explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1598: Salvage

2018-11-02T08:28:42Z

162.158.134.76: please delete this source: https://smartphones.gadgethacks.com/how-to/myth-debunked-uncooked-rice-isnt-best-way-save-your-water-damaged-phone-0154799/

as randall points out, the whole rice thing is a myth. either there isn't water inside your phone, in which case it's going to work anyway, or there is and the rice will only get the moisture off the outside and it won't. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.8|108.162.216.8]] 13:40, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
:Ahah! I just inserted something along those lines. (Also, the Wiki's server clock looks to be fast.) While I didn't go into it myself, the biggest problem is water pooling in the casing and being held by surface-tension between two planes (e.g. circuit board and plastic frame). It's possible that absorbing rice (or other substance) in concact with the vents could draw water (or other liquids!) through the vents, like a wick, even from further inside, but I'd normally dismantle a device as much as I'd dare (certainly not beyond the point that I'd obviously break it ''more'') and leach off the liquid directly with appropriate material.
:A careful dab/wipe wash in distilled water (or suitable non-water cleaning liquids) is sometims also necessary for long-standing residues (e.g. of coffee that went into laptop keyboards), but the absolute main thing is to turn off a device ''as soon as possible'' after a soaking, including removing batteries, so that you've not already pre-ruined anything delicate by a spurious back-voltage.
:But don't take my word as definitive, because it depends on the device, the degree of soaking and what it's soaked with and the rice might work sufficiently or nothing might... Go seek a professional, if you're not just feeling lucky. (Luck''ier'' than when you got it wet, anyway. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.233|141.101.64.233]] 14:07, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
::And if it was salt water it got soaked in... well, good luck there. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 16:06, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

I used to have a digital clock that stopped when it got wet, and didn't start again until it dried out, 11.5 hours later. The weird thing was that it was ''always'' 11.5 hours - I checked (to within a few dozen minutes) at least four separate times. To this day I have no idea why. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.78|141.101.81.78]] 13:44, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
:More mysterious than the precise timing of your digital clock's resurrection is what you were doing to get it wet so often. :) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.210|162.158.90.210]] 14:00, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
::Also saying always 11.5 hours when you also says that it is to within 1 hour is not so precise. The one hour comes from the fact that [[1070: Words for Small Sets |a few means 2-5]], and 5 x 12 minutes = 1 hour ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:10, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
:::It was the sort of clock that is worn on hands (I think that type of clock is also called "watch"), so washing hands the wrong way could do it. And yes, I know of the weird precision - the whole thing happened about 15 years ago, and while I distinctly remember the weirdly precise figure, I cannot remember any measurement of it more precise than "a few dozen minutes" :-) --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.78|141.101.81.78]] 15:10, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

Could here be an additional joke from the old movie {{w|Raise the Titanic (film)}}?I'm not sure how this will be pronounced in different part of the English world, but could it be pronounced just like '''''Rice''' the Titanic''? That would be a joke where you do not need he title text to get it... (Which is usually the case - the title text often just adds and extra layer to the joke). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:14, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
:That's impossible. ''Rice'' is /raɪs/ and ''raise'' is /reɪz/. Too many differences. An English speaker who hears ''rice'' when ''raise'' was pronounced is like another who hears ''chip'' when ''sheep'' was pronounced. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.17|108.162.221.17]] 14:32, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

::There are so many weird English dialects. There's probably one in England (or more) where they say raise like Americans say rice. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.236.241|108.162.236.241]] 15:52, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
:::Not 'English', and not that way round, but I can think of an Ulster (Northern Ireland) pronunciation where "rice" rather like Americans "raise". (But then "raise", itself, also suffers from vowel-shifts/etc.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.233|141.101.64.233]] 18:35, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

If you Google "rice cell phone" there is quite a bit of information, such as https://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/2014/05/06/gazelles-guide-water-damage-truth-rice-galaxy-everything/. Not sure what belongs in this article. [[User:Matchups|Matchups]] ([[User talk:Matchups|talk]]) 14:24, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

Is this the first strip to use "my hobby" in the title-text rather than the actual comic? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.52|173.245.54.52]] 14:29, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
:Nope, there's also [[1480: Super Bowl]]. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.207|162.158.39.207]] 15:05, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, the way to fix a wet phone, is just to remove the battery and let it dry out, once the battery is out you can even rince it in case what you got all over it wasn't just water.. Oh you can't remove the battery, you say? Well, then you are truly fucked.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.222|162.158.114.222]] 15:56, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

I always thought that the rice myth came from people who misunderstood, mis-told or heard but forgot the joke affirmation that "If you put your broken phone in rice overnight, chinese workers will be attracted and repair it". The joke could be from the myth, but I wouldn't be so sure. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.66.239|141.101.66.239]] 16:04, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

In case anyone needs anything more about it, the first reference to drying-with-rice that I thought of was [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2312764/synopsis the pilot episode] of CBS's Sherlock Holmes show 'Elementary. I forget if this version of Sherlock thinks it's a valid idea (but he at least knows that the phone's owner thought it so...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.233|141.101.64.233]] 16:43, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

I am sorry, but the second link posted in the article to show that this is supposed to be a myth (https://smartphones.gadgethacks.com/how-to/myth-debunked-uncooked-rice-isnt-best-way-save-your-water-damaged-phone-0154799/) is a very unscientific and weird experimental setup - it doesn't have anything to do with the real situation. It should be removed or replaced by a real study. Also, many people miss the point that while there are a better methods (silica gel, or very pure alcohol, which is my preferred method when I can access the boards), rice is something many people have at home. Also, there are regions on the earth where relative humidity is very high - leaving it to dry with an airflow might not help as much as a drying agent there. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.76|162.158.134.76]] 08:28, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

Although everyone is referencing the [more famous] Raise the Titanic, there is another great novel about raising the wreck; Ghost from the Grand Banks by Arthur C Clarke. It was published late in his career, in 1990, and is nowhere near as well known as his more popular, older, series. IMO a great read (though does have some bad reviews online) that is all about the technology and science involved in raising the two halves (by two different, competing, companies). Plus, he introduces the idea of Lake Mandlebrot, which I love! {{unsigned ip|162.158.152.125}}

;RMS Titanic name
While RMS Titanic was a Royal Mail Ship, and as such had RMS as part of its title, I don't think RMS Titanic had the inscription RMS. It was just Titanic. See for example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic#/media/File:RMS_Titanic_3.jpg [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.87|141.101.80.87]] 14:31, 2 November 2015 (UTC)

If rice actually worked well as a drying agent it would be used in "Do Not Eat" packets (presumably they'd be labelled differently because rice is edible) instead of silica gel, because rice is cheaper and more readily available than silica gel. The fact that they've gone to the trouble and expense of using silica gel is all the proof I need that silica gel works better than rice. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.163|108.162.249.163]] 22:24, 2 November 2015 (UTC)
:There's an old home custom - putting some rice grains into your salt shaker, presumably to prevent the salt for accumulating moisture and agglomerating. However, I am not sure which substance is more hygroscopic - if the rice would extract moisture from the salt or the other way round. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 10:18, 3 November 2015 (UTC)
::I think that's as much about the rice grains physically disrupting any nascent agglomerations, than being more hygroscopic. Anyway most mass-produced (read cheap) salt has "anti-caking agents" added. (How sad am I? :) ) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.147|162.158.34.147]] 08:41, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

What are the "dual meanings of salvage"? Isn't it just one meaning, to rescue? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.227|162.158.2.227]] 01:03, 3 November 2015 (UTC)
: It's not literally dual "meaning", but difference in when the thing is considered rescued. For ship wreck, getting it out of water is generally considered enough. For phones, getting it out of water is trivial, for successful rescue you need the phone to start working. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:13, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

Rise of the titanic?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.180.173|162.158.180.173]] 14:27, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

RMS could be a reference to Research in Motion's Blackberry and the once grand cellphone company has sunk. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.158}}
:Or, it's just the full name of a well-known shipwreck. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:35, 9 December 2015 (UTC)
:Research in Motion is RIM, not RMS [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.135|108.162.241.135]] 05:27, 29 January 2016 (UTC)Tom Duhamel

2061: Tectonics Game

2018-10-20T10:40:17Z

162.158.134.76: /* Explanation */ wikilinking

{{comic
| number = 2061
| date = October 19, 2018
| title = Tectonics Game
| image = tectonics_game.png
| titletext = They're limiting the playtesters to type A3 V stars, so the games will all end before the Sun consumes the Earth.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Written by a Tectonics Developer. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. What do L_T etc mean?}}

This comic is to show similarity to many {{w|simulation video game|simulation games}}, which have various niche popularity. Similar to Maxis' ''{{w|Spore (2008 video game)|Spore}}'', the game in question allows you to {{w|terraforming|terraform}} entire worlds. However, in a typical [[Randall]] twist, unlike most simulation games, you could not speed up the progress of time to make world-changing endeavours occur in a matter of seconds. The game operates in real time, which means most of the user time-frame will be spent idly watching nearly non-moving continents, drifting at the real speed of continental drift, a couple of inches a year, which makes for very slow gameplay. Thus several hundred millennia of play time is needed to reach a game {{w|Achievement (video gaming)|achievement}} of forming a kilometre high mountain.

Many {{w|computer games}} {{w|computer simulation|simulate}} to one degree or another real items and tasks, but often simplify them to fit into a game format -- to make them more exciting, to make them quicker, to advance a particular plot line or quest, etc. For example, a game about farming might allow you to grow corn, but whereas in real life corn takes about 90 days to germinate from seed and grow to maturity, in a game the growth might be instantaneous or measured by minutes, rather than by days/weeks/months.

In this game, especially, one would expect such shortcuts, given the extreme time frames required for {{w|geological}} events to be manifested. The joke is that this game is so realistic that it's played in "real-time", which means for every second or hour or æon something would take in real life, in the game it would take the same second or hour or æon to happen. Playing such a game where the events take longer than the person would be alive would likely be unsatisfying.{{Citation_needed}} A mildly less extreme example of a simulation game being played in real-time would be the {{w|Penn_%26_Teller%27s_Smoke_and_Mirrors#Desert_Bus|Desert Bus}} video game where you have to drive a bus from {{w|Tucson, Arizona}}, to {{w|Las Vegas, Nevada}}, in real time at a maximum speed of 45 MPH. The trip requires eight hours of continuous play to complete, at which point you score one point with the option to continue playing for additional points at the rate of one point per successful eight hour trip. The action consists almost entirely of just keeping the bus from veering off the road. It cannot be paused or sped up, and failure requires a tow back to the starting point at the same 45 MPH speed.

The frames show some elements of gameplay. The first frame shows a destructive plate margin in which an oceanic plate (grey) is being subducted under a continental plate (brown with a person standing on it) while sediments between the plates are compressed to form mountains. Clockwise from top left, the second frame shows: a cross section through the planet, Various statistics about the planet (CO2 levels of 840 ppm, solar irradiation of 1184 W/m2 and heat-flow through the crust of 91 mW/m2). Solar irradiation and heat-flow are similar to the Earth, but CO2 levels are raised. Bottom right is several stats titled LT and bottom left is a view of the planet showing the proportion covered by ice (3%) land (31%) and water (66%). It seems that the raised CO2 levels have reduced the amount of ice compared to the Earth. The final panel shows some of the achievements that can be unlocked, the first is 1 km mountain. Below that seems to be achievements in the formation of an atoll.

{{w|Large igneous province}}s are suspected to be related to extinction level events and rapid climate changes in real life. Thus, they 'are the worst' in this game.

Type A3V stars are white main sequence stars. They have a shorter lifespan than the sun, hundreds of millions of years, compared to the 10 billion years lifespan of the sun. By starting the game now with an A3V star, there would be time to complete the game before the sun becomes a red giant and destroys the Earth.

This comic's number and content regarding simulations in real time may also be a reference to {{w|Arthur C. Clarke}}'s ''{{w|2061: Odyssey Three}}'', the third book in the ''{{w|Space Odyssey}}'' series, in which {{w|Monolith_(Space_Odyssey)|monoliths}} are left throughout the solar system, manipulating environments to encourage the evolution of intelligent life.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Cueball is standing behind Ponytail, who is sitting on the floor playing a video game on a TV which displays a diagram of tectonic plates.]
:Cueball: What game is that?
:Ponytail: ''Tectonics''!
:Ponytail: You steer chunks of crust around, rifting, subducting, and building and eroding mountains.

:[A view of the game screen is shown. It includes a large cross-section of the Earth with smaller charts around it.]
:Ponytail: You try to keep your climate stable and your biosphere rich. Avoid making large igneous provinces! They're the ''worst''.

:[Cueball holds his hand out.]
:Cueball: Cool!
:Cueball: Can I try?
:Ponytail: Sure!

:[Cueball plays the game.]
:Cueball: ...How do I unpause?
:Ponytail: It's not paused.
:Cueball: ...
:Ponytail: Continents can only move a few inches per year.

:[Cueball holds the controller in one hand, now uninterested in the game. The screen shows an achievement page with nothing completed.]
:Cueball: It's ''real-time''?
:Ponytail: Just 400 millennia to go until your first mountain achievement!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Video games]]

2024: Light Hacks

2018-07-28T17:05:25Z

162.158.134.76: Changed the link to the IKEA product that I think Randall had in mind. This one looks more futuristic and has a mirroring inner surface layer.

{{comic
| number = 2024
| date = July 25, 2018
| title = Light Hacks
| image = light_hacks.png
| titletext = Life hack: Wait for an advanced civilization to be briefly distracted, then sneak in and construct a slightly smaller Dyson sphere inside theirs.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Me - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

"{{w|Life hack}}ing" is the practice of using common everyday items in novel ways to increase the convenience or enjoyment of daily activities. This comic pokes fun at the many blogs and video channels that purport to cover life hacking tips, but merely point out obvious or intended uses for products or well known techniques as low effort clickbait.

{{w|Dyson sphere}} is a hypothetical energy-collecting megastructure encompassing a star and named after the physicist and mathematician {{w|Freeman Dyson}}. Dyson spheres are generally not intended for lightbulbs. Freeman Dyson argued that Dyson spheres, if they existed, could be found by infrared surveys, as large objects that would emit infrared radiation.

[https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00311498/ IKEA pendant lampshades] are spherical shells that surround the bulb. Megan claims studies have tried to use infrared surveys to find Dyson spheres at Ikea's, without success.

The title text creates a different sort of confusion of the term lifehack, with another sort of popular clickbait videos. Described activity, if done, would be considered a prank - depriving the distractible civilization of their sunlight and energy source, rather than bringing any benefit to the builders of the smaller sphere.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Megan walks to the right, holding a sheet of paper and a light bulb]
:Megan: I discovered a cool life hack -- you can put a white sheet behind a lightbulb to reflect more light.
:Off-panel voice: I'm ... not sure that's a life hack.

:[Megan stops, and positions the light bulb between two sheets of paper]
:Megan: And you can put a sheet in front to diffuse the light.
:Off-panel voice: So you've invented the lampshade.
:Megan: '''''Life hacks!'''''

:Megan: Freeman Dyson suggested that advanced civilizations would build spherical shells that surrounded their bulbs, redirecting 100% of their energy.
:Off-panel voice: Yes, they have those at IKEA.

:Megan: Well, they might. Infrared surveys are inconclusive.
:Off-panel voice: You know you can just check their website.
:Megan: Ooh, great life hack!
:Off-panel voice: ''No!''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1935: 2018

2018-01-02T10:23:24Z

162.158.134.76: Denmark = Western Country. Denmark = Celebrates Christmas the 24th. Someone was wrong on the internet.

{{comic
| number = 1935
| date = December 29, 2017
| title = 2018
| image = 2018.png
| titletext = We should really start calculating it earlier, but until the end of December we're always too busy trying to figure out which day Christmas will fall on.
}}

==Explanation==
In this, the first of two [[:Category:New Year|New Year comics]] in a row, [[Megan]] wonders if 2018 will be a {{w|Leap year|leap year}}. [[Cueball]] thinks 2018 will not be a leap year, and Megan responds that she "doubts anyone knows at this point." This appears to be a jab at the complexity of the leap year system. As Cueball says, leap years occur every four years (though there are a few exceptions), adding an extra day to account for the fact that Earth takes a bit longer than 365 days to orbit the Sun. Therefore, most years that are a multiple of four are leap years. As Megan says, this is easy for odd-numbered years, since no odd numbers are divisible by four. However, for even-numbered years, it isn't always obvious.

The last panel expresses a misunderstanding of modern public-key {{w|Cryptography|cryptography}}, which relies on the fact that it is difficult to factorize large numbers. Megan is applying this concept to the year, claiming that it is hard to determine whether or not 2018 is a multiple of four and hence is a leap year. In reality, factorization is not needed here, since we already know the factor, which is four. Megan states that if it were possible to factor large numbers with a calculator, modern cryptography would collapse. While true, it is only true for truly large numbers (hundreds of digits), and no factorization is needed in this case.

At the end of the strip, Megan hopes the answer can be {{w|Brute-force attack|brute-forced}} by February. Brute force is a method of breaking cryptography by trying every possible option until one works. This is a misdirection upon misdirection, in that even if we needed to factorize 2018 (which we don't), the simplest brute forcing algorithm would only need to try 14 numbers - each prime from 2 to 43 (the square root of 2018 is closest to 44). In cryptography, the algorithms use numbers much, much bigger than 2018 -- on the order of hundreds (or even thousands) of digits.

The title text refers to calculating which day {{w|Christmas}} will fall on. Given that it always falls on December 24/25th (in western countries), there is nothing to calculate. They could mean which day of the week, so it's either the 359th or the 360th (leap years) day of the year and the day of the week may differ. This is a reference to Easter whose date jumps from year to year according to a complicated algorithm that most people don't know. The changing date of Easter was recently included in [[1930: Calendar Facts]].

==Transcript==

:[Megan is walking.]
:Megan: I wonder if 2018 will be a leap year.

:[Now it turns out that Cueball walks behind Megan.]
:Cueball: ...it won't be, right?
:Megan: I doubt anyone knows at this point.

:[Same scene in a frame-less panel.]
:Cueball: No, it's definitely not. Leap years are divisible by 4.
:Megan: Right, and for odd numbers, that's easy.
:Megan: But 2018 is even.
:Megan: 50/50 chance.

:[Zoomed-out view with both walking in silhouette on a dark slightly curved ground.]
:Cueball: I can settle this with a calculator.
:Megan: No way. If it were easy to factor large numbers like that, modern cryptography would collapse.
:Cueball: I see.
:Megan: I just hope we manage to brute-force it by February.

==Trivia==
*Released on Friday, December 29, this was the last comic of 2017. The next comic, [[1936: Desert Golfing]], was released soon after midnight (in Randall's time zone) on New Year's Day 2018.

*Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100, but these centurial years are leap years if they are exactly divisible by 400. For example, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 were.

*Since 100 is divisible by 4, only the last two digits of a number are needed to determine if that number is divisible by 4. So to determine if 2018 is divisible by 4, we only need to check whether 18 is divisible by 4, which is easy.

*2018 is not divisible by 4, so the year is not a leap year. 2016 and 2020 are leap years. Assuming your calendar is Gregorian! A year is roughly 365.2422 days long. (Actually, also the case if it is 2018 on the old Julian calendar. The century year rules for leap years are different on the Gregorian calendar from the Julian, but the non-century year rules are the same).

*{{w|Eastern Christian Churches}} celebrate Christmas also on December 25 but of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar.

*This is the third year in a row with New Year's comics with only the year used as the title, before that there were two more comics with such titles, but those two (and thus the first three) were only released in the even years: [[998: 2012]] in 2012, [[1311: 2014]] in 2014, [[1624: 2016]] in 2016 and [[1779: 2017]] in 2017.

* XKCD comic number 2018 will occur sometime in 2018. So we will have a comic named 2018 and a comic numbered 2018 both in the year 2018.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:New Year]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|2017]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]

Talk:1789: Phone Numbers

2017-01-25T17:32:32Z

162.158.134.76:

I've definitely seen this comic before. Deja vu? [[User:OfftheRails|OfftheRails]] ([[User talk:OfftheRails|talk]]) 20:56, 23 January 2017 (UTC)
:[http://www.xkcd.com/1254 #1254] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.219|162.158.74.219]] 21:44, 23 January 2017 (UTC)
::Yep [[1254]] has been linked in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

“Also White Hat never actually answers the question originally posed by Cueball.” – AFAIS he should use the #2 (the Google voice one). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 20:58, 23 January 2017 (UTC)
:He sort of does answer the question: The Google voice number should be used. This is number 2, since 1 is cell, 3 doesn't do texts (Google voice does), 4 is obsolete, and 5 is work.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.46|162.158.214.46]] 06:34, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
::Yes as DaB said. I have corrected the explanation and made it clear the Google Voice is #2. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

"Another reason I never call people." I can't remember any previous reason given, can anyone else? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.68|162.158.88.68]] 10:33, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
:Typical Randall to make it a list and not give you all the item. Did it with the bad projection last week, and he has done do in other cases like a long list of reasons for doing something, where you only see a small section of the list. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

The statement in the explanation that most cell phones can't save such detailed information is incorrect. Android and iOS both allow setting custom types for phone numbers. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.113|162.158.79.113]] 12:09, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
:Agreed and have corrected this. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

I could not resist ...
When viewed this comic on my Android phone with Firefox, the hover text got shortened to "Texting should work. Unless the message is too long, in which case..." Which I am finding funny in this context :) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.102|141.101.107.102]] 15:44, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

Shouldn't this explanation mention the reason for this comic? Google updating Google Voice for the first time in 5 years? [https://blog.google/products/google-voice/ringing-2017-updates-our-google-voice-apps/] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.226|108.162.216.226]] 22:14, 23 January 2017 (UTC)
:Yes and thanks. I will add this now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 24 January 2017 (UTC)

"However he then makes it clear that this _will only work when he is online with his laptop_ on a WiFi connection" Not true. Google Voice can be set up to ring several phone numbers, (6 total - see https://support.google.com/voice/answer/165221) in addition the Google Hangouts app on a computer. White Hat seems to want to use his laptop for calls when he's logged in on wifi, but the Google Voice number probably also rings his cell (#1), #3 (Landline?), and maybe even the partially defunct #4, if he has not updated his settings in a while. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]]Sailsman63
:Well obviously he has not, since he only receives his Google Voice call when he is on a WiFi connection on his laptop... But he could fix that as you say. But as long as he has not then Cueball is screwed :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:17, 25 January 2017 (UTC)

If you send a text message to a landline number in Germany, it gets converted to speech automatically and is read (twice) to the recipient. --