I've seen it mar pistons and cylinder walls before. (A valve broke off and they tried to restart the engine. I guess you could still do a rebuild but it's going to cost more than a new engine.)
Anyways, my point was that people do the minimum they can until it bites them in the ass. I was voicing my support for the fine.
Of course, the problem here is that people don't feel they should pay for anything to do with a computer other than the price-tag they see when they go to BestBuy. They'll scream blue-murder if they're told that they actually have a responsibility, both financially and in how they operate their machine. Most people want to treat a computer the way they do their microwave oven, buy it, and if it breaks, replace it, but never, ever have to spend any time or money on maintenance.
To be honest, most people expect their cars to work in the same way. I can't count the number of times I've seen perfectly good engines ruined when the timing belt snapped because the owner hadn't had it changed at the proper time. Most people think oil changes are all a car should ever need.
anemic engines
This had a V8 and more room than a tiny subcompact.
I believe they are called "positive ground" (+ terminal of battery connected to chassis ground instead of - terminal) and yes they do exist.
not if you're English. (or your car is English) My car has a sticker under the hood (bonnet) that says "This vehicle is wired NEGATIVE EARTH" in big bold letters to make sure you know that before you try to hook up jumper cables.
On a related note, will these work on 6v vehicles? You'd probably have to buy a separate one that costs 10x as much in either case.
If anyone should be heavily criticized for a poorly organized web presence, it's IBM.
or any motherboard manufacturer.
Math is like love -- a simple idea but it can get complicated. -- R. Drabek