OK, a little top-of my head calculation that is so simple-minded I don't
think it is a security breach to go tell Joe Barrerra.
We are targeted at PowerPC/PCI based machines. Based on rough estimates,
only 1/3 of them will have the minimum RAM (32 MB) to run the OS well.
Further, to easily support dual boot (for a variety of reasons), it makes
the most sense to run it on an external hard drive. I figured only
about 10% of the users with suffiicent memory would have easy access to a
space hard drive (geographically or financially). I was pleased to
realize:
1/3 x 10% = 3%
Finally, an OS for the 3%!
There, is that new bits enough? Is the subject line still relevant?
Have I committed the unbittable sin?
<nofill>
-- Ernie P.
Begin forwarded message:
From: 6th-sense@xc.org (Tim Losch)
X-Originally-From: TimLosch@xc.org (Tim Losch)
To: 6th-sense@xc.org
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"The Sixth Sense - The Sense of Humor"
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REAL STORIES OF THE NON-TECHNICALLY INCLINED
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I worked with an individual who plugged their power strip back into
itself and for the life of them could not understand why their
computer would not turn on.
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1st Person: "Do you know anything about this fax-machine?"
2nd Person: "A little. What's wrong?"
1st Person: "Well, I sent a fax, and the recipient called back to
say all she received was a cover-sheet and a blank page. I tried it
again, and the same thing happened."
2nd Person: "How did you load the sheet?" 1st Person: "It's a pretty
sensitive memo, and I didn't want anyone else to read it by accident,
so I folded it so only the recipient would open it and read it."
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I recently saw a distraught young lady weeping beside her car. "Do
you need some help?" I asked. She replied, "I knew I should have
replaced the battery in this remote door unlocker. Now I can't get
into my car. Do you think they (pointing to a distant convenience
store) would have a battery for this?" "Hmmm, I dunno. Do you have
an alarm, too?" I asked. "No, just this remote 'thingy,'" she
answered, handing it and the car keys to me. As I took the key and
manually unlocked the door, I replied, "Why don't you drive over
there and check about the batteries...it's a long walk."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -
Tech Support: "What does the screen say now."
Person: "It says, 'Hit ENTER when ready'."
Tech Support: "Well?" Person: "How do I know when it's ready?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
My friend called his car insurance company to tell them to change
his address from Texas to Vermont. The woman who took the call asked
where Vermont was. As he tried to explain, she interrupted and said,
"Look, I'm not stupid or anything, but what state is it in?"
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Several years ago we had an intern who was none too swift. One day
he was typing and turned to a secretary and said, "I'm almost out of
typing paper. What do I do?" "Just use copier paper," she told him.
With that, the intern took his last remaining blank piece of paper,
put it on the photocopier and proceeded to make five blank copies.
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I was working the help desk. One day one of the computer operators
called me and asked if anything "bad" would happen if she dropped
coins into the openings of her PC. I asked her if this was something
she was thinking of doing. She said, "never mind" and hung up. So I
got out my trusty tool kit and paid her a visit. I opened her CPU
case and sure enough, there was 40 cents.
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One of our servers crashed. I was watching our new system
administrator trying to restore it. He inserted a CD and needed to
type a path name to a directory named "i386." He started to type it
and paused, asking me, "Where's the key for that line thing?"
I asked what he was talking about, and he said, "You know, that one
that looks like an upside-down exclamation mark."
I replied, "You mean the letter "i"?" and he said, "Yeah, that's it!"
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This person had a broken lamp which he wanted to discard.
Unfortunately, the power cord ran under his refrigerator, making it
impossible to move the lamp while the cord was attached. He decided
to cut the cord, since the lamp was unusable anyway. He didn't
remember to unplug it first. I found him in the hallway rolling back
and forth.
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I was in a car dealership a while ago when a large motorhome was
towed into the garage. The front of the vehicle was in dire need of
repair and the whole thing generally looked like an extra in
"Twister." I asked the manager what had happened. He told me that
the driver had set the cruise control, then went in back to make a
sandwich.
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I called a company and asked to speak to Bob. The person who
answered said, "Bob is on vacation. Would you like to hold?"
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I rented a movie from Blockbuster. Before the movie begins a message
comes on the screen saying, "This movie has been altered to fit your
television screen." Comment from person: "How do they know what size
screen I have?"
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"The Sixth Sense - The Sense of Humor" is an open conference to
share humor with over 4,000 members. Forward this one to a friend.
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</nofill>