us269574@mmm.serc.3m.com (Darryn J. Kozak) (12/05/90)
I received an unusual dialog error message yesterday and was wondering if
it was truly an error - or maybe a virus. I was running an application
(Diskfit - backup utility), when a dialog box was displayed that had a
bomb in it, the following message: "Sorry a critiical shortage of memory
has forced this program to be terminated. Please assign blame below:",
four check boxes (labeled: programmer, user, hardware, cosmic rays), and
a default button labeled "Finder").
Is this a Diskfit error, a system error, a virus - someones idea of a joke?
At the time I didn't think it was very funny, since I had just backed up
about 45MB of 55MB to floppies.
Anyone know?
Darryn Kozak
3M Center
260-4A-08
St. Paul, MN 55144
phone: 612-733-3271
email: us269574@mmm.3m.com or kozak@umn-cs.edu
FAX: 612-737-3213boris@world.std.com (Boris Levitin) (12/07/90)
us269574@mmm.serc.3m.com (Darryn J. Kozak) writes: >I received an unusual dialog error message yesterday and was wondering if >it was truly an error - or maybe a virus. I was running an application >(Diskfit - backup utility), when a dialog box was displayed that had a >bomb in it, the following message: "Sorry a critiical shortage of memory >has forced this program to be terminated. Please assign blame below:", >four check boxes (labeled: programmer, user, hardware, cosmic rays), and >a default button labeled "Finder"). >Is this a Diskfit error, a system error, a virus - someones idea of a joke? >At the time I didn't think it was very funny, since I had just backed up >about 45MB of 55MB to floppies. >Anyone know? > Darryn Kozak > 3M Center > 260-4A-08 > St. Paul, MN 55144 > phone: 612-733-3271 > email: us269574@mmm.3m.com or kozak@umn-cs.edu > FAX: 612-737-3213 I think it's part of the program. I remember reading about it in one of the magazines.
chapman@ug.cs.dal.ca (Paul Chapman) (12/08/90)
In article <1990Dec5.153445.7094@mmm.serc.3m.com> us269574@mmm.serc.3m.com (Darryn J. Kozak) writes: >I received an unusual dialog error message yesterday and was wondering if >it was truly an error - or maybe a virus. I was running an application >(Diskfit - backup utility), when a dialog box was displayed that had a >bomb in it, the following message: "Sorry a critiical shortage of memory >has forced this program to be terminated. Please assign blame below:", >four check boxes (labeled: programmer, user, hardware, cosmic rays), and >a default button labeled "Finder"). > >Is this a Diskfit error, a system error, a virus - someones idea of a joke? > >At the time I didn't think it was very funny, since I had just backed up >about 45MB of 55MB to floppies. > >Anyone know? > Although I don't use DiskFit, I suspect that the program ran out of memory. When a program tries to allocate memory and for one reason or another it can't, it gets a message back to that effect. It's then up to the program to cope with the situation as well as it can. Unfortunately, running out of memory is difficult to handle easily without greatly complicating matters and so programs typically just halt whatever they're doing and tell you. The dialog box you got, IMHO, was the programer having a bit of fun in the middle of the night. It's probably not a virus. -- -= Paul Chapman -=- chapman@ug.cs.dal.ca -=- pc@ac.dal.ca (BitNet) =- -=-=-=-=-=-=-= Put Humourous Quote of Your Choice Here =-=-=-=-=-=-=-
phil@and.cs.liv.ac.uk (Phil Jimmieson) (12/11/90)
In article <1990Dec5.153445.7094@mmm.serc.3m.com>, us269574@mmm.serc.3m.com (Darryn J. Kozak) writes: > I received an unusual dialog error message yesterday and was wondering if > it was truly an error - or maybe a virus. I was running an application > (Diskfit - backup utility), when a dialog box was displayed that had a > bomb in it, the following message: "Sorry a critiical shortage of memory > has forced this program to be terminated. Please assign blame below:", > four check boxes (labeled: programmer, user, hardware, cosmic rays), and > a default button labeled "Finder"). > > Is this a Diskfit error, a system error, a virus - someones idea of a joke? Apparently it's a joke. The alert that you got is ID 291 - I just went looking into DiskFit with ResEdit and found exactly the dialog that you describe. > > At the time I didn't think it was very funny, since I had just backed up > about 45MB of 55MB to floppies. > Maybe they should have included a smiley... :-) Phil Jimmieson, *************************************************** Computer Science Dept., * JANET : phil@uk.ac.liv.cs.and * Liverpool University, * INTERNET : phil@and.cs.liv.ac.uk * PO Box 147 *************************************************** Liverpool L69 3BX "This message contains wit, sophistication, class, (UK) 051-794-3689 style, and 3 other words I don't understand as well..."