Vote, vote, vote for Barbie the computer engineer
Our friends at insideHPC pushed this story recently, but there hasn’t been an accompanying groundswell of buzz, so I’m bringing it to The Register’s audience in an attempt to get the ball rolling. Mattel, purveyor of the iconic Barbie doll, is running a contest to decide Barbie’s next career. She has quite a wide range of …
But Barbie's blonde ....
Paris - cuz she's in the same league
As one of the few people here who can say I've collected Barbies ans well as computers, I really want to see this. "My first one came home as a monitor toy" Not really bought into Barbies much in the last several years, but I love odd, non standard Barbies. From Morticia Adams Barbie, to Star Trek Barbie, to Gay "Earring magic" Ken. I'll be the first to go out and buy one. And if they don't give her a PINK laptop I know a few other women who will too.
The Bratz people have pretty much sewn up the "Teenage Skank" doll market, Mattel hates to admit it but it lost most of the kid market to them and now does its best in dolls that sell to adult collectors.
....Surgeon. Just think of the sales of operating theatre equipment, blood soaked gowns and, when the string is pulled, cries of "scalpel....suction"..and of course there is always the possibility of the operation going wrong which leads to 'Litigation Barbie' jeez, the possibilities are endless
...surely we need "Human-Resources Barbie" ? Or would that be totally indistinguishable from the real thing ?
Not actually a joke I suppose, more of a cynical observation.
Engineers don't BUY clothing, we go to sponsored events and get free t-shirts.
Yes, you could sell me a Barbie with her own PDA and Bluetooth Headset. So long as I get matching HP/Microsoft/Dell shirts to go with it. In fact, everything she carries should have some sort of corporate stamp. From the CW backpack to the MS CD carrier (holding a stack of Debian distros).
Twenty or thirty years ago there were such people. These days you've got the techs who keep a company's computers and networks running. The developers themselves look like ordinary (for us) people, male and female.
BTW -- I have it on good authority that being over endowed in the bust is a serious nuisance if you want to get anything done. (If you've got nobody to ask then check out the episode of the Simpsons a year or so back when Marge accidentally gets augmented.)
Good lord! You've figured out a way to make Sun profitable.....oh, too late...
Just think, she has an Purple SGI box, and blue Juniper firewall, and a F-5 BigIP with the bright red logo... hell, maybe more hotties will want to be in I.T. if they think Barbie can do it too.
On the other hand, some of us ********* already have the modded Barbie Joystick w/ pierced nipples (added) and other piercings (added to added anotomical features)
I wanted to vote for Pope Barbie. Bound to be better than the current Protector of Paedophile Priests...
The small accessories are OK, but what about the big stuff: the Barbie Data Centre... rows of tall, thin 19" racks, with lots of opportunities for product placement (aww, cute, it's got a tiny CISCO logo...), AC units, UPS... Also fits with the Barbie Secure Data Centre - add the credit card logos on the payment processing kit (note: Ken's Guard Desk (with entry log book and CCTV monitors) sold separately).
The data center in a box makes a perfect Barbie add-on accessory. The trailer that unfolds into the Google style stackable data center. Plug the USB cable in, and it can be used as a USB hub. Make 'em pink, throw some corporate logos on it, logos that could be paid for in a licensing deal, and Mattel will make out with this.
Ken dolls, with tented pants ("you're REALLY pretty, Barbie! Would you like to go out to lunch with us?") and lab coats...
I think Computer Engineer Barbie is going to need:
No dress sense
Thick NHS glasses
Polo necks
Wallet full of CDs
Lord of the Rings action figures on her desk
Strange musty smell
As well as the usual computer accessories:
Monitor
computer
keyboard
piece of old pizza down behind the screen
Empty drinks cans
Signed photo of Leonard Nimmoy
etc
Has anybody found the connection which sends the vote yet?
... she already works at Mattel's given that the page didn't work why Firefox, at least for me...
Paris, because they would probably be co-workers...
Why on earth do you Brits think a computer engineer is someone who spends their days mucking about with wires and providing tech support to lusers? Here in the states, computer engineering includes disciplines such as: digital circuits; embedded systems; computer architecture; distributed systems; networking; and DSP. CE Barbie obviously spends her days in a cubicle covered with Matrix and LoTR posters, squinting at tiny font, diagrams, and possibly wave forms.
In her cube, she needs to have a stuffed Tux, some old dilbert books, xkcd comics, dual-head monitor, and a giant coffee mug. As fashion accessories, she should come with removable carpal tunnel support gloves, a carabiner filled with keys, bottle opener, mini leatherman, etc., an android phone, and little or no social life.
Hmm, on second thought, it'd be nice to get more women entering this field. Maybe honesty isn't the best policy.
Thanks Hungry Sean. I'm a computer engineer and work on embedded systems, C programming, VHDL code for FPGAs. I have yet to meet a computer engineer that has anything to do with IT techie nonsense (unless they're working on their own computers at home). I'm the one usually calling the IT department to fix my Windows problems so I can focus on more important problems to my job description such as, why does this board not work?!?! Why won't my code compile?!?! Why are my waveforms delayed a clock cycle?!?! The SPI on my DAC is not responding?!?!
Barbie engineer's stock cure will probably be: "Re-install Windows.......Have a nice day, y' all".
I like the idea of computer engineer barbie! I am a young single woman and a computer engineer so of course I like the idea. I kind of like the barbie but she needs a cup of coffee and a purse with way too much stuff in it. she also could use an iPod unless of course she is streaming music via her bluetooth headset from her smartphone.
I think she needs to lose the blazer and get a cute casual sweater. Oh yeah! Don't forget her all important ESD wrist strap!!! LOL! Get her a pink one! We can't have her zapping all of her Altera development hardware!!
She also needs her badge! Where is her badge! How will she get into the building where she works? Get her a cute pink lanyard for her badge, or like me - a super cool retractable badge clip! I like the badge clip better so I don't choke myself dashing from one lab bench to the other.
Hahahaha
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