Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Murphy + Computers

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    Helsinki, Finland
    Posts
    570

    Talking Murphy + Computers

    Murphy's Laws for Computers

    * Any given program, when running, is obsolete.
    * Any given program costs more and takes longer each time it is run.
    * If a program is useful, it will have to be changed.
    * If a program is useless, it will have to be documented.
    * Any given program will expand to fill all the available memory.
    * The value of a program is inversely proportional to the weight of its output.
    * Program complexity grows until it exceeds the capability of the programmer who must maintain it.
    * Every non- trivial program has at least one bug
    Corollary 1 - A sufficient condition for program triviality is that it have no bugs.
    Corollary 2 - At least one bug will be observed after the author leaves the organization.
    * Bugs will appear in one part of a working program when another 'unrelated' part is modified.
    The subtlest bugs cause the greatest damage and problems.
    Corollary - A subtle bug will modify storage thereby masquerading as some other problem.
    * Lulled into Security Law
    A 'debugged' program that crashes will wipe out source files on storage devices when there is the least available backup.
    * Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
    * Make it possible for programmers to write programs in English, and you will find that programmers can not write in English.
    * No matter how hard you work, the boss will only appear when you access the internet.
    * The hard drive on your computer will only crash when it contains vital information that has not been backed up.
    * Computers don't make errors-What they do they do on purpose.

    -ZeroOne

    PS. A couple of more
    here.
    Also check Computer Stupidities.
    Q: Why do computer scientists confuse Christmas and Halloween?
    A: Because Oct 31 = Dec 25

  2. #2
    Just a Virtualized Geek MrLinus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Posts
    7,323

    Talking

    Ah. Yes! Computer Stupidities (www.rinkworks.com/stupid) rocks! I've actually had a few of those kinds of calls. =)

    I think the best one was the BIOS problem. I always tell my students about this one during my hardware course.

    When I was a Network Administrator we began to introduce the idea of an IBM laptop university. So I was responsible for about 100 laptops on campus and keep them up to date. This included regular BIOS updates downloaded from their website.

    So I downloaded the update and applied it. For all the machines, it was a breeze. One machine however proved problematic. When I booted with the BIOS update disk and it began the actual update process, I heard a grinding noise (not something you expect to hear). I looked over at the screen and it popped up a single error on the blue screen "There is a hardware error".

    I called IBM (as we leased our machines) and spoke with the techie on the phone. I explained the problem and the techie asked if he could put me on hold. I hummed happily away to the muzak and he returned.

    He said "It's not supposed to the do that".

    I did a doubletake. I replied with a quizzacle "It's not supposed to do that?!?". He asked to put me back on hold again. I went back to my humming again.

    He returned. "There is a hardaware error!". At this point I lost it. I started laughing with an appropriate DUH! put in there. The end result was a toasted mobo and it got sent back to IBM. Needless to say, it did brighten my day. =D


    We all need a little chuckle ever now and again.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •