In message <Pine.LNX.3.96.990817234743.868A-100000_at_fred>, Max Eskin writes:
>On Tue, 17 Aug 1999, LordTyran wrote:
>>On Tue, 17 Aug 1999, Richard Erlacher wrote:
>>> So . . . Linux will use the parallel port to turn on the coffee maker, but
>>> who'll fetch, measure, mix, and grind the beans? When does it clean out th
>e
>>> coffee pot and put the old coffee in the house-plants? What about the
>>> filter? Hmmmm?
>>That's what the robotic arm on the second parallel port is for!
>
>Has anyone here seen Brazil? It's an excellent black comedy by Terry
>Gilliam. Anyway, near the beginning, there is shown an automated routine
>helping the main character get up. A TV pops out of the wall, a ball falls
>and plugs the bathtub while the taps turn on, two pieces of bread pop out
>of a toaster, and the coffee machine pours coffee on them. You have to see
>it....
>
>As pertaining to classic computers, the movie also has a brilliant parody
>of computers. They look like very old-fashioned teletypes with a bare (the
>entire CRT and circuitry is open to view) screen about 4" diagonal
>enlarged by a huge flat magnifying glass. Again, you have to see it...
And bringing it full circle, Brazil is the name of the latest
research OS at Bell Labs from the same folks who brought you
UNIX. They seem to take great pride in naming systems with
names that make marketing cringe. The predecessor to Brazil
was Plan 9 after the infamous sci-fi movie Plan 9 From Outer
Space.
Brian L. Stuart
Received on Wed Aug 18 1999 - 20:14:00 BST