I always assumed ralph was named for Hugo Gernsback’s character.
I always thought it was Ralph Wiggum but he had to settle for ralph124c, probably because his keyboard is made in China.
Ah, that’s the problem. Ralph bought the Black and Decker toaster oven that was advertised in the 1911 issue of Modern Electronics. Well, I’m glad that’s explained.
Unfortunately, it was meant to be a reference to a classic science fiction novella, and by Hugo Gernsback he meant Cyril M. Kornbluth.
Tell us, Ralph, how are the blanket trees and ham bushes?
Speaking of the OP’s username, it took me an embarrassingly long time to get it: Ralph, One to Foresee. As in, the robot Ralph in the story sees the future.
And electronics quality has gone downhill, mostly because getting people to pay for dinguses that are better quality than a mere commodity is very difficult. I blame the replacement of specialized stores with all-in-one general stores, like Macy’s, Woolworth’s, and Wal-Mart.
Keyboards in specific have taken a real nosedive: IBM’s Model M was a tank and could have been ridden by Patton right up Hitler’s asshole. Model Ms made in the 1980s are still in perfect working condition, and the ones that aren’t are likely worth repairing. Keyboards made in the 1990s by commodity hardware makers are mostly nonfunctional crap now.
Well, there’s an argument. Why should they be? Everytime I’ve bought a new computer (every four years or so) a new keyboard has come with it. I’ve only once had to replace a keyboard, and all that needed was walking over to the closet and pulling one out of the stack of spares.
I believe it derives from the first pulp SF magazine story, “Ralph124c41+” by Hugo Gernsbeck. (“One to foresee for one, plus”)
9Ralph;s typose are ifnamous0 But he does come up with some interesting questions!
I used to have a Model M keyboard lying around just in case I might need a spare, but never actually used it. That thing was huge and heavy, taking up a lot of desktop space and the keys were making that annoying clicking sound that was so popular back then. It was obviously designed for people who were used to typing on typewriters.
It is good they don’t make keyboards like this anymore.
I could pound on those early keyboards and they didn’t break. The last few keyboards I have trouble with capitalization, because I don’'t press shift hard enough for capitals about 90% of the time. I started pressing shift hard enough to get capital letters and and the leg on the shift side broke off at in a couple days. No slant to my keyboard now it has to lay flat on the desk. The old keyboards were solid enough that I think you could hit an attacker with one and concuss them. It would have likely worked afterward.
Then again I remember paying $150 for a optical mouse a few years earlier.
You know, I hear this a lot, about how the old keyboards were tougher than the ones nowadays, and I want to know who’s typing so hard that they’re smashing their keyboards into bits? In all my years of computing, I’ve never once had a keyboard break on me. Maybe I’m not getting worked up enough about my threads here or something.
Why aren’t you typing with hammers like the rest of us? Clearly, there’s something wrong with you.
Oh, and I thought ralph124c was speaking German or something.
It’s more about the internals of the keyboard. They now have a thin metal on plastic sheet circuits. The old ones were on the solid circuit board material mounted on thick metal backing and the key contacts area lasted much longer.
I have a Black & Decker drill so ancient I used it to install a car stereo in my '74 Chevy Vega.
The Vega is long since (deservedly) a lump of charcoal*; the drill is still going strong.
*actually not a bad car, if you didn’t mind having to start it with a screwdriver.
I used a car jack on the starter of my 69 Chevy Impala when the solenoid was bad. Short two terminals and the starter runs.
Quality isn’t what it used to be! It’s a balck day for us all.
Then again, it never was.
Things are never that balck and wheat. There are always shades of gay.
Black and Decker makes all kinds of products and many of them are quite durable.
However, I knew before I opened this thread that the rant was about the infamous B&D Toaster Oven.
Those things are engineered evil. For whatever you want to do with one of those they are too big,small, uneven, hot, cold shallow, deep etc.
When you finally locate a setting that will toast a bagel properly it then turns the next one to a lump of charcoal. Bread is raw white on one side and burned black on the other.
Anything that might possibly drip on one of the elements most surely will do so.
Those little rotary timers will work flawlessly until that one time when you are busy or distracted. At that time the timer will freeze and turn your last open faced sandwich into a glowing ember.
They are a major bitch to clean and require periodic cleaning episodes where, after one considerably long cleaning session they will catastrophically fail on the first use. Thereby laughing at you for wasting all of your time to produce a “one use” broken “clean” appliance.
In which the protagonist often used the introductory phrase “As you know…” (see my earlier post)
I thought more people would get it.
Oh… I can get behind this post. Our B&D toaster oven one day decided it no longer wanted to work as an oven. We had to use the toast setting for everything.
And we have a B&D can opener. It also has problems. It sticks in the On position even after removing the can and runs for a few minutes before shutting off (if I let it).
For Christmas, I received a wonderful new toaster oven/convection oven combo made by Cuisinart. I love this one. No problems and cooks exactly the way it’s supposed to on each setting.
I won’t buy B&D products anymore.