I love this story. It's mythology from the dawn of Computer Science - like a chapter from Genesis.
A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
41–50 of 62 posts
Re: A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
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
Interesting, it seems to have disappeared between 1.5.0 and 2.2.1!
That is interesting -- I didn't check the 2.x revisions, and it only seems to be in 1.5.0 -- though I didn't try to go through all the intermediate files, simply stopping at a failure to find it in the previous one.
Re: A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
#43Ahhh yes, the compulsive need of the reasoning mind to neatly categories all events, circumstances and situations. I just love exploiting that.
Re: A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
#44I 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…
A friend of mine, working on his PhD in a European university which shall not be named, is using a really old 15 watt ruby laser for some experiments. One day last year it would not turn on, and he and his labmates spent hours trying to diagnose the problem. Finally one of them, exasperated, put his elbow on top of the laser cabinet with a deep sigh, whereupon the laser promptly started working. Excited, they found a…
Pragmatic but sad, I expected some nice collective eureka moment after a mental struggle.
Re: A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
#45Earlier 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.
Except if you're a pilot flying in low visibility. Then you trust the map, not the terrain (mainly as the terrain is invisible). VFR vs. IFR and all that.
Re: A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
#46I was really really hoping this would be the background of the magic number file "magic", and the `file` command... oh well.
Completely different, but still a fun story.
Re: A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
#47I 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…
This could also be used to run out-of-region discs on the US market version of the Playstation. It refused to start with a out-of-region disc, but you could start with a US disc and then swap in the out-of-region disc while running, provided it never detected the lid opening.
Re: A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
#48I 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…
Haha, I remember having to turn the original PlayStation upside down to play RE2 because the design placed the motor for the disc tray right under the laser and the heat would cause distortions in the beam ... or so I was lead to believe. Either way, it made the PS play games for another few years. A "magic" button, indeed.
Re: A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
#49I 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…
A friend of mine, working on his PhD in a European university which shall not be named, is using a really old 15 watt ruby laser for some experiments. One day last year it would not turn on, and he and his labmates spent hours trying to diagnose the problem. Finally one of them, exasperated, put his elbow on top of the laser cabinet with a deep sigh, whereupon the laser promptly started working. Excited, they found a…
Out of curiosity, why does someone studying European history need a 15 watt laser?
Re: A Story About ‘Magic' (1994)
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
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"
Is it common for one of the switch terminals to be electrically connected to the switch's container? That seems like a dangerous idea?
Common? Hell no! Obvious? Yes.
For a switch to work a circuit must be present. Either a neutral line or a ground it is the only way to send information.
If a functioning switch has only a single wire feeding into it then it must be reaching ground through other means.