Q & A – Miscellaneous
This document provides some frequently asked questions about Sandra. Please read the Help File as well!
Q: What does “Sandra” stand for?
A: It stands for System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant.
Q: What are the origins of name “Sandra”?
A: Sandra is a (girl) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.
Q: Does the name “Sandra” have anything to do with someone with the same name (maybe a famous person)?
A: Famous no; person, maybe.
Q: Should I call Sandra “it” or “her” (or “him”)?
A: If that’s your only problem then you’re lucky!
Q: Isn’t a name like Sandra daft for a program? Whatever possessed you to choose such a name?
A: It’s supposed to be an acronym. Well, we did “stretch” it a bit to make it sound better. This is not the first program to have a female name, remember Apple Lisa, Miranda, Microsoft Mum, Brenda, etc. There are more…
Have a look at these alternative names suggested (by users):
- Admin’s Best Utility (ABU)
- Admin’s System Analyst Program (ASAP)
- Admin’s Computer Diagnostics (ACD)
- Doctor Adrian’s Computer Diagnostics Tool (DACDT)
- The Diagnostics Tool Without Name (DTWN)
Q: What is this crazy double-versioning scheme? Can you explain it?
A: The complete version string contains 4 numbers, in the form a.b.c.d (e.g. 2004.4.8.7), where:
- a – Year of release (e.g. 2004)
- b – Month of release (e.g. 4, i.e. April)
- c – Major version (e.g. 8)
- d – Minor version (e.g. 7)
Q: In addition to the versioning, you also append 2 characters (e.g. 2001se) at the end of the release year, why?
A: This is done to differentiate more strongly between versions released in the same year. The letters denote:
- fe – first edition (i.e. 1st release in that year)
- se – second edition (i.e. 2nd release in that year)
- and so forth…
Q: Can I get Sandra’s source code for free?
A: No.
Q: Will you be releasing the code for Sandra as Samantha/Jemima take over?
A: No.
Q: I have (e.g. Norton Utilities, CA Utilities, Nuts & Bolts, etc.) and I think that their sys info (e.g. Norton SI/32, Discover Pro) is much better. Can’t you do better than that?
A: If we could, some software company (Microsoft, Symantec) would have snapped us up a long time ago… However, we do think that Sandra does things that SI does not do, but overall it can’t compete. Also remember that NU is a package and not a stand-alone product. Seen anything you like?
Q: What’s the best overall information tool in your opinion?
A: Must be Discover Pro from Nuts & Bolts (former Hurricane). While memory compression programs are utter crap, it has the best diagnostic tool we’ve ever seen. Pity it is still 16-bit.
Q: I think that MS-Info is better than Sandra.
A: Are you a troll? No way!
Q: God! When Sandra crashes it takes Windows (even NT/2000/XP/2003!) with it. Where’s the robustness I’ve read/heard so much about?
A: Well, we always say that if you do something, you might as well do it properly… On a serious note, things are
getting very complicated down here, so watch out…
Q: Why do you use “mainboard” and not “motherboard”?
A: “Motherboard” is considered sexist, and thus non PC (Politically Correct). The correct term these days is “mainboard”.
Q: Sandra seems to behave like a woman. Was that in the design spec?
A: What follows is a list of qualities and weaknesses of Sandra and their equivalent of a hypothetical namesake. We’d like to apologise in advance if anyone is offended, this was written for humour reasons. Some of it has been copied from an article/review called “Why Sandra is like a woman” from a site now defunct.
| Sandra | Woman |
| when it installs, it takes over system (registers itself all over the place) | takes over your life, all over the place |
| you cannot uninstall it easily | you cannot get rid of her easily |
| if you do uninstall it, it leaves junk behind | if you do break up, you’re left with all the junk |
| sometimes locks up at splash screen, using 100% of CPU | takes forever to get ready; uses many resources |
| gives lots of tips/warnings, but no help on how to resolve them | nit picks/moans about things; does not explain how to fix them |
| gives conflicting advice | gives conflicting advice |
| may not work when other similar utilities are installed | does not accept other girlfriends/equivalent |
| when it crashes, it takes system with it | when has breakdown, you have one too |
| all gloss, no substance | all gloss, no substance |
| if not run regularly, may not run anymore | if not given attention regularly, may leave |
| sometimes refuses to patch/update itself | sometimes refuses to change herself |
| refuses to work on a low-end system | refuses men with low “capabilities” |
| requires many OS updates on “out-of-favour” OSes | requires a “fashionable” man |
| needs to be patched/updated repeatedly to work | needs to be “pampered” repeatedly to |
| always at the “bleeding edge” of technology | always at the “bleeding edge” of fashion |
Q: Any interesting sayings?
A: There you go:
- E-mail Sig in 1995, w.r.t. infamous Pentium FPU bug – This is Pentium of Borg. Precision is futile. You will be approximated.
Q: What’s this bunny thing in Sandra?
A: If you haven’t found it, don’t worry about it. The bunny existed in Windows 3.0, 3.1(1), and 9X – it was Microsoft’s idea. SAW also had a bunny, so Sandra needed one too… Bunnies are fluffy and cute… and bad… Bad Bunny!