Computers fines drivers for ‘parking’ in a traffic jam

Computers can be wrong. Yes, we know what the system says but it is wrong. This bit of computer knowing resulted in human beings fined £100 per carload:

Parking cameras went live at the Ashford Retail Park in Kent in April, with signs telling drivers the new maximum stay is three hours.

But motorists got caught in gridlock on Easter Monday, and were trapped in the car park for hours when they struggled to join traffic on adjoining roads.

Says one customer parked in neutral:

Mr Donald continued: “On Monday we received a penalty charge notice from Highview Parking who enforce the three hour time limit on parking at this site.

“They must have had a flood of Penalty Charge Notices from this day.

“What troubles me is that there’s no quality control. It was utter madness. It’s just a money making exercise.

“I find it rather disappointing that these companies apply no common sense or quality control to their issuing of parking fines to innocent motorists who have over stayed due to no fault of their own.”

They apply computer sense.

Spotter: Daily Mail

Anorak

Posted: 10th, May 2017 | In: Strange But True, Technology, The Consumer | Comment

Paleotechnology: A Curious Glimpse Into An 80s Computer Book

THERE”S always a good time to be had touring through old computer books, especially if there’s lots to point at and laugh condescendingly. Technology has advanced so exponentially that a 1980s computer textbook may as well be ancient Sanskrit written on palm leaves. Suffice it to say, things have come a long way in just a short amount of time, and it’s a lot of fun to look back. So, let’s jump into Living With Computers by Patrick G. McKeown (1986).

“A complete computer system – user, software, CPU, internal memory, secondary storage, keyboard, monitor, and printer – is shown here.”

Yeoman Lowbrow

Posted: 10th, April 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Technology | Comments (5)

When Home Computers Caused Raptures of Transcendental Ecstasy

BELIEVE it or not, it was a hard sell in the early 1980s to convince people to buy a computer for the home.  The contraptions were insanely expensive, and they simply couldn’t do a whole lot.  Something as simple as filing recipes was a tall order for an ’82 PC.  Of course, we were happy with terrible graphics because we knew nothing better – yet, as enticing as having Pong in the living room did sound, the expense was simply out of the ballpark for most families.

Subsequently, it was time for advertisers to play hard ball.  No longer were they selling you something that would be a nice asset to your home office or entertainment center.  Those days were over. Now, it was being sold as a piece of equipment that was quite literally going to gob smack your very soul.  This wasn’t a simple piece of hardware like a microwave  – this was a trans-dimensional gift from the gods, and you will never – I repeat, NEVER – be the same.

The tactic worked, and the masses lined up to splurge their life savings on computers and games.  Here are some of the images and adverts during the height of the digital penetration….

Behold the Answer to All Our Prayers.  It’s reminiscent of the apes surrounding the 2001: A Space Odyssey obelisk.  And notice the Holy Aura surrounding this gift from the Heavens.  Never mind the fact that they haven’t figured out yet that it’s facing the wrong way.  No matter.  Timmy’s college fund was well spent.

Yeoman Lowbrow

Posted: 12th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Technology | Comments (3)

Girl-hating gamer boys: Quit thinking with the Smaller of Your Two Heads

ACCORDING to 1980s pop culture stereotypes, anyone who likes computers is compensating for being a socially clueless nerd who cannot get laid.  Kudos to pop culture for evolving beyond that, but why the hell are today’s gamer boys trying so hard to revive old stereotypes?

For over a week now, male gamers have been freaking out over news that a woman— 19-year Microsoft veteran Julie Larson-Green — has been named the new head of the Xbox division. Not that the company is any feminist utopia (or dystopia, depending on your preference); it’s the same Xbox which, just last month, got called out by Anita Sarkeesian for introducing its new line of games and  “revealing to us exactly zero games featuring a female protagonist for the next generation”.

Jennifer Abel

Posted: 13th, July 2013 | In: Key Posts, Money, Technology, The Consumer | Comment (1)