Confirming our belief that some people are just "bad with computers," a boy named Joe Falciatano III from Pulaski, New York, seems to have simply the worst luck ever -- and some think it could be do to an overly magnetized touch. While using PCs at this elementary school, Joe -- who dubbed himself "Magneto Man" -- found that every system he laid his hands on went totally haywire. Only after a teacher suggested he use a grounded, anti-static wrist strap did the systems experience relief from his Geek Squad-inducing grasp. Apparently, the boy has also disrupted slide show presentations and caused his Xbox to freeze repeatedly. Though tests have been run on Joe, there's still no conclusive evidence about the source of the problem, though at least one electricity expert said the cause could be his over-insulated shoes. Maybe, but we won't be surprised when he forms an army of mutant super-villains and tries to take control of the White House. Check the video after the break for the whole report.
[Via
ScienCentral]
posted March 2nd 2008 11:10PM
this is what happens to your kid when you let him eat the fridge magnets as an infant.
can he erase my credit dept too?
Superfriends UNITE!
QuickTime hate. Yeah, Hollywood prefers it to WMV. What are the alternatives. Worse crap! So, go ahead and cut your noses off to spite your faces. But if you want a QuickTime free lives, then you must get rid of DVD and HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, just to mention a few things that use it.
Poor kid! Every swing set he has ever been on swings north-south!
*rolling my eyes* I think this kid is just mad nerdcore or an idiot. Does not know how to get rid of static electricity before touching a mechanical device, and if it is his shoes, wow...."little nerd go buy yourself some shoes that don't have 2 inch soles lolZ!
Maybe he owned a Microsoft Elite keyboard. That piece of crap 'sticks' modifier keys constantly, I have to tap both shift, control, or alt randomly sometimes because it'll start typing crazy crap.
I think the motto here is "Look at me! I'm an attention whore!"
Same problem a few years ago, teacher call me to use computers when they wanted to show to customer services that something was wrong with the machine (I crash the pc in 3 min), no more problems now (exept that plenty of electronic device crash sometime, included iphone, xbox 360 and motorola sl7vr)
It's sticky keys..
Magneto Man is a silly name. How about "Left Spinner" or "The Anti-Tech"?
those are names of a conqueror.
To all the people who are trying to guess the problem from the footage. NEWS REPORTS OFTEN HAVE TO FAKE FOOTAGE (or simulate if you like) for stories like this.
They show up in the van to report about a kid who causes computer problems and then how long do you think they will sit around before someone just says, "switch to the symbol font, hit some keys and shrug your shoulders like it's broken" they film it, and go on their way. The kid probably did have all sorts of weird stuff happen, but the new crew wasn't there for most of it.
And this years winner for the strangest conspiracy theory is... Milo!
I'm just saying that the images shown in the news footage are perhaps not an accurate portrayal of the problems they were having, or they might be. Whatever.
Sounds more like Jubilee to me...
Maybe he just uses Windows, PCs usually break down so fast it's hard to tell if it's your magnetic field or something else
Youtube link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tp5ilnOWeSo
Perhaps it can be added to the article to avoid the use of quicktime?
Studpid Quicktime vid crashed my firefox.
NOTE TO ENGADGET: QT IS BAD, MKAY?
ever thought of trying a new keyboard cause that ones overly sensitive to static?
Everything crashes in windows (yes, windows with a little w) you dumb stupid suckers!
Why is it only people that never have tried the mac platform that's against it? Apple has the best software, os and hardware, end of discussion. I used to be a windows fanboy until I tried a mac for a couple of days, I'm never switching back, it's simply the best.
AHHHHH is magneto kill him!! kill him!!
View page source for the .mov file URL, copy and paste it inot browser.
You should then get s direct download or open link to the movie file, I recommend playing it in VLC.
ACtually, this boy isn't alone. There are a small number of humans that have exhibited EM-scrambling abilities. Currently Princeton is studying these so called "SLiders."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_light_interference
I just read a story from a local paper (Epoch Times in Vancouver) that talks about this woman who has this ability to the extreme. She accidently fries electronics such as televisions all the time, just by being in close proximity.
It is a most likely a real phenomenon. It is more probable that this actually exists, as it would be very difficult to fabricate all of the evidence, and there would be hardly any point in doing so.
@rTwelve...
Im with you, man. Im a Custom Desktop PC, Mac Laptop, Wii and PSP kinda guy... ;)
Is it me or the comments on this thread are a bit repetitive?
@ everyone
I am from this small village of Pulaski and was surprised to see a story like this about it on the blog I read everyday. I know this kid I used to play baseball with him and he really does break stuff so its not a scam. That being said, take it from me who knows this kid personally.
I would just like to point out that WMP is easily uninstalled. KTHX Bai.
Idiot fanboys and haters alike clogging up the comments...
Frankly if you have a MAC or a PC and have trouble playing a simple quicktime file with any browser or codec your comp or skills in appearing tech savvy are garbage. If it worked, congratulations, want a cookie for being able to piss in a toilet too?
I dont know, but i have quicktime installed, and all the programs i want are opening up my media files, u guys should learn to use a pc before bashing a program, if u knew anything about computers, any media player tries to take over your media when u install it for the first time, u just have to read and unselect certain options.
worse comes to worst, be smart and search, like one of the the post said; use quicktime alternative
heres a link again
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm
I don't think HE has anything to do with the XBOX CRASHING. HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA. Does that on its own. :) LOL LOL. Serious. Oh that and burning up power supplies. Oh That and you have to pay a service fee so that it can use voice chat over the Internet which you already pay for.
He is the chosen one who will destroy the robot overlords.
Hey all you ppl talking about who horrible QuickTime is!
Go download QuickTime Alternative (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm) it's really nice without all the negative aspects that comes with the original app from apple. I've used it for years without any problems. [There's also a RealPlayer Alternative (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm)]
Enjoy! :)
Really? A whole page complaining about Quicktime, rather than discussing the video itself?
I call shenanigans. This kid is BS-ing the teachers, you can just hear it in the way he speaks. Pull in a Computer Engineer and see what they have to say, or better yet a Microsoft Certified Professional, or MCSE. Not some electro-static "expert". Skeptics are getting voted down, but it makes no difference to me. Notice that when he types, he`s only hitting the numbers. It`s no malfunction, he`s activated sticky keys like Arcturus said, so SHIFT is being forced on regardless of CAPS LOCK being activated or not. If you`re in XP or Vista, hit Shift 5 times, activate sticky keys, then press Shift twice to use it.
I second that motion
Shenanigans!
Back to the article. Milo's comment about fabricated news footage is not a conspiracy theory. It IS something that is done all the time, for precisely the reasons mentioned.
It's called lazy reporting. The news organization gathers enough info and testimony regarding an event covered to give them plausible deniability if it turns out to be bogus. Now back in the day you usually got a disclaimer when what you were watching was a dramatization. Nowadays they opine; that by not specifying that you are NOT watching a real time event, that they are not misleading you at all.
That said the sticky-keys is the most likely explanation for the video; the average english speaking adult that watches tv news is so technically ignorant, that it would be entirely reasonable to assume they would use such an approach. Because they know: 1. Next to no one is going to follow up on this 2. When Poindexter McGoogle gets up on his soap box to call them on their BS, nobody will understand what the hell he is talking about.
Regarding 'superpower boy'
I think the mutant part of the description was definitely the best choice for a header. I think this kid probably is a mutant. There have been folk like him popping up through out history. I've seen pictures of the magnetic man; where some fairly heavy objects just stuck to him for some unknown reason. He was called a freak, a hoax, a devil, you name it. I would hope at this point we can acknowledge the possibility, that what he was doing was not magic or trickery. More likely is was a scientifically explainable anomaly.
Our bodies are partially regulated through electro-chemical reactions. We conduct electric currents. We can disrupt magnetic fields. We are also organic entities that are prone to occasional individual mutations; these can have unpredictable repercutions to our internal/external behavior.
Ever consider that maybe he has both electro-static and electro-magnetic deviations. Consider what the chemical influence on our systems might mean for him. The deviations may only become prominent when aggravated by bio-organic stimuli. "Boy gets pissed: adrenaline spikes, reaction occurs." I'm not even going to get into possible crossed neuro-pathway contributing factors; too heavy.
I don't think this kid has superpowers. He clearly has no idea what he is doing to cause the effect, and has no control over it. That and in this day in age, screwing up every monitor you touch and crashing electronics is a handicap; not really beneficial in any appropriately/legally usable way in my opinion.
p.s.
I LOVE SHENANIGANS!
quicktime used to be the best, then ipods/itunes came around. Apple took a sh!t on their media software and became a disposable gadget company. Super friendly interface, not much else. M$ official products also suck. K-lite w MPClassic really is the best platform for digital content *** IF you know how to use it!!! *** For the noob, quicktime gives better video, wmv gives better audio, and DivX kills them all. (realmedia is so crippled it's like Halfy on southpark: Shut up Halfy you don't count!)
I have the same problem. I crashed many computers at work in one day. (I just say something like, "i don't know they just stopped working"). Some brand of computers I can't turn back on after i flip the power switch to reset. (Nothing happens ). The computers can only be turned back on by coworkers.
I have known for over 20 years that i can turn off street lights (not signal lights) just by being near them. I cab be 10 feet away from a older fluorescent light bulb and it will start flickering. If I mentally focus on it I can make it go dim. (I can also beat some computer chess games in less than 45 seconds).
I can also make flickering fluorescent lights start working again or make them permanently not work.
Well, I am shocked to see a story about this! And I am glad I am not the only one with this condition. What a relief!
Please don't give out my email address. I don't want to be taken away to become a government's lab rat. I perfer to keep it secret.
Let me get this straight: The kid presses caps lock , shift key or whatever combination he figured out to freezes the system : Windows sucks!
Xbox freezes by it self, that's a fact:Microsoft sucks;
Quick Time is not the problem, Windows sucks;
Firefox is not the problem, Windows sucks;
What the boy wants to say is: DADDY, GET ME A MAC!
by the way, my English sucks....cheers from Brazil
I used to work with someone who had this effect on computers. I was the service manager at a small computer place and she was a salesperson. During the winter, when the air was very dry, if anyone in the office had to do an invoice for a customer we would tell her to please remain at her desk. If she got up and happened to walk by the front counter the PC would freeze up. Every time, without fail.