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The Chimp & Porcupine

Eric B. Krauss recounts the history of the chimp and the porcupine from his extensive archive of Quadlist postings. (Thanks, Eric!)

The first "chimp" reference was pretty frigging funny, so I've taken the liberty of reposting it here for the newbies. It was our illustrious Michael Shaw that started the whole thing:

Date: Thu, 04 Jun 1998 23:33:28 -0500

From: Michael Shaw

Subject: Re: non-standard 040 chips

The 68040 processor chimp in my Quadra 950 came to light this week due to Hard Drive and Power Supply removal to get at the VRAM sockets . . . and it looks nothing like the 68040 in the picture in Macworld (July 1992, Page 150) . . . the picture shows the Q950 board with a flat processor, and mine has a clip on it and a HUGE heat sink . . . looks like a stylized porcupine with a bad case of the bissels. . . .

Are these things standard equipment?

But it was Scott Barber (of course!) that capitalized on Shaw's "chimp" typo (or was it a typo?):

Date: Fri, 05 Jun 1998 20:28:33 -0500

From: SERKER

Subject: New Apple part numbers/The end of my day...

Michael Shaw wrote:

I thought a thesis would stop me, but the 68040 processor chimp has me paralyzed. I hope the letters are coming through clearly, because I can't see the screen very well through the tears.

Are these things standard equipment?

*choking**snort**gurgle**laugh*

I'm stopping for the evening . . . can't answer this question . . . my brain just fell in my lap . . . I never saw the picture of the chimp in Macworld. And just can't figure out how the chimp interacts with the porcupine. . . .

Everyone should read the Quadlist in 40 message sessions . . . it really hurts after a while when you slam into the 68040 processor chimp . . . something technical snaps in your head - all the momentum breaks, and you find yourself babbling along about misspells. . . guess you have to be there to visualize it under the stress load. . . .

and again:

Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 03.01.34 -0500

From: SERKER

Subject: Re: non-standard 040 chips

Michael Shaw wrote:

The chimp in the 950 you have is actually an earlier chimp than the one in Macworld. Motorola started making those chimps back when they couldn't take much heat, and had to clamp this heat sink on them to keep them cool. Later versions of this chimp were capable of handling the heat better, because they were made with a different chimp die.

Are these things standard equipment?

Chimps are always standard equipment on apples. This is about as serious as I can get in this response.

P.S. Quadlisters - I'm back for another session . . . hopefully I'll hit Friday's mail, but I checked messages and now the count starts at 67. Good luck to you all. . . .

and finally, the good sport Mr. Shaw's response:

Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 16:58:28 -0500

From: Michael Shaw

Subject: Re: New Apple part numbers/The end of my day...

Really Scott . . . You are very funny. Don't let everybody tell you different, either.

No kidding aside . . . you really are funny. Seriously. No fooling. I laughed out loud. Honestly. Keep it up. Hilarious. Really. Funny.

And the chimp is quite normal looking, but a bit flat on top, like I said, except for the heat sink. . . .

Michael and the chimp.

Ahh, nothing like the good old days of four months ago . . . but I REFUSE to dig up the kamikaze messages . . . although I always preferred Long Island Tea . . . messed up a friend's Aptiva while upgrading ram under the influence of that vile juice. . . .

<back to Quadlist

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