CompuServe Messages

I don't – well, yes I do, sorta – Marble madness – but I only use the mouse in port 0, so I have no problems. And you're quite right. Things that require you to plug in gadgets (anywhere) to your Amiga put it at hazard to various degree every time you do it, depending on what the relative humidity is where you are (that was the source of my mistake – in florida, I can do things with impunity that you would be well advised to NEVER do in northern climes) and what kind of rug you crossed to get to your machine, or whether your cat decided to be affectionate during the 60 seconds or so before you plugged in your dingle, and suchlike factors. You _can_ make the whole thing MUCH safer by doing the following: Obtain a conductive (anti-static) mat, with a ground strap. Connect the ground strap to your Amiga, on a screw at one of the ports on the rear. Always, always, always, touch and HOLD this mat while attaching or removing anything from your Amiga. You are also well-advised to touch the mat before touching your Amiga for the first time every time you walk up to it. Finally, it's also a good idea to connect that ground lead to the grounding screw on a wall socket near the machine (the third, rounded prong). THese things help, but do NOT assure you of protection in every case. In fact, unlikely tho it sounds, you have put your finger on a problem – computers, the Amiga in particular, are very sensitive to static problems, and in fact should be treated with extreme care. An interesting aside here is that you can damage your hardware and it may not fail for several days – "pinhole" dialectric (insulator) punctures commonly occur with static discharges, which then deteriorate into larger, more conductive holes. Life's a botch, and IBM designed it that way. –Ben–