
Re: Enough
Scouse
53 publicly visible posts • joined 12 Dec 2014
In the days of 10/20 MB drives with 3 in drives .. I was supporting a group of 12 local newspapers. They were all shown how to "backup" the editors PC weekly to disks after sending to the central printers,
Each babkup took a box of disks a week. However the Editors charged with this onerous task started running out of blank disks and decided to improvise by a new disk compression/reduction method - they kept reinsertinhg the same didk when prompted for next one. Hey prestto the 1 .44MB dsk holdong a 20MB backup - NOT.
I was sent to a big Printing exhibition in Barcelona to install software for our German distributor.
The Germans brought a load of Compaqs for me to install onto. None of them checked the power first. All the kit blew up - the Spanish electrician had wired the exhibition stand with 440V.
I always carry a testmeter when travelling!
In the 80's I installed publishing systems for about 15 local papers. Each site was given a few boxes of 720k 3.5" floppies for backing up after each edition.
Then one day I noticed that to "speed" things up the Editors were inserting disk 1, then disk 2 then disk 1, then disk 2 etc - to save using disks (needed a box for a full backup)
About 12 years-ago I did IT for a small University. We had a massive, new, £2M+ Cisco network installed. I emailed the project manager with some patch changes - specifically Floor 5 Box 1 etc, etc. When the whole of my post grad department fell apart discovered that he had gone to Floor 2 Box 1 to repatch.
What made it worse was that he used an Access database - and didn't have a backup/printout of the original patches he had fucked up. I left a year later.
Many years ago I was flown out to Barcelona to install software at a huge Print exhibition. The hardware was supplied by our German distributers - new Compaq's
The Spanish electricians managed to wire the stand with 440V - and nobody checked - every PSU blew when powered on. The Germans were able to fly in several replacement PSU's overnight - so the show did go on.
Several years ago one of my clients changed to TalkTalk - without telling me. It was a pub in Birmingham with a few Wifi boxes and a Smoothwall firewall. After 5 HOURS on the phone to them all they could come up with was to reset to factory defaults - which was not going to happen as it would break everything else. Yes they do like to talk Talk Talk ....
50 years ago I took a home-made contraption into my physics class - made of old GPO relays - you had to tap a switch in time with a click - or get 60V up your arm. No problem. Later I built a rocket powered by Sodium Chlorate - which did get me into some trouble when it exploded on takeoff at the beach. Later in life I ended up as Specials Editor for ETI magazine went on to found 80 Micro in the States.
Nearly 40-years ago I edited/published technical books about computers. We sold them for $29.95 - unheard off price at the time. Even Radio Shack ordered 10,000 at 50% discount.
There was nothing else on the market - so people paid the price for the quality/information. Bit like the iWatch?
I was flown out to a trade show in Barcelona, to install demo software for our German distributors.
The Germans brought a pile of shiny new Compaqs and a server.
The Spanish electrician turned up and connected the display stand.
Bang! 440V on all outlets - I always test the voltage with a meter ... the Germans hadn't