Computer Culture

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Computer Culture

You'll find out a lot about geek culture by reading Simon Travaglia's Bastard Operator From Hell (BOFH) archive and some of the nuggets in my computer Humor pages.

Free Speech on the 'net
  A 1993 conversation about the importance of applied freedom of speech. From a time when the net was wild and nobody knew what an URL is.
How to write useful bug reports
  Suggestions on writing effective bug reports, from someone who worked in quality assurance, managed a QA lab, and who has deal with lots of software authors.
Managing mailing lists
  If you don't keep the mailing list subscription verifications then you'll forget how to unsubscribe, and then you'll commit a real and all too common faux pas.
misc
  Google logos
  I've enjoyed the logos which the Google search engine places on their front page.
  msft
  Microsoft Switcher
My life as a Technomad
  I'm pleased to be computing and portable, and I have been for years before most folks thought of unshackling themselves from their desktop computers. Here's the story.
  ECIFFO
  In the summertime of 1996 I was interviewed for a Japanese magazine by five reporters and two photographers because of my well-known penchant (fetish?) for portable computing.
  ECIFFO - p. 1
  ECIFFO - p. 2
  ECIFFO - p. 3
  ECIFFO - p. 4
  ECIFFO - p. 5
  ECIFFO - p. 6
  ECIFFO - The Interview
  Five reporters and two photographers and I filled up a section of The People's Café. Had you been walking by, on Haight Street, here's what you would have seen.
  Rev. Mark Grant in Asia
  The Rev. Mark Grant reports back to the Technomad mailing list when he's on the road. This is his report from Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei, and Hong Kong. I keep it because it reflects those early days when a net connection was a novelty when travelling.
  Technomad dealings with sub-normals
  It's not easy being a geek. There are too many people out there who have the authority to say no without any of the ability to say yes. Sigh. Here's another adventure from the edge of credulity.
  The First Group-Wide Microship Project Meeting
  The first group-wide Microship Project meeting happened on 2 March 1996. Here's the story in words and pictures.
  The Microship Group Meeting Follow-Up
  Steve was touched by the gathering. Here's his comments and some photos of magazine covers relating to Steve's adventures.
  The Microship Group Meeting Invitation
  Here's the invitation to the gathering; email sent out by Steve Roberts.
sirius
  Adventures of an Internet Service Provider
  Don Hurter, one of Sirus' founders, writes wonderfully about the trials and tribulations of running an Internet service provider.
  28.8k modem update, Friday evening
  Don provides a snapshot of the migration to 28.8 kbps modems. Frustration with getting early hardware. Warped circuit boards. Sportsters, Supras, Multitechs. ISDN will be more of the same.
  Dealing with Pacific Bell
  Don explains the situation with Pac Bell, the carrier of Sirius' main data circuits. A catalog of screw-ups, incompetence, simple mistakes, and general cluelessness. Be afraid, be very afraid.
  Growing an Internet Service Provider
  Don gives us an insider's eye view of the hard work involved in maintaining and growing an ISP. I got tired just reading the article
  Loose ROMs, busy signals, no sleep, and recursive troubleshooting
  Don's two weeks of trouble with a USR 16-port modem, 3 Portmasters cards, 9 Motorola and 48 Mutiltech modem cards, and one PacBell mishap...
  Modem busy signals mystery solved (hopefully)
  Don finds out Pac Bell's South of Market CO Northern Telecom DMS100 switch is drain-bamaged and will break down when needed most, namely when all the modems are in use!
  Modem madness update
  Don gives an accounting of the trials and tribulations arising from a "simple" upgrading of the modem pool.
  The Cable Company Installation Blues
  Don's best. An in-depth examination of the tomfoolery and short-sighted craftmanship used by some cable installers, related during a walk after a Brookline (MA) snowstorm.
  Sirius Business
  A March 1998 article - by Wendy Tanaka of the San Francisco Examiner staff - about Andreas Glocker, CEO of Sirius Connections.
Web Masters Spinning New Image / As sites soar, job duties have evolved
  An article clipped from the San Francisco Chronicle, 13 February 1997.
Writing effective email
  I encapsulate email/mailing list netiquette for the benefit of newbies at our ISP.

Have you found errors nontrivial or marginal, factual, analytical and illogical, arithmetical, temporal, or even typographical? Please let me know; drop me email. Thanks!
 

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