From: jhmeyers@miu.edu (John H Meyers)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp48
Subject: Re: Noise from new HP48GX?
Date: 21 Sep 1996 06:48:52 GMT

In article <01bba66b.a84ab380$ce7581ce@HTS.premier1.net>,
"Dustin Wehmeyer" <dustin@hightechsolutions.com> writes:
>> Robert George <robert@erc.msstate.edu> wrote:
>> the noise appears to be coming from the LCD panel itself...
>> Sherry S Turechek wrote:
>>  Especially when I use codelock (dont ask me why i use it, i dont 
>>  know..) when i turn it on and it asks for my pw it screams...
>  Not on my GX, the almost imperceptible whine is definitely coming from
>  the keyboard NOT the display.
>> Darrel Wilson <darrel_wilson@bendnet.com> writes:
>> Dave Arnett was kind enough to reply to my post...

Dave is just putting you on!  Don't you know that HP people, much like
politicians, are trained to give out misleading "techno-babble" to try
to totally deceive you (and any eavesdropping competitors) about what's
really going on inside their products, and why?

The truth is, that to cut costs and get the product off the factory floor
seconds faster than any competitor, HP has deliberately installed BUGS
into every HP48 -- not software "bugs," mind you, but REAL bugs
(tiny mosquitos, to be exact), which have been carefully trained and
genetically "programmed" (much more cheaply than now-obsolete human product
inspectors) to crawl through the HP48 as it wends its way from the factory
to your retailer, performing final inspection and last-minute minor repairs
(using nano-technology tools) "on the fly," so to speak.

In many cases, the bugs are still carrying out their pre-programmed tasks
even after the new owner has begun using the HP48, which is why many
new owners still hear the "faint whining" coming from different parts of
their particular unit, depending on what point in the inspection route
has currently been reached.

This also explains why many trivial initial problems experienced by some
owners seem to just mysteriously "go away" with further use (proof that
this technology really works!).

The "CodeLock" library, on the other hand, interferes with the ability
to activate some of the required test routines, and often causes
considerable increase in the volume of the whine as the stymied
inspector is blocked from completing its appointed rounds.

Purchasers of units which have long been gathering dust on the shelves
of less aggressive retailers, however, usually find that the inspection
has long since been completed, and the "whine" has long gone silent.
There is also the fact that the earlier "Rev A-P" strains were not
as efficient at converting electrical energy (yes, they're battery-
powered!), and did not last as long as the latest-developed strains.

Now, the obvious reason why the HP48 case is (or at least is supposed to be)
unopenable, as so many frustrated electronic technicians have complained
about, is simply to prevent the illegal escape of the quarantined bug;
it is simply a fact required by government regulation, much as is the
RF shielding on the "official" HP cable.  Most units (with "S" serial#s)
have actually been assembled in Singapore for many years, and there
is some controversy as to whether the true country of origin of the "bug"
is actually USA, which is what HP has claimed in order to allow re-entry
into US ports without the long quarantine delay otherwise required (a fact
which would obviously be self-defeating to the whole original purpose).  In
fact, the sole reason for the Corvallis Division remaining open is so that
HP can justify its claim that this critical component is still made there.

The only reason that this whole issue is still being hushed up by HP is
that its world-wide patent applications are being widely rejected, as has
many times been the fate of HP technology which is so far ahead of its time.

I hope this finally sets many unresolved issues to rest, and that Andre
will take note and add these to the FAQ ASAP, so that we can stop hearing
any more of this interminable whining about HP noise, etc. which is always
a "fly in the ointment" to the smooth functioning of this newsgroup.

Thank you for your kind inattention.

"I do not speak for HP when I don't post" (and I didn't post this!)

-----------------------------------------------------------
With best wishes from:  John H Meyers  ( jhmeyers@mum.edu )
