• moufassa (unregistered) in reply to Me
    Me:
    DaveK:
    It's called "Monkey testing", and Theo should have heard of it if he's working in QA.

    Edit: or even if he isn't.

    I used to call it "monkey emulator". Back in the late 80's I was part of a team developing DOS serial communication software and this was a standard testing procedure. Once we reproduced a bug by keeping a key pressed (using a pen cap) while data was continuously sent to the PC.

    This was actually a testing system used on the original Mac: http://folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Monkey_Lives.txt&topic=Testing&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date&detail=medium

    It insinuates that Steve Capps thought up the concept while developing a journaling function - whether the Monkey lived in earlier QA departments I do not know.

  • Friedrice The Great (unregistered) in reply to Suite
    Suite:
    chubertdev:
    Suite:
    TroelsL:
    If you can get a crash from spamming the keyboard, I'd blame the developer, not the tester.

    Especially since the devs were able to reproduce and fix the issue.

    Isn't testing all about blaming the developer? I can't imagine too many bugs found in testing would be the tester's fault.

    No, it's always the spec writer's fault.

    "You wanted to defend against SQL injection vulnerabilities? You didn't say that in the spec!"

    Well Played.

    -I think Testing (what the tester does) is about blaming the Developer

    • Bug fixing (what the developer does in response to the Tester) is about blaming the spec writer ("It's not my fault the tester knew what the spec writer wanted, and it was the opposite of what I interpreted)
    • then the spec writer blames the end user for not articulating whgat they wanted proeprly blah
    And the users blame IT and grumble to their managers, who grumble to their executives, who grumble to the CEO - who then decides to sign the contract outsourcing all corporate development to Nagesh in India ...
  • Erik A. Brandstadmoen (unregistered) in reply to Me

    Android SDK has an included tool for this: http://developer.android.com/tools/help/monkey.html

  • (cs) in reply to DaveK
    DaveK:
    It's called "Monkey testing", and Theo should have heard of it if he's working in QA.

    Edit: or even if he isn't.

    It's actually useful in some cases such as to check focus. Such things can be difficult to test automatically.

  • (cs) in reply to Erik A. Brandstadmoen
    Erik A. Brandstadmoen:
    Android SDK has an included tool for this: http://developer.android.com/tools/help/monkey.html

    thanks, but link is not working for me.

  • erewhon (unregistered)

    " coolkid123> coz if its .exe file coolkid123> wen u open it u need 2 choose a program 2 runthe file **run coolkid123> the me> you need to choose a program to run the file? "

    This is not as mad as it first appears. I've seen a bug in windows XP a number of times where '.exe' as a file extension was not associated with explorer correctly, so trying to run an '.exe' would prompt with 'Which application do you want to open this with', making it look like a data file rather than an application installer. The fix, by the way is here: http://filext.com/faq/broken_exe_association.php

  • (cs) in reply to moufassa
    moufassa:
    Me:
    DaveK:
    It's called "Monkey testing", and Theo should have heard of it if he's working in QA.

    Edit: or even if he isn't.

    I used to call it "monkey emulator". Back in the late 80's I was part of a team developing DOS serial communication software and this was a standard testing procedure. Once we reproduced a bug by keeping a key pressed (using a pen cap) while data was continuously sent to the PC.

    This was actually a testing system used on the original Mac: http://folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Monkey_Lives.txt&topic=Testing&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date&detail=medium

    It insinuates that Steve Capps thought up the concept while developing a journaling function - whether the Monkey lived in earlier QA departments I do not know.

    Don't forget, before testing or reconfiguring, always mount a scratch monkey.
  • (cs) in reply to ereh-emaNrouY
    ereh-emaNrouY:
    I love the solution to removing a video card... update the BIOS!

    His final answer to solving a virus. I'll clean it for $10 AND I'll give you a Windows 7! (No mention of price = illegal copy)

    Most OEM PCs have a blurb in the BIOS that lets the OEM Windows self-activate even if you reinstall. If he was upgrading to a newer version, then I agree, but otherwise it's a kosher and everyday thing to do (except on Saturdays, of course!).

  • (cs) in reply to Blake
    Blake:
    4) He claims that for only $10, he will install a new copy of Windows 7 Home Premium on a user’s computer without even knowing if their system meets the minimum hardware requirements that are necessary in order to run that operating system. In addition, since Windows 7 Home Premium currently sells for about $170, I can only assume that he intends to use a pirated copy. This being the case, one wonders what his plan will be when the product refuses to activate due to having been installed on too many computers.
    Well, you see, the deal is you don't need a pirated copy at all. Technically, you're completely free to install many MS products from whatever medium you may have, and then pay for them later, and activate once you've got the key. Those who like permanent solutions, though, simply add a binary blob or two to their BIOS, making it look like an OEM machine from one of the popular vendors. That gives you preactivated windows, whether XP, Vista, 7 or 8, depending on what blob you add to the BIOS. That's all there's to it. BTW, I'm not advocating any of it.
  • Mark J (unregistered) in reply to Raugturi
    Raugturi:
    RE: My Report Won't Print!

    I have to say on this one I actually blame the tech a bit. I've done a lot of support in my time and the very first thing you learn to do in any call is find out exactly what is happening. "My report won't print" could mean any number of things. Maybe nothing is coming out, maybe they get an error, or maybe it's spitting out blank pages. Now obviously you don't expect "it's actually printing but the totals are wrong", and clearly the person calling is an idiot, but you can't troubleshoot until you know what's actually happening. And anyone who's been in tech support for more than a week knows you can't take the caller's initial description literally. They summarize incorrectly, they paraphrase error messages poorly (in the unlikely event that they actually read them) and sometimes they lie.

    Sure, that was rather the point of my story: I naively took her statement of the problem literally. That incident, and others like it, have taught me that when a user describes a problem, their description of the problem may have little relationship to the actual problem.

  • jay (unregistered) in reply to Mickey D
    Mickey D:
    Is it illegal to give software to people for free? Surely not, provided someone's paid the appropriate cost of it in the first place (ie, provided Frank {or someone} is wearing the cost that should be charged, then the fact that it's free for Bethany {I assume} does not make it illegal - at least not down here. If it is, I could be in some serious trouble over last Christmas).

    You do understand that there's a difference between "I paid for it and then gave it to my friend as a gift" and "I paid for one copy, and then I made a second, illegal copy that I gave to my friend as a gift.", I hope.

    If you buy a book and give it to a friend, that's perfectly legal and ethical. If you buy a book and then run the entire book through a Xerox machine, keep the original and give the copy to a friend, that's not legal nor ethical.

  • jay (unregistered)

    At least as this fellow is a local talent and not a global talent, he can't be accessed from outside his home town.

  • Annoying Cowherd (unregistered) in reply to TheEgg
    TheEgg:
    Power inverter? It could also be the backlight, or anything.

    He was probably making up an excuse to go to Toshi Station.

  • urza9814 (unregistered) in reply to jay
    jay:
    Mickey D:
    Is it illegal to give software to people for free? Surely not, provided someone's paid the appropriate cost of it in the first place (ie, provided Frank {or someone} is wearing the cost that should be charged, then the fact that it's free for Bethany {I assume} does not make it illegal - at least not down here. If it is, I could be in some serious trouble over last Christmas).

    You do understand that there's a difference between "I paid for it and then gave it to my friend as a gift" and "I paid for one copy, and then I made a second, illegal copy that I gave to my friend as a gift.", I hope.

    If you buy a book and give it to a friend, that's perfectly legal and ethical. If you buy a book and then run the entire book through a Xerox machine, keep the original and give the copy to a friend, that's not legal nor ethical.

    WOOOOOOOOSH!!

    The point being made was that everyone here is jumping to the conclusion that it's pirated when there is ZERO evidence of any illegal activity in that conversation. None whatsoever. Maybe he's just a philanthropist. Maybe he has a spare (legally purchased) copy he's trying to get rid of. Hell, Microsoft gives free copies of Windows at events all the time so maybe he picked up a couple at stuff like that. Maybe he's got some kind of legal bulk licensing. Maybe he knows she already has a license for it. And hell he never even said he would give her a license, just that he would install it -- so maybe he was just indicating his labor cost.

  • Orv (unregistered)

    The development system for PalmOS actually had an automated version of that, in the device emulator -- it would randomly click places on the screen and enter text until the app crashed. The best part was it was pseudo-random, so once it crashed you could replay the same sequence again for debugging.

  • Orv (unregistered) in reply to chubertdev

    Yup. When I worked for a small company with several locations, I used to tote around OEM Windows XP discs from various manufacturers, so I could always be sure of having a version that would properly activate if I had to do a reinstall.

  • Bogotester 2000 (unregistered)

    gebrhljrnkb;jrge'fdfa ew EFW EFWfe wEW F eFWE FW

    I'm very disappointed in you thedailywtf.com, bogotesting your site by repeatedly mashing my hand on my keyboard while with the add comment window open on FireFox opened up my bookmarks a new tab and the Windows 7 start menu! You failed the Bogotest miserably!

  • GrizzlyAdams (unregistered)

    Oye, if u gona type lik wanker, i cant be arsed to help ya!

  • GrizzlyAdams (unregistered) in reply to erewhon
    erewhon:
    This is not as mad as it first appears. I've seen a bug in windows XP a number of times where '.exe' as a file extension was not associated with explorer correctly, so trying to run an '.exe' would prompt with 'Which application do you want to open this with', making it look like a data file rather than an application installer. The fix, by the way is here: http://filext.com/faq/broken_exe_association.php
    Actually its quite common for a partially disinfected machine that had a virus previously. The virus took over the .exe / exefile shell->open association in the registry, and since the virus is gone now, windows doesn't know what to do. Commonly the ID10T user will tell windows to open .exe files with something retarded. Suddenly all they can open is Adobe Reader because they are a click-happy moron who clicked on the first thing in the Open With... dialog.
  • No'am (unregistered) in reply to Raugturi

    Unfortunately I had a similar case a few weeks ago. I changed someone's monitor to a wider model, hoping to help her. Said user was running a program at the wrong resolution so she couldn't see entire windows - the right end of every window was chopped off - so a wider screen should help.

    She called me a few days later, saying that she couldn't see anything on the screen. My natural assumption was that there was a power fault but I have learnt not to assume anything but actually see for myself. Fortunately this user works close to where I do, so I quickly presented myself at her station. The screen was fine, displaying exactly what it was supposed to display. "I can't see", said the user. I asked what she couldn't see but kept on saying that she couldn't see, with her voice gaining a few decibels on every repetition.

    I told her that there was nothing wrong with her screen (I also inadvisedly made a recommendation about her spectacles) then replaced her new screen with her original screen. I heard no more from her.

  • rakiru (unregistered)

    That last one is why I refuse to help people who don't at least read all of our documentation first (we sometimes have small bits of info hidden in it that we ask about if someone claims to ahve read it when they clearly haven't). If they can't be bothered helping themselves, or even putting in the effort to type properly when asking for help, then they can't expect to have a solution fed to them on a plate. (This is all for OSS projects where they're not paying for support)

  • Norman Diamond (unregistered) in reply to No'am
    No'am:
    I told her that there was nothing wrong with her screen (I also inadvisedly made a recommendation about her spectacles) then replaced her new screen with her original screen. I heard no more from her.
    So there was no problem with the developers. And there was no problem with the testers. TRWTF was the specs.
  • qbolec (unregistered) in reply to Me
    Me:
    DaveK:
    It's called "Monkey testing", and Theo should have heard of it if he's working in QA.

    Edit: or even if he isn't.

    I used to call it "monkey emulator". Back in the late 80's I was part of a team developing DOS serial communication software and this was a standard testing procedure. Once we reproduced a bug by keeping a key pressed (using a pen cap) while data was continuously sent to the PC.

    My friends were able to cause unhandled exceptions in Facebook's Thrift just by netcating /dev/random to it. I think they should have do some monkey testing before releasing it.

  • (cs) in reply to Leo

    Installing a clean copy of the existing OS is generally considered Fair Use rather than piracy.

    The machine has the Windows Defender virus. This marks it as Windows (Vista or 7)

    It is a laptop owned by a naive user. This makes Home Premium the most likely version.

    It is possible that she has a laptop running Vista, but unlikely. This 'error' would only involve selecting a Vista disk for the reinstall.

    Of course she might have Pro and he is charging $10 to downgrade to Home Premium, but that is also unlikely. More likely in this case is that he would select the Pro install disk and not say anything about the difference :P

    Analysis of the problem is occasionally productive :)

  • Dkyc (unregistered)

    I didn't get what was so fascinating about the "local talent".

  • IIVQ (unregistered) in reply to DaveK

    In the Palm OS emulator, there was a function that did random tapping on the app for you. That function was called "Gremlins": http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/project/pilot/proventmp/Emulator_Src_21d28/Docs/Guide.html#gremlins

  • Sam I am (unregistered)

    When someone tells you that "it doesn't work" ALWAYS ask them what actually does happen when they try to do whatever it is they're trying to do.

  • anon (unregistered)

    My theory: The last guy had extensions hidden and was trying to double-click an unfinished ".exe.part" file or something

  • Douglastab (unregistered)

    Pharmacie en ligne livraison Europe https://kamagraenligne.shop/# pharmacie en ligne france fiable

Leave a comment on “Bogotesting, Amazing Local Talent, and More Support Stories”

Log In or post as a guest

Replying to comment #:

Log Out

« Return to Article