Weird Feature

[firstfrost]

So, the "update" part of this update is: We're back from the Frozen North. It wasn't nearly as frozen as the first time I was there, the time that permanently traumatized me with respect to Minnesota (0 degrees, plus wind chill, and it was time to put up the Christmas lights). When you look at my family, you can see where I come from. I'm told I sound just like my mother, I talk with her hand gestures; I'm just like my sister, except the bits where I'm not. But harrock's family, though they're all nice people - I'm always a little mystified. If I had to pick a family for him out of a lineup, this isn't the one I would have expected.

I did get a lot of knitting done, mostly finishing up (okay, one spoiler) presents. The blue socks finished up with about a yard of yarn to spare; had I been paying more attention, I'm sure I would have been worrying terribly.

But the picture I noticed on my camera, and the one that caused the title of this post, is the one of the top screen on harrock's new computer. It has a built in top screen to play solitaire on. The mind boggles! When do you need to play solitaire that you can't play it on the computer? (When you're in your server room?)

Comments

[twe.livejournal.com]

Okay, the little screen for solitaire is even weirder than the TVs on refrigerators...

[kirisutogomen.livejournal.com]

No, no, that's not right at all. You're lying to us about something, but I'm not sure what. I'm quite certain that no one would go to the trouble of implanting a little LCD plus several buttons just for solitaire.

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Well, okay, it's not *just* for solitaire. But solitaire is one of the two or three apps. :)

[kirisutogomen.livejournal.com]

That's still plenty weird. I hope the other apps aren't minesweeper and hearts.

[eichin.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, it's a microsoft-driven "sidekick" screen; they convinced/coerced some vendors into adding them, then failed to deliver on any particular *reason* to have them. (There's supposed to be some PDA-like apps for them, so you could see your schedule from outlook directly - which noone seems to want as an alternative to an *actual PDA*...)

[jdbakermn.livejournal.com]

So, whereabouts in Minnesota were you?

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Minneapolis. (And Madison, which is in that other state starting with a zig-zag...)

[kelkyag]

The colors and pattern play together very nicely in the blue sock. Spiffy!

Perhaps the extra solitaire window is the hardware equivalent of an easter egg?

[nuclearpolymer.livejournal.com]

That screen is incredibly strange. I feel like it should be programmed to display a running monologue from the computer, commenting about what you're working on.

[kirisutogomen.livejournal.com]

"I can't believe you opened Microsoft Word to do that. Haven't you ever heard of Notepad? You reserved 130 Mbytes of my RAM to jot down the name of a book someone recommended?"

"Did you read that dialog box? Or did you just click 'OK' without even looking? I would guess, by the 0.13 seconds between when I displayed the box and when you clicked on it, that you didn't read it in much detail. Well, that's up to you, but don't smack my monitor when you find out what you just agreed to."