You DID want to get rid of that loud beep, right?
Flashback to the 1980s, when handheld barcode scanners are just coming on the market, and this programmer pilot fish works for a small company that has big plans for them.
"We ordered one so that we could become familiar with it and write specialized code to make it read water meters," says fish.
"The spec sheet said the reader had 128K of memory, expandable to 256K -- in those days, quite impressive for something small enough to pick up with just one hand -- and could survive a four-foot drop onto concrete."
It's also hideously expensive, and when it arrives the company's entire staff gathers around to fondle it. One thing they all notice: The device makes an annoyingly loud beep with almost every key press, and there's no obvious way to turn that off.
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