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Foolproof? Never
May 27, 2008

A participant in the Agilent VEE e-mail user group asked if there was a way to disable the infamous CTRL-ALT-DEL key combination on a PC. This prompted several replies from others asking why anyone would want to disable it. Apparently, the person asking is trying to figure out a way to keep test operators from interrupting a program's operation. In fact, this person started by asking if there is a way to disable the "X" in the upper-right corner of a window. VEE has a function for that, but this person was looking for a more foolproof way to prevent an operator from ending a program.

People replied "Remember, there's no such thing as fool-proof, as fools are so ingenious" and "Someone once said, you'll spend weeks make something idiot proof, and then someone will go and make a bigger, better idiot."

What have you done to make a test setup foolproof? Did it work? For how long? What did the "fool" do to get around your hard work. Remember, anyone can pull out a power cord and shut down a computer.

Posted by Martin Rowe on May 27, 2008 | Comments (2)