I received the
above error message the other day as I tried to run Windows on my iMac. The message
was generated from the Windows side – Macs don’t talk this way.
It is not the most
ridiculous message I’ve ever seen on a computer screen, it is just the most
recent ridiculous message I’ve seen on a computer screen.
Why do the geeks
of the world talk this way? Or, more importantly, why to they talk this way to
us? It’s fine with me if they want to gather in their geek circles and rate the
latest pocket protectors and talk about RAM and ROM and megahertz – they can
use whatever language they want in the midst of their secret rituals. But when
it’s time to talk to the public, come on, folks, get real.
“Trust
relationship”? I have no trust relationship with my computer, especially not
with its dark side, the Windows side. And what exactly is the primary domain?
Mordor? Hogwarts? Tora Bora?
Does anyone who
is not a geek really understand what a domain is, or why it’s called that?
Can’t we get past this arcane, insane geekspeak?
This might be my
favorite example:
WFP-01270 The information in the bean is
not valid. Detailed errors should be wrapped within this exception. WFP-00742 A
detail list was specified for IsAllDays, when DisplayTime and/or AmountInTime
was missing or null.
Nothing left to
say after that. Except, how come we never get this message:
I remember a friend of mine from College. He was a Computer Science Major, carrying his box full of data entry cards around while waiting for time on the Mainframe so he could test his program, that sort of thing. Anyway, he was totally brilliant but lacked completely the ability to communicate with the English Language, until we could get a few beers into him. Then, he opened up and even got laid, if I remember correctly.
ReplyDeleteI have always suspected people who have their own small businesses (electricians, plumbers, etc.) often do so because they cannot keep time tables and schedules, so they become their own bosses. As for the Computer Geeks, I have an inkling they had a bit of a problem with the communications thing but found a soothing lack of chaos in binary code. I don't think it is going to change, sadly.
As a computer science major, I regrettably agree with what is said on this page.
ReplyDelete