Vorführeffekt [vor-fyur-ef-ekt]
a German word, literally ‘presentation effect’ which describes a problem, usually with a computer, that doesn’t happen when other people try to replicate it (such as, say, the Help Desk guy).
(I got it from Erin’s Weird and Wonderful Word of the Day)
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It also applies to Mercedes repair technicians, when the customer complains about a lack of acceleration or pulling to the left or “surging.”
Of course, the problem is usually caused by the customer. The above can be explained as 1) get your left foot off the brake. Mercedes won’t accelerate when the brake is depressed, even a little bit. 2) the driver weighs three hundred pounds and drives a little sports car. 3) the driver is stupid and can’t accelerate smoothly.
Heh. As a sysadmin, I’ll have to remember that.
Yeah. It’s also used for demonstrations – think physics teacher’s experiment.
Demo Effect?
The “presentation effect” of course a nice word to explain the problem. In high tech for eyars we’ve had the explanation known as PEBKAC — “Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair.”