At 12:41 11/19/97 +0000, ARD wrote:
>> where I'm at someone's house for dinner, and they say "Oh, BTW, my
>> computer's not working," and I didn't bring a screwdriver and they don't
>> own a #2 Phillips.
>
>And just what are you going to do when you've pulled the cover? Unless
>it's just a board/cable that needs reseating you're going to need some
>test equipment, a soldering iron, etc., anyway. I have _never_ been anywhere
>with that sort of equipment and not had a screwdriver with me.
>
>Heck, if I was in somebody else's house I'd probably have my trusty
>Leatherman with me.
Certainly I take your point, but the context here is one of unrivaled
banality. Your "just a board/cable that needs reseating" covers about 90%
of the "emergencies" of this type that come anywhere near me. Both 5.25
floppies and MFM hard disks have connectors that loosen spontaneously. IDE
"controllers" pop out of their sockets, for some reason. And there was
always the lady who thought her computer "didn't work" because the
connector to the hard disk LED had popped off -- even though that was all
that was wrong.
__________________________________________
Kip Crosby engine_at_chac.org
http://www.chac.org/index.html
Computer History Association of California
Received on Wed Nov 19 1997 - 10:09:46 GMT