blufive: (Default)
blufive ([personal profile] blufive) wrote2003-02-16 09:54 pm

Ow...

I've spent half the weekend cobbling together a PC from assorted bits of superfluous tech lying around the house, and then cloning Cal's Parents' PC's hard drive into it. After I eventually got everything working, there remains one question:

Why does poking around in PC innards always rip my fingers to pieces?

I have several small cuts and scrapes on my fingertips. I have broken fingernails.

There are no significant sharp edges in either of the PCs I've been working on. This is not hard physical work by any stretch of the imagination. There was even a lower-than-usual quotient of stubborn connectors. How does this happen?

[identity profile] sbisson.livejournal.com 2003-02-16 02:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Dunno, but one thing I've noticed in the years since I moved away from electronic engineering is how sensitive my fingertips actually are! No solder burns these days...

[identity profile] eggwhite.livejournal.com 2003-02-16 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
When designing PCs that can be modified or repaired by the user, engineers should:

1) Ensure that there are areas where people will have to work by feel by making sure there is enough space to EITHER see what you're doing OR get you hand in to do it, but never both.
2) Ensure that next to the important features in each of these areas there are parts of the chassis with unfiled edges.

This process will ensure that the apparatus recieves the necessary blood sacrifice to allow it to function properly after maintenance.