I know there are many cool shirts, but here’s one that would actually be useful. It’s a “No. I will not fix your computer” shirt.
Internet Search Challenge: How to open a soda can if the push-pull tab broke off?
Today, at work, I bought a soda can from the vending machine. When I wanted to open the can, the push-pull tab broke off and I was unable to open the can. As a result, I decided that I will spend some company paid time to search for the answer to this question: “How to manually open (without any help of devices, such as a can opener) a soda can with a broken push-pull tab?”
I was pretty certain that I will find the answer, but was surprised that I couldn’t even get close to finding it. So I’m posting it as a challenge. If you find the answer to this very troubling question, post it in the comments section.
Thank you.
Oh, and if you’re interested, while looking for the answer to my question, I found an answer to another question: “Why do people tap on soda cans before opening them?”
Internet Helpdesk
Just a quick one – a funny movie about an Internet helpdesk.
To make sure that you watched the entire thing, answer the following question: What is a 12 o’clock flasher?
(Thanks to Doron)
Google Base Launched
Google Base was launched today. And when I say “launched” I, of course, mean that it is still in beta as per Google’s policy of releasing stuff that is not completely finished yet works well enough to use.
So much has already been written about Google Base that I will only say that this is a service, which lets you store items, so you can search in them later on. Basically, it’s a free database to store your public data (information and images). For example, a private person can use it to advertise the car he/she is selling, or a recipe for fruit cake.
The reason I’m posting about it is because I want to see how long it will take for someone to develop a Google Base plugin for WordPress (the software this blog runs on) so you can post and backup in Google Base.
On a side note, check out what a search for “all your base are belong to Google” brings up.
VroomBox
User Interface Oddities #1
In MSN Messenger 7.5, the options window is composed of many option categories. In the “File Transfer” category the following option exists:
“Automatically share backgrounds and accept shared backgrounds”
I think this option shouldn’t be in the “File Transfer” category, as the user is not supposed to understand that sharing backgrounds requires a file transfer. If anything, it should be in the “Messages” category, where the smiley options (accept smileys or not) are.
Here’s a screen capture (click to see a slightly bigger version)
FARK.com
Drew Curtis’ FARK.com is a great place to consume news quickly. Just a look at the front page and you’re updated with the latest headlines from all around the world.
Computer Stupidities
Everyone likes computer stupidities. If you think the coffee tray in the computer is a funny support story, then you’d like this link. Some stories there are truly hard to believe, but all of them are hilarious.
The International Obfuscated C Code Contest
Some programmers actually like writing messed up code. That’s why there’s a contest for it, which is called The International Obfuscated C Code Contest. The winners of 2005’s contest have been announced, but the entries are not on the website yet.
However, you can see the winning entries of years before. One of my favorites is this code, which “takes a single command line argument, transcribes the argument text into Tolkien’s Elvish letters, and writes the transcription to standard output as a portable graymap (PGM) file.” Another one is this code, which “translates ASCII text into semaphore code.” (take a look at the link to see an example. It’s pretty cool.)
History’s Worst Software Bugs
Wired has an article reviewing some of the worst software bugs in history.
(via Download Squad)