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IBM modem big hit in Zaire Date: Monday, July 30, 1996 12:05PM
KABINDA, ZAIRE--In a move IBM offices are hailing as a major step in
the company's ongoing worldwide telecommunications revolution, M'wana
Ndeti, a member of Zaire's Bantu tribe, used an IBM global uplink
network modem yesterday to crush a nut.
Ndeti, who spent 20 minutes trying to open the nut by hand, easily
cracked it open by smashing it repeatedly with the powerful modem.
"I could not crush the nut by myself," said the 47-year-old Ndeti,
who added the savory nut to a thick, peanut-based soup minutes later.
"With IBM's help, I was able to break it." Ndeti discovered the
nut-breaking, 28.8 V.34
modem yesterday, when IBM was shooting a commercial in his
southwestern Zaire village. During a break in shooting, which shows
African villagers eagerly teleconferencing via computer with Japanese
schoolchildren, Ndeti snuck onto the set and took the modem, which he
believed would serve well as a "smashing" utensil.
IBM officials were not surprised the longtime computer giant was able
to provide Ndeti with practical solutions to his everyday problems.
"Our telecommunications systems offer people all over the world
global networking solutions that fit their specific needs," said
Herbert Ross, IBM's director of marketing. "Whether you're a nun
cloistered in an Italian abbey or an
Aborigine in Australia's Great Sandy Desert, IBM has the ideas to get
you where you want to go today."
According to Ndeti, of the modem's many powerful features, most
impressive was its hard plastic casing, which easily sustained several
minutes of vigorous pounding against a large stone. "I put the nut on
a rock, and I hit it with the modem," Ndeti said. "The modem did not
break. It is a good modem."
Ndeti was so impressed with the modem that he purchased a new,
state-of-the-art IBM workstation, complete with a PowerPC 601
microprocessor, a quad-speed internal CD-ROM drive and three 16-bit
ethernet networking connectors. The tribesman has already made good
use of the computer system, fashioning a gazelle trap out of its
wires, a boat anchor out of the monitor and a crude but effective
weapon from its mouse.
"This is a good computer," said Ndeti, carving up a just-captured
gazelle with the computer's flat, sharp internal processing device. "I
am using every part of it. I will cook this gazelle on the keyboard."
Hours later, Ndeti capped off his delicious gazelle dinner by smoking
the computer's 200-page owner's manual.
IBM spokespeople praised Ndeti's choice of computers. "We are pleased
that the Bantu people are turning to IBM for their business needs,"
said company CEO William Allaire. "From Kansas City to Kinshasa, IBM
is bringing the world closer together. Our cutting-edge technology is
truly creating a global village."
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Subject: IBM Modem
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Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 12:46:31 -0700 (PDT)
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