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Engineering Memo on How to Fix a Defective Mouse Product
Interdepartmental Engineering Memo | Unknown | Unknown

Posted on 11/22/2002 9:58:30 AM PST by N. Theknow

This was a real memo sent out by a computer company to its employees in all seriousness. It went to all field engineers about a computer peripheral problem. The author of this memo was quite genuine. The word is that the engineers literally rolled on the floor! (Especially note the last couple of sentences.)

Re: Replacement of Mouse Balls.

If a mouse fails to operate or should it perform erratically, it may need a ball replacement. Mouse balls are now available as FRU (Field Replacement Units). Because of the delicate nature of this procedure, replacement of mouse balls should only be attempted by properly trained personnel.

Before proceeding, determine the type of mouse balls by examining the underside of the mouse. Domestic balls will be larger and harder than foreign balls. Ball removal procedures differ depending upon the manufacturer of the mouse. Foreign balls can be replaced using the pop off method. Domestic balls are replaced by using the twist off method.

Mouse balls are not usually static sensitive. However, excessive handling can result in sudden discharge. Upon completion of ball replacement, the mouse may be used immediately.

It is recommended that each person have a pair of spare balls for maintaining optimum customer satisfaction. Any customer missing his balls should contact the local personnel in charge of removing and replacing these necessary items. Please keep in mind that a customer without properly working balls is an unhappy customer.


TOPICS: Political Humor/Cartoons; Technical
KEYWORDS: computer; mouse; pointer
Engineers, gotta love 'em.
1 posted on 11/22/2002 9:58:31 AM PST by N. Theknow
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To: N. Theknow
Please keep in mind that a customer without properly working balls is an unhappy customer.

ROFLMAO!

2 posted on 11/22/2002 10:01:22 AM PST by Fiddlstix
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To: N. Theknow
Without an actual reference, I'd be inclined to write this one up as an internet hoax. Anyone with Outlook Express and an internet account can fabricate a "realistic" looking memo, and it travels the globe in hours.
3 posted on 11/22/2002 10:13:33 AM PST by SpaceBar
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To: N. Theknow
It is recommended that each person have a pair of spare balls for maintaining optimum customer satisfaction.

Trent Lott did not get this memo.

4 posted on 11/22/2002 10:15:32 AM PST by Blue Screen of Death
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To: SpaceBar
You are probably right. Either that, or it is real and was sent out as a joke within a legitimate company. All engineers are not humorless. As a matter of fact, I know two that aren't humorless.

The way it reads, it sounds like an Onion or BSNN product.
Whatever the case, it really is funny.
5 posted on 11/22/2002 10:25:28 AM PST by VMI70
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To: N. Theknow
Please keep in mind that a customer without properly working balls is an unhappy customer.

The Source of Hillary's Perenial Disatisfaction

6 posted on 11/22/2002 10:26:00 AM PST by joesnuffy
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To: N. Theknow
This article from Snopes says:

The IBM "mouse balls" memo is one of the oldest bits of Internet jokelore. Examples of it show up in USENET archives as far back as 1989, and scarcely anyone who had an e-mail address back then didn't receive this in his inbox more than once, which certainly drops it into the long-beard category with a loud thud.

Was this a real memo? "Real" in the sense that someone at IBM actually wrote it and distributed it to field service techs, perhaps, but it was always intended as an occupational in-joke; it wasn't a "serious" memo that some hapless supervisor inadvertently worded as a hilarious tour de force of double entendres.

The memo has remained remarkably unchanged through the years. As the piece has been passed from hand to hand through cyberspace, a few alterations have been made to the text ( the "Please keep in mind that a customer without properly working balls is an unhappy customer" zinger wasn't in the original, and today's "Any customer missing his balls should contact the local personnel in charge of removing and replacing these necessary items" used to be "Any customer missing his balls should suspect local personnel of removing these necessary functional items"), but for the most part what turns up in inboxes now is fairly close to what was being circulated more than a decade ago.

7 posted on 11/22/2002 10:32:24 AM PST by HarryDunne
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To: Blue Screen of Death
Trent Lott did not get this memo.

No - but he does have a pair of mouse balls.
I know because I sent them to him - with a nice letter about how if he's going to be a mouse, he should at least have a pair of mouse balls!

No response yet.

8 posted on 11/22/2002 11:21:14 AM PST by grobdriver
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To: VMI70
This is an old BBS joke memo. Not that I'm old but I've seen it a few times.
9 posted on 11/22/2002 5:38:17 PM PST by Bogey780
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To: Bogey780
From post #7, above: "The IBM "mouse balls" memo is one of the oldest bits of Internet jokelore. Examples of it show up in USENET archives as far back as 1989..."

It is really funny and today was the first time I saw it. That concerns me somewhat, as I invented the internet, contrary to someone else's claim.

Cheers
10 posted on 11/22/2002 6:24:15 PM PST by VMI70
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To: N. Theknow
I have no use for any that small. Mine's the size of a cueball, and just about as heavy.
11 posted on 11/22/2002 10:52:25 PM PST by perfect stranger
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To: mhking
I haven't laughed this hard in quite some time.
12 posted on 11/22/2002 10:58:02 PM PST by farmfriend
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