"I just had it," Lucas Hinch, 38, told The Smoking Gun (via Ars Technica). Apparently the PC had thrown up one too many blue screens of death in recent months, so Hinch took it into an alley, loaded up a 9mm Hi-Point pistol that he'd purchased on Craiglist, and let the bullets fly.
"It was glorious," Hinch told the Los Angeles Times. "Angels sung on high."
Hinch admitted that the murder was "premeditated, oh, definitely," and that he'd made sure there was nothing behind the desktop, and nothing from which the rounds could ricochet. The deed went down behind Hinch's home, where he and his girlfriend also run a homeopathic herb store.
Despite his precautions, Colorado Springs police issued Hinch a citation for discharging a firearm within city limits. (The local police blotter summarizes the incident as "Man Kills His Computer.") Hinch faces a possible fine, but jail time is highly unlikely according to the Times. While the cops confiscated the gun, they left the computer behind, letting it remain a tribute to frustrated PC users everywhere.
The impact on you: Hey, we've all felt the pain of dealing with an overly cranky desktop before. Kudos to this guy for letting us live vicariously through his act of retaliation--and absorbing the legal ramifications so we don't have to.