Comment On Sensitive Computers

I wonder if its a PO that also *sells* mobile phones, most of the UK ones do.

It really irk's me that companies and such use the excuse that "mobile phones damage our equipment", etc. Even though countless studies show that there is no interference of any kind.

Of course, with airplanes, most people would rather not take the risk!

So if I go to that post office, ask for 100 sheets of stamps, and turn on my cell phone just as they are ringing up the total, do you think I could get them for free?

It always works at my Dr's office.

ADB:

I wonder if it's a PO that also *sell's* mobile phone's, most of the UK one's do.

It really irk's me that companie's and such use the excuse that "mobile phone's damage our equipment", etc. Even though countles's studie's show that there is no interference of any kind.

Of cour'se, with airplane's, most people would rather not take the risk!

Fixed that for you.

[T][h][i][r][d][!]

Dammit, those letter drop down boxes take too long.

not first, mobile phone froze my pc\newlinethen it got mad at me\newlineand i repeated it\newline\newline[\][n][e][w][l][i][n][e]

The Nautilus one isn't a WTF. It's just sad. Nerds trying to be funny and stuff.
But I do like the \newline. Looks like LaTeX.

\newline is a LaTeX markup code!

aptent:

ADB:

I wonder if it's a PO that also *sell's* mobile phone's, most of the UK one's do.

It really irk's me that companie's and such use the excuse that "mobile phone's damage our equipment", etc. Even though countles's studie's show that there is no interference of any kind.

Of cour'se, with airplane's, most people would rather not take the risk!

Fixed that for you.

No you didn't. "Sells" is correct here, there's no apostrophe.

Check the example in definition #2.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sell

Also the plural of phone is "phones" not "phone's."

-CC

aptent's excessive use of the "Deppenapostroph" (idiot's apostrophe) is The real WTF here ;) or just very sad?

ContraCorners:

aptent:

ADB:

I wonder if it's a PO that also *sell's* mobile phone's, most of the UK one's do.

It really irk's me that companie's and such use the excuse that "mobile phone's damage our equipment", etc. Even though countles's studie's show that there is no interference of any kind.

Of cour'se, with airplane's, most people would rather not take the risk!

Fixed that for you.

No you didn't. "Sells" is correct here, there's no apostrophe.

Check the example in definition #2.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sell

Also the plural of phone is "phones" not "phone's."

-CC

I was going to reply with something amusing, but my brain's irony detector has blown.

Even more amusingly, many/most/all Australia Post outlets have that sign...

I feel very sad for all the peple with their sarcasm-o-meter and/or irony detector broken.

I'm curious was to what the submitter of the last one was doing on CrimCheckInc.com.

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22(Your+Credit+Card+number+will+be+scrambled+before+transmitting)%22

ContraCorners:

aptent:

ADB:

I wonder if it's a PO that also *sell's* mobile phone's, most of the UK one's do.

It really irk's me that companie's and such use the excuse that "mobile phone's damage our equipment", etc. Even though countles's studie's show that there is no interference of any kind.

Of cour'se, with airplane's, most people would rather not take the risk!

Fixed that for you.

No you didn't. "Sells" is correct here, there's no apostrophe.

Check the example in definition #2.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sell

Also the plural of phone is "phones" not "phone's."

-CC

I think he wa's objecting to your u'se of "irk's". He did thi's by adding apo'strophe's to other word's u'sing the 'same rule's that, apparentl'y, you u'sed for "irk's".

Superdude:

I was going to reply with something amusing, but my brain's irony detector has blown.

I think (it is difficult to be sure) the rule is:

Randomly insert an apostrophe before any "s" near the end of a word.

To distinguish possessives from plurals, put two apostrophes in a possessive.

So that should be:

I wa's going to reply with something amusing, but my brain''s irony detector ha's blown.

Rules subject to change tomorrow, of course.

ContraCorners:

aptent:

ADB:

I wonder if it's a PO that also *sell's* mobile phone's, most of the UK one's do.

It really irk's me that companie's and such use the excuse that "mobile phone's damage our equipment", etc. Even though countles's studie's show that there is no interference of any kind.

Of cour'se, with airplane's, most people would rather not take the risk!

Fixed that for you.

No you didn't. "Sells" is correct here, there's no apostrophe.

Check the example in definition #2.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sell

Also the plural of phone is "phones" not "phone's."

-CC

Whooooosh....thunk!

(the sound of aptent's point going totally over your head...adding to the pile, I suspect)

I like the "You will be doomed to repeat it" one. That is actually a pretty clever/cute message.

The Nautilus one looks to me like someone messed with the localisation files. I tried the same thing in Nautilus, and got this rather saner message as the subtitle:

"If you clear the list of locations, they will be permanently deleted."

However, it's entirely possible that it's me rather than the OP who has the non-standard message...

Gorfblot:

ContraCorners:

aptent:

ADB:

I wonder if it's a PO that also *sell's* mobile phone's, most of the UK one's do.

It really irk's me that companie's and such use the excuse that "mobile phone's damage our equipment", etc. Even though countles's studie's show that there is no interference of any kind.

Of cour'se, with airplane's, most people would rather not take the risk!

Fixed that for you.

No you didn't. "Sells" is correct here, there's no apostrophe.

Check the example in definition #2.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sell

Also the plural of phone is "phones" not "phone's."

-CC

I think he wa's objecting to your u'se of "irk's". He did thi's by adding apo'strophe's to other word's u'sing the 'same rule's that, apparentl'y, you u'sed for "irk's".

Whoops. Missed that one. Sorry. (What can I say? I haven't had any coffee yet today.)

I stand corrected.

- CC

PS FWIW, and it doesn't change your point at all, it wasn't "my" use of irk's, it was ADB's.

ContraCorners:

PS FWIW, and it doesn't change your point at all, it wasn't "my" use of irk's, it was ADB's.

That^ plus the "its":

ADB:

I wonder if its a PO that also *sells* mobile phones, most of the UK ones do.

Oh my god! It's a bug in the LaTex-Kernel!

Using combo boxes for a credit card number is actually a pretty good way to avoid key loggers.

My bank used to do something similar on their login page - but they eventually went back to a normal text box because the combos were just too irritating for most users.

Seems to me that this is a clever piece of social engineering. They clearly don't want to hear people's annoying ringtones in their post office (who can blame them?) and appealing to courtesy rarely works.

I wanted to write a comment, but my mobile phone froze my brain.

Actually, both are possible within the same locale. From the source:

if ((rand() % 10) == 0) {

	/* This is a little joke, shows up occasionally. I only

	 * implemented this feature so I could use this joke.

	 */

	prompt = _("Are you sure you want to forget history?");

	detail = _("If you do, you will be doomed to repeat it.");

} else {

	prompt = _("Are you sure you want to clear the list "

		   "of locations you have visited?");

	detail = _("If you clear the list of locations,"

		   " they will be permanently deleted.");

}

VeryProfessional:

Seems to me that this is a clever piece of social engineering. They clearly don't want to hear people's annoying ringtones in their post office (who can blame them?) and appealing to courtesy rarely works.

Would also help to stop those people that continue to talk on their phones whilst being served, god that annoys me and I'm not even the one serving them!

The cell phone one just irritates me at a fundamental level. They cause brain tumors, they blow up gas stations, they bring down airplanes, and now they damage computer equipment... ugh. I hope it's true that they just don't want to hear the annoying rings and were tired of appealing to courtesy.

I also like how the credit card one says that the credit card number will be "scrambled". I'm guessing that they use some highly secure encryption like ROT13.

To paraphrase one of my all time favorite comments, an apostrophe does not mean

"Look out! Here comes an 'S'!"

A magnet in my phones leather case has wiped parking tickets in the past. So the attendant dodders over and jsut lets you through the barrier... for free... So now I just make a note to put phone and ticket in same pocket...

VeryProfessional:

Seems to me that this is a clever piece of social engineering. They clearly don't want to hear people's annoying ringtones in their post office (who can blame them?) and appealing to courtesy rarely works.

Exactly. People won't do things like that if you ask them politely, but if you make it look official...

Once, at a party, a friend and I taped a sign with the words "PLACE CELL PHONES HERE" on a counter in the host's house and left our phones on it. Despite there being no logical reason for anyone to put a phone down there, an hour later there were six more phones.

KNY:

I'm curious was to what the submitter of the last one was doing on CrimCheckInc.com.

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22(Your+Credit+Card+number+will+be+scrambled+before+transmitting)%22

Ok, I got what they call "Scramble".
If you select dropdown list, you will see numbers 1-9 followed by letter O.
Very clever!

ashen:

A magnet in my phones

keeeeel hiiiim!!

http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/examples.htm

:o)

(Your Credit Card number will be scrambled before transmitting.)

Thanks, but I prefer my credit card number over-easy.

ADB:

It really irk's me that companies and such use the excuse that "mobile phones damage our equipment", etc. Even though countless studies show that there is no interference of any kind.

While I think it's a fine enough safety precaution for airplanes (dare I say it, "Mythbusters" covered this one), the one that ticks me off is the "no cell phones" at gas stations.

It's all based off when, waaaaaaaaaay back when cell phones were brand spanking new and weighed a metric muckton, someone noticed that the batteries used in certain models *might* spark a bit if the connection wasn't right. The fear is so far out of date, it'd be like putting up signs not to park beside someone, because they might bang their elbow on your car when they crank theirs up.

And yet, I still see douchebags walking through a gas station with a lit cigarette.

Found another brillant dropdown:

How do you wish to pay?
* Credit Card
* Check > FAX to 1-505-336-2383.
* Money Order > Mail it in.

RiF:

ashen:

A magnet in my phones

keeeeel hiiiim!!

http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/examples.htm

:o)

Apologie's'; notes' to 'self to learn how to apo'strocis'e.

Anon:

But I do like the \newline. Looks like LaTeX.

It doesn't look like a LaTeX font (or layout).

More likely, it's PostScript.

I found the Nautilus one funny. The "I'm mad at you" might also be a creative "No results" message, although not nearly as funny.

The "See PerceptionErrors.txt for details" makes sense, since there may be more errors than is convenient to show in a dialog box. It might be prudent to show the full path though. For extra UI points, make the program ask if the user wants to open the errors file with notepad.

As for the apostrophes: http://www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif

halcyon1234:

While I think it's a fine enough safety precaution for airplanes (dare I say it, "Mythbusters" covered this one), the one that ticks me off is the "no cell phones" at gas stations.

It's all based off when, waaaaaaaaaay back when cell phones were brand spanking new and weighed a metric muckton, someone noticed that the batteries used in certain models *might* spark a bit if the connection wasn't right. The fear is so far out of date, it'd be like putting up signs not to park beside someone, because they might bang their elbow on your car when they crank theirs up.

And yet, I still see douchebags walking through a gas station with a lit cigarette.

According to multiple news sources, the problem wasn't traced back to older cell phone batteries, but rather to static electricity collected when entering and exiting the front seat of the car to get a ringing cell phone that was stored in the center console.

Hobson:

I feel very sad for all the peple with their sarcasm-o-meter and/or irony detector broken.

Oh I'm REALLY sad people's sarcasm-o-meter is broken. No, really, I'm just SO upset by it. Nothing makes me sadder than when some one can't tell people are being sar cas tic.

Aaron:

The cell phone one just irritates me at a fundamental level. They cause brain tumors, they blow up gas stations, they bring down airplanes, and now they damage computer equipment... ugh. I hope it's true that they just don't want to hear the annoying rings and were tired of appealing to courtesy.

I had a Dell laptop which seemingly randomly rebooted all through my shift (I was working Helpdesk, and we could bring our own computers to goof around on during downtime.) I eventually realized that it only happened when my phone was near my computer and it received a call.

I'm sure I was the odd case, but interference from phones is fairly commonly heard through speakers, too. The store could be concerned, not only about real damage, but about damage to sales if the speakers sound like crap because someone's mobile is nearby.

tdb:

I found the Nautilus one funny. The "I'm mad at you" might also be a creative "No results" message, although not nearly as funny.

The "See PerceptionErrors.txt for details" makes sense, since there may be more errors than is convenient to show in a dialog box. It might be prudent to show the full path though. For extra UI points, make the program ask if the user wants to open the errors file with notepad.

As for the apostrophes: http://www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif

Open with notepad? Um, don't you mean open /w your default .txt editor? I hate when programs open something with Window's default program instead of the program I have associated with it. (On Windows, I <3 Notepad++).

halcyon1234:

And yet, I still see douchebags walking through a gas station with a lit cigarette.

True story: I was filling my tank and saw a guy sitting by the cashier's door smoking. Not wanting to go up with him in a large ball of flame (didn't care so much if he went alone) I pointed to the No Smoking sign about 3 feet away, complete with international symbols for the fatally illiterate.

"It's OK", he replied, "I know the owner."

Unfortunately at that point my brain experienced a temporary DOS as I tried to parse his logic. I wanted to say something like "and the owner's magic powers, which prevent gasoline from burning, protect not only himself but his friends?" but didn't think of it fast enough.

Note to self: Don't go that gas station anymore; their product doesn't burn.

because of the "nearest poting box" sign i suspect that it is a broadway post office, isn't it?
It's been a long time since I've been there, but I still remember that there was sign like this there...
Anyway - sometimes a ringing phone near mouse is able to move the cursor on the screen randomly, but it has to be verz near and it works only on some type of mouse(and NO, it is not because of vibrations:)

Of course, instead of scrambling, they could always have just used SSL:

<FORM action="http://fp1.formmail.com/cgi-bin/fm192 " method="POST">

Interestingly, their <select>s are all named either X or Y. I assume that most browsers put duplicate entries in the order they are seen on the page, but I certainly doubt that's a documented part of the spec...

jpers36:

halcyon1234:

While I think it's a fine enough safety precaution for airplanes (dare I say it, "Mythbusters" covered this one), the one that ticks me off is the "no cell phones" at gas stations.

It's all based off when, waaaaaaaaaay back when cell phones were brand spanking new and weighed a metric muckton, someone noticed that the batteries used in certain models *might* spark a bit if the connection wasn't right. The fear is so far out of date, it'd be like putting up signs not to park beside someone, because they might bang their elbow on your car when they crank theirs up.

And yet, I still see douchebags walking through a gas station with a lit cigarette.

According to multiple news sources, the problem wasn't traced back to older cell phone batteries, but rather to static electricity collected when entering and exiting the front seat of the car to get a ringing cell phone that was stored in the center console.

I live in the UAE. At the gas stations here, refuelling is by gas stations attendants only. Since it is so hot here here, nobody (and I mean NOBODY as in 0.0000000%) is switching off the engine whilst the car is being refuelled in order to keep the AC running ........ Nothing ever happens. The most deadly roads in the world are here, though.

ggeens:

Anon:

But I do like the \newline. Looks like LaTeX.

It doesn't look like a LaTeX font (or layout).

More likely, it's PostScript.

I dunno, looks like RTF to me...

Ha! Rotsky'd!!

GrahamS:

Using combo boxes for a credit card number is actually a pretty good way to avoid key loggers.

As long as they also disable the keyboard in those fields... Otherwise, you'll have people like me who just tab between the combo boxes and make a selection by pressing the keys to jump to the appropriate option.

Richard:

Of course, instead of scrambling, they could always have just used SSL:

<FORM action="http://fp1.formmail.com/cgi-bin/fm192 " method="POST">

Interestingly, their <select>s are all named either X or Y. I assume that most browsers put duplicate entries in the order they are seen on the page, but I certainly doubt that's a documented part of the spec...

That's OK -- if you're dumb enough to use their web site in the first place, you're just about guaranteed to be using IE. (probably IE 5)