On Monday, October 21, 2002, JD Gouws wrote:
> Then why go at length to describe the W.O.P.R. lettering and the BASF
> disks.
That's how trolls work. They have that kind of stuff to make them seem more
realistic and to get the reader emotionally involved. The kid is autistic
for just that reason, because we think of autistic kids both as retards and
as genii -- a perfect condition to inspire the philanthropic giveaway of a
computer that takes serious programming knowledge to use.
There are obvious problems with this troll. One is that WOPR (from the movie
Wargames) was *not* the IMSAI 8080. WOPR was a big-ass computer in the NORAD
facility. The IMSAI was the David's home computer. David ran a terminal
emuator and dialed into WOPR from his home. The troll just wants his free
IMSAI to have some silk-screened lettering, probably to boost an eBay sale.
Oops #0.
Second, I think that the 8" disk would be marked "SSDD", not "Single Sided
Double Density", but I really haven't seen enough 8" disks to firmly decide
that. Oops #1.
Third, the troll says "Thank you in advance for any information you may
have". What information is *Fischer* going to have about the allegedly
stolen computer? What, is he going to say "Oh, yes, Jim stole that. Let me
give you his address and phone number"? Oops #2.
Sorry, IMSAI. YHBT. HAND.
--
Jeffrey Sharp
Received on Mon Oct 21 2002 - 10:26:01 BST