Who, Me? Techie sent to fix Nobel Prize winner’s PC almost set it on fire

The Register receives reader contributions for a weekly column titled "Who, Me?", where individuals share their intriguing workplace experiences. This week, the featured story is from a reader, identified as "Marc", who graduated in the early 1990s and began his career by supporting PCs for highly respected professors (VIPs) at his alma mater's graduate school.

Among Marc's memorable encounters was when he was tasked with fixing a Nobel Prize-winning professor's computer. The computer in question was an IBM PC powered by an Intel 286 processor. "Take a moment to remember the physicality of the humble nine-pin RS-232 connector," Marc cautioned, noting that early 1990s IBM connectors were physically identical but sometimes had the power pin defined differently.

One day, a VIP's mouse was malfunctioning, preventing them from conducting Very Important Work. Marc quickly replaced the mouse and plugged it into the first available nine-pin port. To his horror, the PC began to smoke, emitting a foul, dangerous electrical smoke that threatened the Very Important Science at hand. In a fit of rage, Marc kicked the power cord out of the wall socket—a move he described as akin to a Baguazhang assassin's strike.

Recognizing his error, Marc took a few moments to regain composure, assessed the situation, and plugged the mouse into the correct port. The PC was safely powered up again, and the smoke disappeared. Marc confirmed the PC was functioning correctly and opened the VIP's office door, dissolving the olfactory evidence of his mistake.

To Marc's surprise, his VIP went on to win a Nobel Prize. The article concludes with a humorous note: "History will record his achievements but will never know the man who almost set his PC on fire to replace a Very Important Mouse."