Psst … Want to buy a used IBM Selectric? No questions asked
- Reference: 1659083412
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/07/29/on_call/
- Source link:
Our story takes us back to the 1990s – a time of transition for many companies. The Windows 3.x era was underway, and Windows for Workgroups was finding a home on many a corporate desktop. The teller of today's story, Regomized as "Sarah" (most definitely not her name), was working at a company occupying floors in a high-rise complex as events unfolded.
This being the era after acoustic couplers, Sarah was busy installing external US Robotics models when one of the secretaries at the company pulled her aside and asked if there was any way her existing typewriter could be connected to the computer. A smart bit of thinking on the secretary's part: why try to persuade IT to pony up the cash for a printer when there was a device already on her desk?
[2]
The device in question was an [3]IBM Selectric Typewriter . Originally launched in 1961, the machine was an instant hit for Big Blue. IBM had been a big noise in the typewriter world for decades by that point, but the Selectric – with its golf-ball type head replacing the basket of type bars – was a leap from the jam-prone typewriters that came before.
[4]
[5]
By the time of our story, the Selectric brand had been retired, but the workhorses continued to churn out type as nimble fingers jabbed the keys – or, in the case of Sarah's client, sought to hit the word processor.
Sarah pulled out the typewriter and peered at its connectors. Sure enough, there was a suitable port. It should be possible to connect the device to the computer. All that would be needed was something to connect it with and some appropriate software.
[6]
"I located the hardware sticker on the device and found an 800 number," she told us. "I called and ordered a cable and driver …"
Which is where things began to unravel. The secretary's innocent request and Sarah's order triggered something behind the scenes. While Sarah waited patiently for the equipment to arrive and the telephone call to return to the secretary to plug things in, other discoveries were being made.
[7]We've got a photocopier and it can copy anything
[8]The perfect crime – undone by the perfect email backups
[9]That time a techie accidentally improved an airline's productivity
[10]When management went nuclear on an innocent software engineer
"Well, I was never called to install it as the typewriter was part of a large group of stolen hardware," she said.
"So also was most of the furniture and computers in the place."
"Yikes!"
[11]
It transpired that the company had unwittingly leased office equipment that was a tad warm to the touch.
"All discovered because one secretary was clever," said Sarah.
While pilfering the Post-its is bad enough, wholesale theft of tables, chairs and IBM iron is something else entirely. Ever been called out to fix some hardware that burnt your fingers for all the wrong reasons? Share your tale with an email to [12]On Call . ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/Tag/on-call
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/columnists&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YuOv2NPxtlEfcVLn@Q0lYAAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/selectric/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/columnists&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YuOv2NPxtlEfcVLn@Q0lYAAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/columnists&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YuOv2NPxtlEfcVLn@Q0lYAAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/columnists&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YuOv2NPxtlEfcVLn@Q0lYAAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/22/on_call/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/24/on_call/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/03/on_call/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/27/on_call/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/columnists&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YuOv2NPxtlEfcVLn@Q0lYAAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] mailto:oncall@theregister.com
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Hot stuff
> Touched a hot laptop once, never again.
Was the fan broken?
Re: Hot stuff
I picked up a second-hand laptop once, but the first time I logged in (I was given the admin password which made me think it was legit) I found a substantial stash of some really nasty, grade A illegal pictures. I did not muck about, but took the laptop down to the plods who took one look, went slightly white and very quite, and promptly impounded the laptop and took a statement (under caution) from me.
The plods quickly backtraced the laptop to the seller (the idiot had given me a receipt with his name/address/mobile number on it) who it turned out ended up being charged with handling stolen goods. They also traced it back to the original owner, who was overjoyed at getting his stolen laptop back for about 30 seconds, then found himself hauled in front of the beaks facing considerably more serious charges.
At least I managed to get the money I had spent on the laptop back.
Even worse for software
I worked for a company that regularly got calls from people who wanted their illegally acquired system activated/. Not scruffy warez fans, but CEOs.
Comments to On-Call articles
It took me some time to recognise the pattern, but there it is: the comment section of all On.Call and Who, me? articles has been a greatest joy to read through and quite often a learning experience, too. Sometimes I even get the feeling that the articles themselves have more purpose in seeding these discussions than anything else.
So I now take the opportunity to thank you all for your great comments, past and future. Here's a pint for you!
Re: Comments to On-Call articles
Oh, absolutely. If you've been reading the columns since the start, you've probably read about all the possible scenarios by now. But even the most mundane On Call sparks people to chip in underneath with really interesting tangents.
Cheers!
Re: Comments to On-Call articles
Every time you think the Pinnacle of Stupid is reached evolution kicks in and a new more extreme case is described in an article here.
Keep'm comin'.
Re: Comments to On-Call articles
"Sometimes I even get the feeling that the articles themselves have more purpose in seeding these discussions than anything else."
This one seems to have been very sparsely seeded. How did they get from looking for a connector to discovering the typewriter and then the rest of the furnishings were hot?
Not the same sort of crime
I remember visiting an all IBM, US customer, about 30 years ago. At lunch time the IT manager showed off his new car to every one (including us). At the same time the IBM tape drives were being removed and some other manufacturer's were being installed. I was told the two events were pure co-incidence.
We tried to use the tape drives that evening, and they didn't work. They called out the engineer to fix them and were told - he will be there within 3 days!
The on-site IBM engineer quietly opened the doors, checked the cables and switches and said "it is now working" - and quietly went back to his proper job.
This was mentioned at the end of week report to the management chain, and a few weeks later the IT manager had moved to a different company.
Didn't Sarah try to paper over where the typewriters came from?
Ebay
Ever noticed how dome used Dell laptops advertised on Ebay have their service tag blurred out while others not? I have always instinctively tended to preferring the latter over the former. I wouldn't ascribe all of these blurrings to malice, not event the bigger portion of them, but still, one has to wonder...
Re: Ebay
There were a load of laptops the same as the ones my company bought that "appeared" on eBay. The sneaky chap was allegedly pinching them before the tags were registered in our systems.
AC as it's my current employer
I remember projects in Practical Electronics (or simla) on wiring up electric typewriters so you could use them as printers for these new-fangled computer thingies.
I even started an attempt to steampunk my Remington International into a printer for my ZX Spectrum, even wrote the driver, but was stymied trying to find a way to electrically actuate 48 mechanical bash bash bash key levers.
My dad bought a laptop from a car boot sale
When he turned it on, the Network Rail logo came up. Nope, not having that in my house.
Re: My dad bought a laptop from a car boot sale
What, in case it's actually a rail replacement bus in disguise? Nobody wants one of those.
Grey market
A few years back we had a supplier ship used grey market equipment as new. We only found out when I tried to log a call directly with Cisco for support and got told the equipment belonged to someone in Malaysia (I think), Turned out they were faking the support contracts by registering one of an item legitimately and then wanting the customers to go through them for support.
It did make the news at the time but I can’t remember the company name.
Hot stuff
Touched a hot laptop once, never again.
Not worth the hassle and stress.
Much better to pay that bit extra and have peace of mind.
Unless the legit vendor is trying to get rid of hot stuff as well...