A rather nice gentleman rang this morning from a a company called Cyber something or other, to advise me of problems I was having with my computer.
It was lucky he called because I was unaware of the problems, although it did take a while for effective communication because he had a difficult accent.
I assured him that my Mac doesn’t have problems, but he insisted there was a window problem.
How stupid of me! Of course, it must be my other computer. He asked what it was, and I told him it was a Babbage Differential Engine and it had 8 little windows on its case so the workings could be observed.
He assured me that 8 windows often lead to serious problems. I agreed that it wasn’t all it could be because on cold mornings the windows misted up, and sometimes they got covered in fine spray from the gears when calculating quantum equations. Apparently this is a common problem (he said).
So I told him I would check, but said I could see the gears turning quite nicely, and it makes a nice ticking or whirring noise, but to be safe I would wash the 8 windows with spray on detergent. He wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but I said I’d watch it for a while, and he’s going to ring back.
All he needed to know were a few personal details, so I gave my name as Ada Lovelace to establish an account in case I need their support.
So, anyone else having problems with the 8 windows on their Babbage Differential Engines? Or should I use an earlier model case with just one big window and which gives a greater vista of the workings?
If you post up your phone numbers, I’ll pass them on to him. He’s very keen to help, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
