The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology

Serial Port Pit Bull

by Mark Bowytz in Feature Articles on 2009-04-30

Woof. Shawn G. couldn't believe his eyes. A support ticket had just come in about a user who was having a problem with a DOS-based computer with a 286 processor!? Fresh out of college, Shaw was more used to working with PCs running Windows XP, and processor speeds and RAM amounts in the multi-"giga" ranges. Much to his surprise, he was getting ready to help a user with the equivalent of 1985's cutting-edge top model. Expecting the real problem to be a bug in their help desk software mis-reporting PC's default specs, Shawn gave the user a ring.

It turned out that yes indeed, the computer in question was based on the ancient yet venerable, 286 processor. But the kicker was that the PC wasn't a PC at all. Instead, it was a very expensive, mission critical, ruggedized "beige box" that was used by the engineers to calculate the efficiency of heat transfer for some very large and noisy piece of plant machinery. Despite feeling a little bit out of his element, Shawn figured he'd give a shot at troubleshooting and asked for a description of the problem.

78 comments - Last comment @ 2013-07-11

The Mod Out System

by Mark Bowytz in Feature Articles on 2009-04-23

When Gary was first hired at an aircraft component repair company, one of his first duties was to add functionality to their Oracle 11i based application that would "automatically add mods" to the system.

As Gary soon learned, a "mod" referred to the work that needed to be performed on particular piece of equipment for maintenance or repair. Because the company specialized in a fairly specific type of components (multimedia), the steps to perform the work were fairly consistent: 1) Remove any certifications or other affixed notices; 2) Remove field-serviceable access panels 3) Remove factory-serviceable panels; ...; 18) Replace joints with new silicone glue; etc. This worked out well as, due to federal regulations, all modification steps taken needed to be recorded in the equipment's recertification file.

120 comments - Last comment @ 2010-02-26

What the Ad? - Blatent Theft

by Mark Bowytz in Feature Articles on 2009-04-17

Tsk tsk 80's software companies! When you're not out there making grandiose, larger than life promises to sell your product, you're playing right into your readers' knowledge of popular culture.

First, for shame Atron. You give us this wall o' text where you quote the President of Borland singing your praises, but what's this? "Bugbusters keep you from getting slimed"? Oooh, if I were Dan Ackroyd or Harold Ramis, I'd circle "Cease and Desist" on my Customer Inquiry Card!

68 comments - Last comment @ 2009-05-12

eTeller Horror

by Mark Bowytz in Feature Articles on 2009-04-16

Most large applications are designed with multiple, autonomous interacting components. In very high level terms, they look like this:

140 comments - Last comment @ 2018-02-19

Well, at least it compiles...

by Mark Bowytz in CodeSOD on 2009-04-15

Working on a team that is uplifting a legacy application into a newer technology, Neil K. is responsible for ensuring that the new application is working the same as the one being replaced.

89 comments - Last comment @ 2009-12-17

Throw Some Hardware at it!

by Mark Bowytz in Feature Articles on 2009-04-09

Thank you and please come again. The Sohcnum Family Convenience store chain knew two things about their fax-based price distribution process: it was extremely time consuming and completely un-cool. Managers at their twenty-eight locations absolutely hated having to write out, by hand and with a big marker, the hundreds of new price signs that came through every morning. It all seemed so unnecessary, especially considering that it was 1997 and "hi tech" was officially in. Plus, with their aspirations to grow the chain by impressing and attracting big investors, a whiz-bang price distribution system was a must-have.

Enter the Automated Sign System. With a shiny new UI on the frontend and a hulking Oracle server running on the backend, it would send data across the Internet to the individual stores for automated, overnight printing. In the morning, the managers would take the large stack of signs and hang them up around the store. All told, the corporate developers had created a system that generated consistently-formatted signage for all stores and saved a ton on labor costs. The managers also appreciated not having to arrive at 4:30am to write out a day's worth of signs.

131 comments - Last comment @ 2011-01-12