31–40 of 62 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
when the map tells you one thing, and your eyes tell you another thing, go with what your eyes tell you, because the map is full of shit. you would be surprised how often people trust "the map" more than reality. "the map" can be anything, i.e. an instruction manual, an authority figure, folklore, a rumor, whatever.
I'd stop and get a third opinion --- because sometimes my eyes are lying.
Uh... How was this not obvious from looking at it? Every geek who's put together or taken apart a computer knows the metal frame is grounded, and most geeks have enough basic understanding of electricity to understand you only need one wire for a ground. The switch enables or disables grounding. Since that is literally the only thing it can do, that is what it does.
I think we are talking late '60s here. Perhaps we are better off now with accessible electronics.
The PDP-10 itself was mostly discrete logic, so you could see the components and their interconnections just by looking at them. In addition, DEC published full schematics for most of their products. (I never saw the PDP-10 schematics, but it would be unusual if they weren't available.)
If that wasn't enough, Alan Kotok, the architect, came by TMRC every couple of weeks and was more than happy to expound on any part of the system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kotok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club
I love things like this. In my old Dreamcast, I found after I'd packed it up and moved it a few too many times that it wouldn't start, but would show signs of life when the lid would open and close. I found that there was a position you could put the lid in at which it would boot, and that position could be reliably reached if a SweeTart was placed in the tray near the edge of the disc. I licked the flat side of the…
When I was about 8-9, I found the mechanism, and ended up dismantling the system. I then wedged a little Wolverine action-figure's foot into the space to keep his foot down on the switch and ran the system without the cover, because it looked pretty badass to have the discs spin out in the open.
[In retrospect: All of this was probably a horribly unsafe thing to do, considering what would happen if the disc cracked or broke while spinning.]
Uh... How was this not obvious from looking at it? Every geek who's put together or taken apart a computer knows the metal frame is grounded, and most geeks have enough basic understanding of electricity to understand you only need one wire for a ground. The switch enables or disables grounding. Since that is literally the only thing it can do, that is what it does.
Haha HN, how did this post get downvotes? The second I read about "a switch needing two wires" I thought "Unless it's grounded." Interesting story, but hardly "magic"
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What does "trust the map over the terrain" mean?
when the map tells you one thing, and your eyes tell you another thing, go with what your eyes tell you, because the map is full of shit. you would be surprised how often people trust "the map" more than reality. "the map" can be anything, i.e. an instruction manual, an authority figure, folklore, a rumor, whatever.
but your eyes are also part of the map…
I love things like this. In my old Dreamcast, I found after I'd packed it up and moved it a few too many times that it wouldn't start, but would show signs of life when the lid would open and close. I found that there was a position you could put the lid in at which it would boot, and that position could be reliably reached if a SweeTart was placed in the tray near the edge of the disc. I licked the flat side of the…
I love things like this. In my old Dreamcast, I found after I'd packed it up and moved it a few too many times that it wouldn't start, but would show signs of life when the lid would open and close. I found that there was a position you could put the lid in at which it would boot, and that position could be reliably reached if a SweeTart was placed in the tray near the edge of the disc. I licked the flat side of the…
The original Playstation had a similar switch on the lid mechanism. I think it was a safety feature to prevent the discs from spinning up, without the enclosure. When I was about 8-9, I found the mechanism, and ended up dismantling the system. I then wedged a little Wolverine action-figure's foot into the space to keep his foot down on the switch and ran the system without the cover, because it looked pretty badass t…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The original Playstation had a similar switch on the lid mechanism. I think it was a safety feature to prevent the discs from spinning up, without the enclosure. When I was about 8-9, I found the mechanism, and ended up dismantling the system. I then wedged a little Wolverine action-figure's foot into the space to keep his foot down on the switch and ran the system without the cover, because it looked pretty badass t…
I think it's also to protect your eyes from the CD-reading laser if you were to power it up with no disk in it.
Should be tagged (1994), although it appears the earliest version of this story goes back to Dec 1990! http://jargon-file.org/archive/jargon-2.2.1.dos.txt
Also, it's in the 1.5.0 file: http://jargon-file.org/archive/jargon-1.5.0.dos.txt
Should be tagged (1994), although it appears the earliest version of this story goes back to Dec 1990! http://jargon-file.org/archive/jargon-2.2.1.dos.txt
Pretty sure it's older than that I recalled seeing it in this book, which Amazon gives a date of 1983 on (fits well enough with when I recall coming across the book in a public library): http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Dictionary-Guide-Computer-Wiza... Also, it's in the 1.5.0 file: http://jargon-file.org/archive/jargon-1.5.0.dos.txt