Raymond Chen: Last News

Back in the early 2000s, you probably got quite used to your laptop crashing all the time, but could the problem have been that you were just listening to Janet Jackson too much? As nonsensical as that question sounds, the answer is possibly yes.In a recent blog post, Microsoft software engineer and Windows historian Raymond Chen has revealed that a “major computer manufacturer” once came to the company with an unusual issue. Certain laptops running Windows XP would crash when playing the video for Janet Jackson’s 1989 single ‘Rhythm Nation’.“One discovery [made] during the investigation [was] that playing the music video also crashed some of their competitors’ laptops”, Chen explains.

Janet Jackson‘s 1989 single ‘Rhythm Nation’ is said to have the power to cause older laptops to crash.In a recent blog post (via Hot New Hip Hop), Microsoft’s principal software engineer, Raymond Chen, explained: “The song contained one of the natural resonant frequencies for the model of 5400 rpm laptop hard drives that they [an unnamed major manufacturer] and other[s] used.”Chen claimed that the frequency caused laptops from around 2005 to crash after playing the audio. The issue is similar to how an opera singer is able to shatter glass by singing at a certain pitch.“The manufacturer worked around the problem by adding a custom filter in the audio pipeline that detected and removed the offending frequencies during audio playback,” he continued.“I would not have wanted to be in the laboratory that they must have set up to investigate this problem.

The Super Bowl XXXVIII incident was not the only malfunction surrounding Janet Jackson’s music in the mid aughts. Soon after that debacle, a computer manufacturer discovered that playing “Rhythm Nation” — a 1989 smash from Jackson’s fourth studio LP, Rhythm Nation 1814 — crashed a model of 5400-RPM laptop hard drives widely in use at the time.

1989 hit “Rhythm Nation” is too much for some laptops to handle. Microsoft’s principal software engineer Raymond Chen revealed on his blog Tuesday that the song has the same frequency as some older model laptops’ hard drives — called a resonate frequency, which is the natural frequency of an object. And, unfortunately, it can cause laptops to shut off.

Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation might have the ability to get you up making shapes on the dancefloor, but it also has a lesser-known (and slightly ominous) power. The track stormed the charts in 1989, with its accompanying video an absolute masterclass in choreography. But while packed dancefloors were heaving to the catchy song, not everyone could keepup with the rhythm – namely, laptops.