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Computers: Male or Female?

An English teacher was explaining to his students the concept of gender association in the English language.

He stated how hurricanes at one time were given feminine names and how ships and planes were usually referred to as "she". One of the students raised their hand and asked "What gender is a computer"?

The teacher wasn't certain which it was, so he divided the class into two groups, males in one, females in the other, and asked them to decide if a computer should be masculine or feminine. Both groups were asked to give four reasons for their recommendation. The group of women concluded that computers should be referred to in the masculine gender, for the following reasons:

1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.

2. They have a lot of data but are still clueless.

3. They are supposed to help you solve your problems, but half the time they cause the problem.

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have had a better model.

The men, on the other hand, decided that computers should definitely be referred to in the feminine gender for the following reasons:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.

3. Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
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Hi LMM,

This made me think. When I first began to work with computers, in the 1950s -- they cost tons of money, did very little work and what they did, they did slowly -- yet, when you got one, you kept it for many years. They grew old, but they chugged along.

Today, computers cost very little, run very fast, do multi-tasking with no second thought -- but, they often get confused, have to repeatedly get booted, make funny sounds, and, very often when they get too confused and just chatter, you have to go back to Start just to shut them up. On top of that, you no sooner get one, than a snazzier model shows up -- leaving one always wondering if he made the right choice the first time.

Definitely, computers deserve to be called female.

Y'all come back now, ya heah?

Bill

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Mine is defintely male and a lot like my late husband....

Sometimes, no matter what i want it to do, it will do what it wants to do and nothing else.

Sometimes other people can get it to do things i can't get it to do.

Sometimes it will make me think it's going to do something, but never do it.

I can turn it on very easily, but it often slows down and/or stops before i'm finished.

And sometimes, when i think things are going good and it's behaving, a naked, trashy looking woman will wind up on it.
quote:
Originally posted by ^PuF^:
Mine is defintely male and a lot like my late husband....

Sometimes, no matter what i want it to do, it will do what it wants to do and nothing else.

Sometimes other people can get it to do things i can't get it to do.

Sometimes it will make me think it's going to do something, but never do it.

I can turn it on very easily, but it often slows down and/or stops before i'm finished.

And sometimes, when i think things are going good and it's behaving, a naked, trashy looking woman will wind up on it.


LOL

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