South African man shoots PC

Extreme IT rage grips former Apartheid-riddled country

By Linda Harrison • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 25th May 2000 09:45 GMT

Free whitepaper – Power distribution systems for the Dell PowerEdge M1000e Modular Server Enclosure

South Africa is a very dangerous place to live if you are a computer.

One PC so outraged its South African user that the man took his gun out and shot it - repeatedly. A colleague who witnessed the IT rage tantrum said the killer shot the machine "to smithereens" out of sheer frustration.

This wanton attack came to light after a survey by Symantec and South African news service ITWeb into the growing epidemic of worldwide PC abuse.

Around 43 per cent of South Africans said they got angry when their computer played up. Two thirds had a "multiple abuse reaction" - 25 per cent swore or screamed at the offending machine, while another 20 per cent chose to walk away.

However, this was relatively restrained compared to the Brits. Of those who experienced PC rage, nearly two thirds admitted swearing at their computer and 22 per cent said they hit their computer – with seven per cent causing damage.

According to Symantec, one respondent to the survey got so angry with his PC he ran over it in his 4WD.

He showed a visiting Symantec consultant round the back of his house "where broken parts from the old monitor were scattered all over the lawn" after making contact with the wheels of the vehicle. ®