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Memory Card Torture Tests
saikatguha266 writes "BBC is reporting that five types of memory cards were dipped into cola, put through a washing machine, dunked in coffee, trampled by a skateboard, run over by a child's toy car, given to a six-year-old boy to destroy, smashed by a sledgehammer and nailed to a tree. It was still possible to retrieve photos from the xD and Smartmedia cards while the others didn't survive just the last two tests. "
Sounds like these memory cards are about ready for use in the real world now that they've passed durability testing. Oh wait...
perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5, (41*2), sqrt(7056), (unpack(c,H)-2), oct(115), 10);'
"Most of them did fail to get through two additional tests - being smashed by a sledgehammer and being nailed to a tree."
The number of times i've accidently nailed my high-tech electronics to a tree... anything that survives that most common of IT mishaps will be a real lifesaver.
At last, indestructible storage for my p0rn!!
no no no no. That was just your camera trying to honor the old 'what happens in vegas, stays in vegas' rule.
is this a feature or a bug?
There's always the microwave in the employee breakroom. Guaranteed to destroy small electronics placed within - in a matter of seconds.
That will kill it....
... for something from these guys to handle these.
Actually, steel melts around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Memory cards melt around 9,980 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wait--what? Memory cards aren't made of neutronium?
Oh, sorry, nevermind.
To destroy your flash card:
Install a small httpd server on flash card and get it \.ed.
For an extra five (5) points, install Java (Sun) at the same time.
No matter what I used to give one of our CEO's, no matter how hard I'd tested it first, he found new and unusual ways to kill it.
That's the test I want to see: Can it survive a week at home with a mining company CEO?
The same kind of CEO who's password was always "password"....
This message brought to you by Fuji Inc.
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That's scary. How many times have you accidentally put something in a microwave? Not that many people accidentally nail stuff to a tree very often... That said, it would've made a fun experiment.
Its good to know that if Hillbillies steal my memory card and nail it to a tree to worship as a god, I will still be able to get back my precious pictures of last years Christmas party!
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
... of a letter I read in a now long-defunct weekly computer magazine in the UK called New Computer Express. Printed on cheap paper, it attempted to cover all available platforms in one 80-page weekly magazine. This included everything from ZX Spectrums to the then quite new 486 PCs. Macs, Amigas, Ataris, Amstrad CPCs, you name it, they all had their corner in there. Great magazine. Only problem was, their letters page looked like the flamewar from hell...
One guy wrote in saying he had got fed of up how his friend was always boasting about his Amiga 500 and how it was vastly superior to any other machine on the planet, especially this individual's ZX81 Spectrum. So convinced was he, he proposed a test. He offered the letter-writer his Amiga 500 for free if he could come up with one test, any test of his choice, where the ZX81 outperformed the Amiga.
The Speccy-owner, sat down, had a think, realised what to do and called his friend over with his Amiga for the test to begin. The friend arrived, and was summoned to the back garden. The Speccy-owner took his ZX81 frisbee-style and flung it across the garden, landing it perfectly in a compost heap.
The Amiga owner stared at him, spun around with his Amiga, tried throwing it, fell over under the weight, the machine smashing into several pieces. The speccy owner picked up, cleaned off and plugged in his ZX81, and was playing Manic Miner in minutes. The Amiga owner was told to take his trash and go home, which he did, crying...
When it comes to destruction tests, you have to ask "what's the point?". My media cards are normally well protected inside cameras or PCs and are unlikely to be dipped in cola or nailed to trees. However, it's always interesting to see how things work outside of the environment for which they were designed, just like that ZX81 and Amiga 500.
If your real life involves high radiation levels on a regular basis, you should think about making some changes in your lifestyle.
Boys from the City. Not yet caught by the Whirlwind of Progress. Feed soda pop to the thirsty pigs.
I want a blow by blow with video and what cards performed after what tests! I wanna see the pain in the media cards face when it gets nailed to the tree, and bashed with a sledgehammer!
... they do nothing!
You know, a normal person would just delete the files.
I nail my memory cards to trees all of the time.
So most memory cards are just as powerful, if not more so, than Jesus. Hmm.
Yahoo! Pipes are awesome. How awesome? http://pipes.yahoo.com/jesdynf/slashdot
Is this some kind of Christian thing?
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Thanks for the link - I thought my PC needed a new toner cartridge for the monitor.
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
Giving the card to a six year old kid to trash is all very well, but what about a _really_ destructive force like a four year old? There's a good reason why the nearly indestructible Pelican protective cases are guaranteed against everything except shark bite, bear attack and children under five.
Why yes, I frequently get run over by drag cars on my way to work.
I'm not worried about the nail-to-a-tree test, but I am worried about the staple-through test. I've only rarely seen a tree in an office, but I've seen many lUsers who are given to some strange behaviors. I've seen them staple through a 5.25" to attach it to a document. What would come of a staple-to-docuemnt for these media? Why didn't they test that?!
Now I'm going worry so much that I'll have problems sleeping, followed by curling up into the fetal position in a dark corner, rocking myself back and forth whispering "Rosbud," until they give me my Thorazine.
What those who want activist courts fear is rule by the people.
actually just replace the "it" in [http://it.slashdot...] with "shit" [http://shit.slashdot...]. That works for me.
Once the fossil fuels run out, you'll be singing a different tune!
That's the last time I run code posted in somebody's sig...
hand card over to TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) and ask them to "be careful -- it's fragile"
pass card over retail store checkout counter magnetic pad
microwave card for 10 secs
feed card to puppy (slather with peanut butter if necessary)
bury card in dust
"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)