives fail on me in nearly 30 years of PC computing, starting out with a '286 back in the early-mid nineties before anything more than 28.8 Kbps modems were a thing. If I recall correctly, that machine had a whopping 5MB hard drive. :)
I won't bother naming the brand that failed; it was that brand because until this past year, it was the ONLY brand of hard drive I bought. This year I gave WD a shot for a media drive with one of their super-size 5400RPM jobs that goes to sleep far too often. Seems reliable enough, but it rarely spins up 'cause who has time for videos when there is work a'waitin'?
I'm hard on the drives, too, constantly pounding on them with builds and databases. The most abused were the ones in my media capture systems just before Y2K, and even THOSE drives lasted 2-3 times longer than their warranty period before I tossed them because they were too small to bother re-installing in the latest box.
But I do one thing that most people don't: I leave my computers running 24/7, and disable "sleep mode" on my spinning rust when I can. It is the start and stop friction that wears out bearings and causes drive failures; enterprise drives never shut down and don't fail nearly as often, despite the fact that there is really no major difference between most "enterprise" drives and most consumer drives save for the controller board and the warranty on it.