• m0ffx (unregistered)

    Reminds me of that program to stop the cat typing when it walks on your keyboard. PawSense I think it is.

  • (cs)

    Froggie went a-courtin’ and he did ride, uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, Froggie went a-courtin’ and he did ride, blah’blah’blah something Bender is great, Froggie went a-courtin’ and Bender is great, uh-huh.

  • Just Another WTF (unregistered)

    Sort of like a problem we had when I first moved up to Iqaluit. During a howling blizzard we were having trouble with a 38 meter sat dish. From what we could tell the Hardware was OK, software was OK but still getting crappy reception. Local guys had no idea, bigwigs down in Toronto had no idea... finally weather quieted down enough to get a cherry picker out to have a look. Seems the local ravens were storing rotting seal meat, pickle jars and other garbage in the feedhorn.

  • Y (unregistered)

    To: Support From: Y RE: Connectivity Message: yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

  • Richard (unregistered)

    Reptilian?

    I think frogs are amphibians

  • iToad (unregistered) 
    try:
  code...
except frog:
  handle frog exception...
  • Jurgen (unregistered)

    Shouldn't they have locked the computers?

  • (cs)

    Wow, his software bugs have evolved into keyboard frogs.

  • Anonymous (unregistered)

    So what was to stop some enterprising thief from hooking up the caravan to their car and just driving off with it? Oh, of course, this is Australia and kangaroos can't drive...

  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    So what was to stop some enterprising thief from hooking up the caravan to their car and just driving off with it?
    The frog, obviously.
  • Zapp Brannigan (unregistered) in reply to Skizz
    Skizz:
    Wow, his software bugs have evolved into keyboard frogs.
    The software bugs attracted the frogs. What they need are lizards to eat the frogs, snakes to eat the lizards and gorillas to eat the snakes. Don't worry about the gorillas, they'll die off in the winter.
  • Cyclops (unregistered)

    Nyabe the frog was after some undocumented bugs?

  • Cyclops (unregistered)

    Maybe the frog was after some undocumented bugs?

    //Crap, beaten to it...

  • SuperQ (unregistered) in reply to Jurgen
    Jurgen:
    Shouldn't they have locked the computers?

    Yup, my first thought was, why aren't the screens setup to auto-lock after a few min.

  • Médinoc (unregistered)

    So, they had the flood and the rain of frogs...

    I think there will be water turning into blood somewhere soon!

  • Shane-o (unregistered)

    Yes, either lock the computer or disconnect the keyboard... or both.

  • monkeyPushButton (unregistered) in reply to Médinoc
    Médinoc:
    So, they had the flood and the rain of frogs...

    I think there will be water turning into blood somewhere soon!

    I think that if your project is being interrupted by Biblical plagues, you might want to rethink your project.

  • (cs) in reply to Médinoc
    Médinoc:
    So, they had the flood and the rain of frogs...

    I think there will be water turning into blood somewhere soon!

    Or they'll be collecting Philistine foreskins.

  • (cs)

    This reminds me, I never quite figured out how to get windows to do auto lock the workstation. Sure, there is the screen saver password, but I just stick with actually powering the screen down.

  • Your Name (unregistered) in reply to henke37
    henke37:
    This reminds me, I never quite figured out how to get windows to do auto lock the workstation. Sure, there is the screen saver password, but I just stick with actually powering the screen down.
    What keeps you from doing both? Have the screen turn off after 5 minutes and also set the screensaver timeout to 5 minutes with the "On resume, password protect" option turned on.

    Or, just get used to pressing Windows+L when you leave your desktop.

  • Ken B (unregistered) in reply to Shane-o
    Shane-o:
    Yes, either lock the computer or disconnect the keyboard... or both.
    Keyboard not found.  Press F1 to continue.
  • J.R. Blood (unregistered)

    That project would make me long for the old days of real physical KB locks. I haven't see a mobo with one of those in ages!

    CAPTCHA: nibh - A captcha that almost any cat could type in.

  • (cs)

    The software that took years to build...

    [image]
  • (cs)

    1.) System failed due to bad hard drive. Only possible WTF here is perhaps that it wasn't set up redundantly, however given that it's a last minute rush job running out of a rickshaw in a random field I would say that a RAID is out of the scope of the project.

    2.) System failed because power was out. Only possible WTF here was that there wasn't a backup generator, however similar to above it can hardly be expected.

    3.) A natural disaster resulted in downtime. Stuff like this happens, this was a backfield operation not a high reliability data center that's supposed to sustain natural disasters.

    4.) Bad driver/hardware led to poor connectivity. Only WTF here is that it took Graham so long to replace bad hardware. Once again it's possible that the budget was so drained he simply couldn't purchase the equipment he needed (new router) until later.

    5.) Frog was causing errors. The WTF here is two fold, but still somewhat weak. Also they're both Grahams fault. a.) computers weren't locked and b.) Graham couldn't simulate errors that were caused by simple user (or frog) input. I find it very useful to toss in the occasional "well what it someone rolls their face on the keyboard" test because, in most cases, end users will eventually do something that stupid.

  • (cs) in reply to J.R. Blood
    J.R. Blood:
    That project would make me long for the old days of real physical KB locks. I haven't see a mobo with one of those in ages!

    CAPTCHA: nibh - A captcha that almost any cat could type in.

    You can build one fairly easily, as I recall the keyboard lock actually only disconnected the clock or data line on the keyboard, or strapped them to ground to disable them. Either way, it's $6 at radio shack for a keyswitch and perhaps 30 minutes to install it... though I guess USB keyboards somewhat put a damper on this idea when anyone can wander up and plug their own keyboard in.

  • KMurx (unregistered) in reply to Ken B
    Ken B:
    Keyboard not found.  Press F1 to continue.
    Which is actually a sensible error message.

    Ok, it could be clearer - "Keyboard not found. Attach Keyboard and press F1 to continue." - but well. Nothing's perfect.

  • (cs) in reply to hatterson
    hatterson:
    I find it very useful to toss in the occasional "well what it someone rolls their face on the keyboard" test because, in most cases, end users will eventually do something that stupid.
    I would love to see you perform that test.
  • spike (unregistered)

    I had a programming teacher that would test all assignments with the 'cat' test. He would literally bang on the keyboard randomly; if your program crashed due to that you failed the assignment.

  • (cs) in reply to spike
    spike:
    I had a programming teacher that would test all assignments with the 'cat' test. He would literally bang on the keyboard randomly; if your program crashed due to that you failed the assignment.
    I fail to see the bad part of that.
  • BCS (unregistered)

    Programs should handle any error that don't indicate that "You've got bigger problems".

  • diaphanein (unregistered) in reply to SuperQ
    SuperQ:
    Jurgen:
    Shouldn't they have locked the computers?

    Yup, my first thought was, why aren't the screens setup to auto-lock after a few min.

    Better question is: Why is this "service" running interactively to begin with?

    And to the person that can't figure out how to have windows auto-lock the computer? really? It's on the same damned control panel applet to configure the screen saver if you're doing it on a per-user basis - click that "Power..." button.

  • diaphanein (unregistered) in reply to diaphanein
    diaphanein:
    SuperQ:
    Jurgen:
    Shouldn't they have locked the computers?

    Yup, my first thought was, why aren't the screens setup to auto-lock after a few min.

    Better question is: Why is this "service" running interactively to begin with?

    And to the person that can't figure out how to have windows auto-lock the computer? really? It's on the same damned control panel applet to configure the screen saver if you're doing it on a per-user basis - click that "Power..." button.

    Er...sorry, that's to turn off the monitor. The "On resume, password protect" checkbox will lock the computer soon as it goes to screen saver.

  • diaphanein (unregistered) in reply to hatterson
    hatterson:
    spike:
    I had a programming teacher that would test all assignments with the 'cat' test. He would literally bang on the keyboard randomly; if your program crashed due to that you failed the assignment.
    I fail to see the bad part of that.
    +1
  • Anonymous Coward (unregistered)

    Australian system, screwed up by natural forces mimicking human activity....

    Has anyone seen or read On the Beach? Those crazy Aussies went all the way to California in a submarine, to track down a random morse code signal, only to to find it was an empty Coke bottle balanced overtop a keyer, tied to the drawstring of a window-shade fluttering in the wind.

    Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll come a waltzing matilda with me....

  • Ol' Fart (unregistered) in reply to spike
    spike:
    I had a programming teacher that would test all assignments with the 'cat' test. He would literally bang on the keyboard randomly; if your program crashed due to that you failed the assignment.
    I recommend this site for suggest test algorithms.
  • Machtyn (unregistered)

    And here I was looking forward to a recursion related WTF.

  • Good Driver (unregistered) in reply to hatterson
    hatterson:
    4.) Bad driver/hardware led to poor connectivity...

    I'd say it was a bad driver that knocked out power...

    "A field support scientist discovered that the caravan wasn't receiving any power since someone had crashed into and knocked over a power line several miles away, shutting everything down."

  • MetaMan (unregistered) in reply to Ken B
    Ken B:
    Shane-o:
    Yes, either lock the computer or disconnect the keyboard... or both.
    Keyboard not found.  Press F1 to continue.

    Just ask yourself, what would Jessica Simpson and Megan Fox do in a situation like this?

  • (cs) in reply to Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward:
    Has anyone seen or read On the Beach? Those crazy Aussies...
    Yes! Great book. In defence of the Aussies, they lasted longest.
  • Anon (unregistered)

    Reminds me of a buddy in college. He was doing battery life cycle estimates for a project, and had to keep a computer monitoring it for a few weeks uninterrupted in order to actually get good data.

    We lost power about 3 or 4 times in a single semester, and they always happened just to erase whatever he was working on and corrupting data.

    Poor guy. He was never able to actually finish the project on the schedule needed, and had to throw himself on the mercy of the professor.

  • Mike K. (unregistered)

    It amazes me that people don't ever take the phyical environment and human resources into account. Technology is useless without people. A tractor and plow won't produce corn all by themselves.

    This problem could have been solved by hiring a skilled technician that lived close to the project site.

    Of course, there's little you can do about floods and loss of power (other than UPS).

  • Bob (unregistered) in reply to MetaMan
    MetaMan:
    Just ask yourself, what would Jessica Simpson and Megan Fox do in a situation like this?
    They'ld shake their heads, sigh at the pathetic nerds who'll never get laid, then get back to work.

    But it's ok, being 12 happens to us all. You'll grow up eventually.

  • Liam (unregistered)

    University of Wollongong for the win!

  • Andrewhows (unregistered)
    Or they'll be collecting Philistine foreskins.

    Nah, they were in southern NSW. Queensland's north.

  • (cs)

    The real WTF is they disliked going to Mackay. Mackay is a holiday destination. Wollongong is an industrial city.

    They left a keyboard exposed? Clearly not experienced in deploying computers outside the office/lab; if nothing else it'll fill with dust and bugs.

    Used a removeable card to access the internet? Ppppt! Asking for trouble. Unless you have technically capable staff on-site every day, a router with a watchdog is the only sensible approach. Especially on a mobile network.

  • razer (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward:
    Australian system, screwed up by natural forces mimicking human activity....

    Has anyone seen or read On the Beach? Those crazy Aussies went all the way to California in a submarine, to track down a random morse code signal, only to to find it was an empty Coke bottle balanced overtop a keyer, tied to the drawstring of a window-shade fluttering in the wind.

    Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll come a waltzing matilda with me....

    Um . . . . It was the septics in the submarine, not the skippies

  • (cs)
    Some time later, Mackay endured devastating floods, which resulted in weeks of lost work while Graham and crew were left to wonder whether their equipment had been washed out to sea. Because of the flooding, they couldn't even send a car out to check on the gear for over a week.

    Worse still, the PCMCIA wireless card had a faulty driver

    Yeah a bad driver is worse than all that.

  • Anonymous Coward (unregistered) in reply to razer
    razer:
    Um . . . . It was the septics in the submarine, not the skippies

    ...pommies too, who's counting?

  • b (unregistered) in reply to swordfishBob

    +1 to that!

    If he had any brains, he would have made it a part of the project to spend as much time in Mackay as possible.

  • Yeesh... (unregistered) in reply to kastein

    Those blasted pr0n-surfing frogs, when are they going wireless? Captcha: genitus (I know what those frogs do in the trees!)

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