Sticky balls? Wash your mouse out
On Call Friday mornings can mean only one thing: El Reg’s weekly instalment of On Call, where readers share their tales of users’, um, naivety.
This week, as a special treat for making it through the first month of 2019, your Vulture has picked out two stories from the On Call mailbag.
Both take place back in the mid-’90s, when computer mice were something of an unfamiliar challenge for users.
First we hear from «Phil», who was working for a major acute hospital as senior desktop support when he received a call from a user whose mouse wasn’t working.
Phil asked whether the device had completely conked out or was «just a bit sticky».
After all, «these were the days of mouse balls that cheerfully hoovered up pretty much anything that was on the desk» and needed a good clean before they’d start moving again.
«Well,» replied the user. «It was a bit sticky. I spilled orange juice on it, you see.»
Ah, said Phil, glad to have the problem resolved.
