Does this name sound familiar? | The Coffeehouse

To all of the computer-history buffs, and students out there, does this name sound familiar?

Gary Random

It's apparently not a pseudoname. The guys last name is allegedly "Random." He claims to have invented Random Access, and also helped invent the Internet. So far, all I can find about memory-accessing invenstors is Robert Dennard, who invented DRAM, building upon the word of Farber Schlig, and Agusta.

AndyC

Sounds entirely plausible and not at all like a wind-up, honest guv'nor. BTW if you are interested I have several bridges for sale in London.

W3bbo

Random Access Memory is something so fundamental it couldn't have been "invented" or developed. The Internet wasn't "invented" either, it's a developed system built on earlier key advances in Computer Science like packet switching. For someone to have been instrumental in both the development of modern-day RAM and the Internet would mean they'd be in their late 90s by now.

Also, "Random" isn't a name (well, not in England; there are zero "Random"s in the phone book).

i.e. Someone's pulling your leg.

jonathansampson

In reply to AndyC

#Jul 23rd @ 7:24 AM

I don't buy the guy's story, but I figured I'd pass it along. Oh, anybody want to share Nigerian wealth with me? I've gotten a series of emails confirming a transaction of a lifetime.

AndyC

In reply to W3bbo

#Jul 23rd @ 7:43 AM

It could be a name, however the fact the word dates back to the 15th Century suggests ever so slightly that it didn't arise from the name of a guy who invented computer memory....

W3bbo

In reply to AndyC

#Jul 23rd @ 7:49 AM

Well, anything can be a name thanks to Deed Polls; but I don't believe "Random" has ever been adopted as a last name by any sane individual (and I actually did look it up in the phone book).

AndyC

In reply to W3bbo

#Jul 23rd @ 7:51 AM

I'm tempted to change my name to Joe Random now, just to prove a point. Although that would probably still mean it hadn't ever been adopted by any sane person.... Wink

CannotResolveSymbol

In reply to W3bbo

#Jul 23rd @ 7:43 AM

A quick search of an online phone book shows 84 people with the last name Random in the United States, including a Gary Random living in Florida, and a Joseph Random living just outside DC. Not that I believe this story's true, but there are people out there with that name.

Harlequin

In reply to CannotResolveSymbol

#Jul 23rd @ 8:07 AM

Maybe it was one of the names on Homer Simpsons list he wanted to change his name to:
Rembrandt Q. Einstein
Handsome B. Wonderful
Hercules Rockefeller
Max Power

TommyCarlier

In reply to AndyC

#Jul 23rd @ 7:53 AM

Gerolsteiner (German company that sells mineral water) now has a competition: the first Belgian to change his last name to Gerolsteiner for at least 5 years wins a white Porche 911.

AndyC

In reply to TommyCarlier

#Jul 23rd @ 8:19 AM

If I were Belgian, I'd do that in a shot.

TommyCarlier

In reply to AndyC

#Jul 23rd @ 8:27 AM

The problem is that the authorities responsible for name changing have already declared they will not allow it. If, by 2010, no-one has managed to do this, they will change the rules so the first one to change his first name to Gerolsteiner will win the Porche.

SaraJoRedux

In reply to TommyCarlier

#Jul 23rd @ 8:40 AM

Ix

In reply to SaraJoRedux

#Jul 23rd @ 12:17 PM

omg lol, I hadn't seent that one yet, how awesome

Bas

In reply to AndyC

#Jul 23rd @ 8:27 AM

Same here. You can still keep your original name around friends and family, and just use the Gerolsteiner name for paperwork.