psc@lzwi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (10/01/85)
In article <310@proper.UUCP>, carl@proper.UUCP (Carl Greenberg) writes: > The characters in there all had computer-related names in common. You all > must know what "foo" is as in "Lisa Foo" and "foobar". Furthermore, we have > a guy called Hal- and you all must remember 2001: A Space Odyssey. And Kludge > is explained, and of course we have an Osborne in there. It's quite > intentional, I think... Carl Greenberg Geez, do I feel dense. Detective Osborne: If you've never heard of Adam Osborne or Osborne Computers, none of this is going to mean a lot to you! Lisa Foo: Steve Jobs' mostly-ex-girlfriend had a baby daughter named Lisa. Jobs said the child wasn't his; the courts disagreed. Roughly a year later, Apple Computer announced the Lisa (forerunner of the Macintosh). "Foo", as in "foobar" or "fubar", is a common noise word among hackers. Victor Apfel: There was a computer called the Victor 9000 (I think it was called the Sirius 1 or some such in Britain and Europe.) As for "Apfel" - that isn't German for "Apple", is it? Hal Lanier: 2001's HAL 9000, and Lanier word processors. Charles Kludge: "Kludge" is explained. I can't make any plays on either "Charles" or "Patrick William Gavin". None of the minor characters seem to have computer-derived names.