Reported to Consumer Affairs - beware!!

[GTP]

@britechguy @Computer Bloke @GTP @frase I know Linus isn't a technician and LTT is more about entertainment than anything else, but I've found some of his content valuable. For example, the tests he did about how much thermal paste to use and different ways to apply it (spoiler alert: it doesn't really matter so long as you use enough of it). He also did a rather silly video about static electricity killing components. I've had STATIC ELECTRICITY BAD drilled into my head since I was a kid in the 90's and even to this day I'm obsessive about grounding myself before touching anything inside a computer or any bare components, but his rather unscientific tests show that the fear of static electricity is either way overblown or maybe modern components are just better protected from it:

I, as every other technician on these forums knows; know exactly what "static electricity" is and what it can do and how to protect against it.
But in the context of the OP's dialogue he made it sound like static builds up in the PC and needs to be cleared frequently and routinely.
I was confused about his statement.

Edit: Apologies to @Computer Bloke I wrote my post then realised you'd posted a similar comment.

 

[sapphirescales]

OP's apparent belief that a computer will build up a static charge (it doesn't) which needs to be cleared (huh?) in order to make it work. This is pure magical thinking and OP's assumption that this is a routine procedure that we all perform ("in the usual way") is staggering.

Huh, is that what they were saying? That's bizarre.

I, as every other technician on these forums knows; know exactly what "static electricity" is and what it can do and how to protect against it.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I was just confused as to what the OP was saying. @Computer Bloke's explanation cleared that up for me.

 

[GTP]

Huh, is that what they were saying? That's bizarre.


Sorry, I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I was just confused as to what the OP was saying. @Computer Bloke's explanation cleared that up for me.

yes I was confused too. Sorry, I probably didnt convey that in my post.

 

[Sky-Knight]

A residual charge can indeed build up in all electrical devices, however this can only happen if the isolated ground isn't grounding correctly.

I live in a place that creates these conditions regularly, and even so it's EXCEEDINGLY RARE. I've seen this sort of thing happen and make equipment malfunction only a handful of times in my life. If it's happening on a frequency that's visible and measurable, you've got an issue... one that will result in a facility fire if not found. It's not a computer problem, it's an issue with the electrical mains, or perhaps the Internet feed.

 

[Markverhyden]

What is "static buildup?" I've never heard of such a thing. I'm open to being enlightened though.

Static build up is more a colloquial term. I can remember in High School we did some experiments around that. The longer you subject an object to a charge building activity, like rubbing a glass rod with silk material, the more energy the discharge dissipates when grounded. We actually had some fun with that, if you know what I mean.......

In this part of the world it's usually associated with laundry in the dryer. So they can sell people on fabric softener or drier sheets.

What I have trouble with is OP's apparent belief that a computer will build up a static charge (it doesn't) which needs to be cleared (huh?) in order to make it work. This is pure magical thinking and OP's assumption that this is a routine procedure that we all perform ("in the usual way") is staggering.

I worked at CompUSA with a tech, Steve, who fit that Dunning Krugger description to a T. Amongst other incredible claims he used to tell customers that their machine failed because of cascading bad electrons flowing through the air. Yes, he really did say that. After he told that to an EE from the nearby US Army Natick Labs, store management told the tech manager Steve could no longer talk to customers.

 

[frase]

Yes with chips themselves like

Static build up is more a colloquial term. I can remember in High School we did some experiments around that. The longer you subject an object to a charge building activity, like rubbing a glass rod with silk material, the more energy the discharge dissipates when grounded. We actually had some fun with that, if you know what I mean.......

In this part of the world it's usually associated with laundry in the dryer. So they can sell people on fabric softener or drier sheets.



I worked at CompUSA with a tech, Steve, who fit that Dunning Krugger description to a T. Amongst other incredible claims he used to tell customers that their machine failed because of cascading bad electrons flowing through the air. Yes, he really did say that. After he told that to an EE from the nearby US Army Natick Labs, store management told the tech manager Steve could no longer talk to customers.

Solar Flare just in your area.

 

[Blues]

This threads sad but also amusing from what remains the OPs claims around "Static Build Up" ring like all these snake oil ads you see for things making promises and claiming verified by research but there is usually 0 good or valid research done to support it. I am thinking of the some the Tech BS too like the Audiophile WiFi NICs and other non-audio components making claims to clean up audio from noise and such.

 

[Philippe]

Tech BS too like the Audiophile WiFi NICs

A guy showed me a CD "demagnetizer" once...

 

[frase]

A guy showed me a CD "demagnetizer" once...

Needs a NeuralInducer.

 

[GTP]

Needs a NeuralInducer.

Or a "HyperEncabulator" perhaps? Great for any and all CyberSecurity needs. OMG everyone needs those "retanium based cloud benders!"

 

[frase]

Or a "HyperEncabulator" perhaps? Great for any and all CyberSecurity needs.

HAHA, I do not even wanna see that vid again; my brain exploded last time.

 

[GTP]

HAHA, I do not even wanna see that vid again; my brain exploded last time.

You should watch this one! It's for CyberSecurity!

 

[frase]

I have it did my head in, vocabulary wise that make no sense.

 

[Rigo]

vocabulary wise that make no sense

Was it supposed to make sense?

 

[frase]

Was it supposed to make sense?

Haha @Rigo No is a parody.

"A retro meme that fondly satirises absurd technical language is still bringing engineers joy"
“SANS ICS HyperEncabulator”. In it, a suave man in a suit explained this new “cybersecurity” machine, gesturing at an impressive refrigerator-sized device, hailing its ability to be “sinosinclastic without sacrificing both normative reality and AI-informed modalities”. He then explained that a previous generation of this device, the retro-encabulator, was made with “prefabulated amulite surmounted by a malleable logarithmic casing”. Not so with the HyperEncabulator! Unlike its predecessors, he said, the HyperEncabulator “operates totally under the principle of colonic effluvium expulsion”.

 

[Larry Sabo]

colonic effluvium expulsion”.

aka excrement?

 

[britechguy]

aka excrement

Yes, not to mention that "effluvium expulsion" is redundant. If it's effluent, it's being expelled.

 

[GTP]

I still cant believe it uses "retanium based cloud benders!" I want them in my PC!

 

[NviGate Systems]

I still cant believe it uses "retanium based cloud benders!" I want them in my PC!

Careful! Early Version 1 Cloud Benders are weak to lightning and can expose you to insanitanium at lethal levels....

 

[GTP]

Careful! Early Version 1 Cloud Benders are weak to lightning and can expose you to insanitanium at lethal levels....

Hahaha clever lol