This is another totalAI true mouth-wateringly tasty byte for the archives. Call me IshmAIel because that is truly not my name.
Also, no AI was harmed in the telling of this story, except for the picture of course.
As a wee lad fresh out of University, my first job in IT included supporting vintage (then cutting edge) early 1990’s computers for Very Important Professors (VIP’s) in a graduate school at my esteemed alma mater.
Some, but not all, of these VIPs would go on to win Nobel Prizes. However, to be clear, none had achieved such a rarefied honor at the time. This story is about myself, a simple request, and a snazzy IBM 286 computer used by one of the few who would eventually ascend to the stellar heights.
Take a moment to remember the physicality of the humble RS-232 connector. Brilliant in simplicity but standards for what pin goes to where for the exact physical form was never exactly a standard for actual cables that all looked the same. A connector could possibly not be RS-232, even if it looks exactly like RS-232. Especially if it was IBM proprietary hardware.
For an actual serial RS-232, the power pin was well defined. But those of a certain age may remember a different proprietary IBM pinning for the physically identical cable connector.
Specifically the power pin.
The incident was frightening at the time, but not to worry. This is not a terrible story. It was simple mouse upgrade for a Very Important Professor whose mouse was just not working right for his Very Important Work. I plugged in the new mouse into the enticingly accepting port, started it up, and the computer started to smoke!
Yes smoke. Immediate and unforgiving smoke.
Being a clever lad, I quickly kicked out the plug with all the fury of a Baguazhang assassin. Then, I took a few deep breaths to assess the situation. My mistake was simple. I had plugged the mouse into the wrong physically identical port.
After plugging things into their best place, I powered up and no smoke! While running all the diagnostics appropriate to the time I quietly opened the door to vent any offending smoke and all was right in the world.
My VIP did eventually get that Nobel Prize, I like to think I helped in some small way. History will record his achievements but will never know the man who almost set his PC on fire.