Re: [Usability] Some interesting user feedback

[John Fleck <jfleck inkstain net>]

On Fri, Nov 14, 2003 at 05:23:33PM +0000, Telsa Gwynne wrote:
> 
> Years ago, we borrowed "the Unix manual" from a friend who had
> printed out every last page of it. I forget which Unix version
> it was, but I shall never forget the footnote which explained
> why there was a limit to the keyboard buffer. 
> 
> It said there was a little gnome which collected the letters
> you typed in at the keyboard and took them to (erm, not sure here) 
> the computer or the kernel or something. And that the gnome
> could only carry a certain number of letters in its hands at
> once, and would drop any extra on the floor.
> 
> So it's not little green men. It's gnomes. I thought anyone
> using this desktop would know that.
> 

And here I thought "GNOME" was an acronym for GNU Normative Orbital Median
Effervescence or some such rot. Turns out it was actually named after the
clever little beings schlepping our keystrokes to the kernel. Now if someone
could only explain to me what the corn kernells are doing with all those
keystrokes....

John