| Marie Ringler on Wed, 11 Sep 96 13:59 METDST |
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| nettime: kabinda (fwd) |
>Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 21:20:08 -0400 (EDT) >From: malgosia askanas <[email protected]> >To: [email protected] >Subject: kabinda (fwd) >Sender: [email protected] >Precedence: bulk >Reply-To: [email protected] > >From: [email protected] >Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 20:47:53 -0400 >To: [email protected] >Subject: IC: kabinda > > > KABINDA, ZAIRE > > In a move IBM officials are hailing as a major step in the >company's ongoing worldwide telecommunications revolution, M'wana Ndeti, a >member of Zaire's Bantu tribe, used an IBM global uplink network modem >yesterday to crush a nut. > > Ndeti, who spent 20 minutes trying to open the nut by hand, easily >cracked it open by smashing it repeatedly with the powerful modem. "I could >not crush the nut by myself," said the 47-year-old Ndeti, who added the >savory nut to a thick, peanut-based soup minutes later. "With IBM's help, I >was able to break it." > > Ndeti discovered the nut-breaking, 28.8 V.34 modem yesterday, when >IBM was shooting a commercial in his southwestern Zaire village. During a >break in shooting, which shows African villagers eagerly teleconferencing >via computer with Japanese schoolchildren, Ndeti snuck onto the set and >took the modem, which he believed would serve well as a "smashing" utensil. > > Just after Ndeti shattered the nut, a 200-person Southern Baptist >gospel choir, on hand for the taping of the IBM commercial, broke out into >raucous, joyous song in celebration of the tribesman's accomplishment. IBM >officials were not surprised the longtime computer giant was able to >provide Ndeti with practical solutions to his everyday problems. "Our >telecommunications systems offer people all over the world global >networking solutions that fit their specific needs," said Herbert Ross, >IBM's director of marketing. "Whether you're a nun cloistered in an Italian >abbey or an Aborigine in Australia's Great Sandy Desert, IBM has the ideas >to get you where you want to go today." > > According to Ndeti, of the modem's many powerful features, most >impressive was its hard plastic casing, which easily sustained several >minutes of vigorous pounding against a large stone. "I put the nut on a >rock, and I hit it with the modem," Ndeti said. "The modem did not break. >It is a good modem." IBM was so grateful for Ndeti's demonstration that >they gave him a new, state-of-the-art IBM workstation, complete with a >PowerPC 601 microprocessor, a quad-speed internal CD-ROM drive and three >16-bit ethernet networking connectors. The tribesman has already made good >use of the computer system, fashioning a gazelle trap out of its wires, a >boat anchor out of the monitor and a crude but effective weapon from its >mouse. > > "This is a good computer," said Ndeti, carving up a gazelle with >the computer's flat, sharp internal processing device. "I am using every >part of it. I will cook this gazelle on the keyboard." Hours later, Ndeti >capped off his delicious gazelle dinner by smoking the computer's 200-page >owner's manual. > > IBM spokespeople praised Ndeti's choice of computers. "We are >pleased that the Bantu people are turning to IBM for their business needs," >said company CEO William Allaire. "From Kansas City to Kinshasa, IBM is >bringing the world closer together. Our cutting-edge technology is truly >creating a global village." The Bantu tribesmen are members of an >ever-growing, international community of users who have turned to IBM to >solve their networking needs. > > > > > Normatron Division Normatron > Le Groupe Absence > ______________________________________ > [email protected] > > > > > > --- from list [email protected] --- > > ---------------------------------------- Institute for New Culture Technologies Public Netbase http://www.t0.or.at Museumsquartier Vienna/Austria ---------------------------------------- -- * distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission * <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, * collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets * more info: [email protected] and "info nettime" in the msg body * URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: [email protected]