Lethal computers? (was: Goodwill Computerworks Museum is open

From: Fred Cisin <cisin_at_xenosoft.com>
Date: Tue Aug 22 11:28:02 2000

Sellam said that Goodwill should turn the machines on and let people play
with them.
Richard said that that would create excessive liability exposure.


Just how frequent ARE fatalities from computers?

Unless somebody opens the case, "connecting himself to the mains through
your display" seems a little difficult.


'Course there is the issue of mental anguish.

In fact, the only dcocumented fatality that I've found from a
microcomputer was from the frustration of serial interfacing: a guy paid
the owner of a store to get his new serial printer going. After six weeks
of failure, he shot and killed the store owner.

--
Grumpy Ol' Fred        cisin_at_xenosoft.com
On Tue, 22 Aug 2000, Richard Erlacher wrote:
> Are you sure that's safe?  Not just for the machine, but also for the
> public.   It only takes one idiot to break a computer, but an idiot could
> bankrupt you just by doing something unfathomably stupid like connecting
> himself to the mains through your display.
> 
> Don't you think you've got a responsibility to protect your entire
> collection by preventing the idiot from having you closed down just by
> killing himself with his own stupidity, for which the courts will surely
> blame you?
> 
> Dick

Received on Tue Aug 22 2000 - 11:28:02 BST