In computer news this week December 2, 2008
This is a rebroadcast of a Raw Bytes show from 20 years ago – one of the computer torture test series I did at the time.,
Computer manuals are full of warnings about things not to do, but they don’t say what will happen if you do do them ..... The most common warning is to keep food and beverages away from your computer disks ...
In today’s personal computer environment you’re apt to find anything sitting around pc’s, including drinks like cokes and coffee, candy bars, Chinese food and hot dogs.
So what really happens if you mistreat computer disks, like spilling food or drink on them, or even abusing the disks ?
In 1989 I assembled a team of average users from a law firm whom we called computer scientists, downtown Spokane in the Paulsen building, and we went to a deli in there named Big Franks and put many floppy disks on the lunch counter.
We used the most precise scientific equipment available – Big Franks provided the plastic spoons and I used a medicine dropper and vial that had once contained cat medicine – the vet had told me my cat would like it because it tasted like bubblegum – I’m still thinking that one over, having never seen that many cats chewing gum ...
We spooned every available condiment on the surface of the disks, and let them sit for 10 minutes, figuring this would be the maximum time it would take even the most dim-witted computer operator to notice a spill had occurred.
We then wiped them off as best we could, and took them to a designated computer torture test computer in a law office there.
The following items “killed” the disk and made them totally unusable:
Sweet relish
Stone ground mustard
Chili with beans made with dark beer
Catsup
Grey poupon mustard
Sweet hot mustard
But the following condiments did not kill the disks, and were able to be wiped off the disk surface without causing apparent permanent damage:
Chopped onion
D. Pepper
Ice tea
water
black coffee
orange juice
7 up
Sauerkraut
Tobasco sauce
and our personal favorite – the Beaver brand horse radish
The piece de resistance of Big Frank’s Deli was the hot dog bun steamer. Not only did this make a cool industrial noise – but it also had a picture of pro wrestler Ivan Putsky on it.
One floppy disk was put in the bun steamer for 45 seconds – 3 times the normal time it takes to steam a hot dog bun – and it was totally destroyed.
We then performed the ultimate torture test of dropping floppy disks from the 16th floor of the Paulsen building – again out the windows of a law office – and I watched them flutter harmlessly to the ground – popped them into our computer –and they worked perfectly.
And the results of our Raw Bytes torture tests – you really shouldn’t eat or drink around your computer, but if you do – we now have scientific documented evidence of high and low risk food and beverages.
A storyboard of this test with pictures of the event and some of the remaining actual disks used will be on display next week at KPBX’s open house staring Monday December 8th at 4 pm.
For Raw Bytes
This is Frank Delaney
(C) 2008 MTA Micro Technology Associates
http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html
PO Box 31522 Spokane, Wa 99223-1522
(509)624-7230