2377: xkcd Phone 12

2020-10-27T01:03:46Z

172.69.63.161: these features don't go together

{{comic
| number = 2377
| date = October 26, 2020
| title = xkcd Phone 12
| image = xkcd_phone_12.png
| titletext = New phone OS features: Infinite customization (home screen icons no longer snap to grid), dark mode (disables screen), screaming mode (self-explanatory), and coherent ultracapacitor-pumped emission (please let us know what this setting does; we've been afraid to try it).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PERSON NAMED MAX. Features need more explanation, and MOUSEOVER TEXT needs to be explained. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is the 12th in the ongoing xkcd Phone series in which Randall explains his new joke phone designs with many strange and useless features. It is also a reference to the recently released iPhone 12.

* '''Full drivetrain warranty''' - A common warranty feature for automobiles--see {{w|drivetrain}}. As a side note, the phone here would be cheaping out on the warranty if it were a car; a "drivetrain" warranty covers everything ''except'' the engine; only if it was a "{{w|powertrain}}" warranty would it cover the engine. A phone typically has none of these things, although this one seemingly does.
* '''Coated for easy swallowing''' - A common feature on solid medicines meant to be taken orally.
* '''Surgical-grade apps''' - "Surgical-grade steel" is sometime used as a selling point indicating quality materials.
* '''Built-in 600 lb magnet for magnet fishing''' - {{w|Magnet fishing}} is an activity for searching for objects that can be pulled in by a strong magnet. This would make a phone weigh over 600 lbs, which would be heavy for a phone.
* '''Oral-B partnership: hold phone against teeth to ultrasonically remove plaque'''
* '''40 mL emergency water supply''' - Many phones are now water-resistant to some degree; this phone ships with water included.
* '''Security feature: unmarked side buttons'''
* '''3,000,000-volt arc allows wireless charging from a range of up to 36 inches''' - Possibly from a Tesla coil.
* '''99.9% BPA- and hands- free'''
* '''Extended release charge cable''' - Electronics manufacturers support standards to reduce time to fully recharge e.g. Qualcomm [[wikipedia:Quick Charge|Quick Charge]] standard. This is a reference to "extended release" medication.
* '''Closed timelike curves''' - Given that {{w|Closed timelike curves}} are usually associated with solutions to general relativity that allow for time travel...
* '''Fits in standard shipping container''' - An {{w|intermodal shipping container}} is large enough to fit vehicles, raising the question of just how big this XKCD phone is.
* '''Interlocking, stackable''' - A quality of, among other things, LEGO bricks. Probably a bad idea to use this feature, given how close the phone is to critical mass.
* '''Nintendo partnership: GameBoy Printer compatibility''' - The {{w|GameBoy Printer}} was a thermal paper printer originally paired with the GameBoy Camera.
* '''Sustain pedal''' - A {{w|sustain pedal}} is commonly associated with a digital keyboard or piano, it lets the note continue sounding when the key is released. It's unclear what purpose it would serve in a phone.
* '''CDC partnership: when in an indoor space with too many people, phone begins playing "We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)" at slowly increasing volume until everyone leaves''' - An allusion to the COVID-19 pandemic. {{w|We Like to Party! (Vengaboys song)|"We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)"}} is a 1998 Eurodance/techno hit by the Vengaboys, and is perhaps most familiar to Americans from a series of Six Flags ads.
* '''Sacrificial anode''' - Useful if something metal (like, say, a boat) will be in a wet environment for a long time. The sacrificial anode is made of a material with higher redox potential, and will corrode faster than the (more valuable) metal object it's attached to. It's unclear if the phone HAS a sacrificial anode or IS a sacrificial anode.
* '''Tactical helium reserve''' - since 1925, the United States has had a {{w|National Helium Reserve|strategic helium reserve}} - helium is very rare on earth and has important scientific and military uses, so it’s important to have aside just in case. But here we have a tactical helium reserve - which suggests its smaller and focussed on shorter term goals. Compare {{w|strategic bombing}} focused on destroying entire cities or countries and {{w|tactical bombing}} aimed at destroying individual targets or military units.
* '''50% below critical mass (2x safety factor)''' - Indicates the phone contains fissile material. This "2x safety factor" means that if you put 2 phones next to each other, or put one phone next to a {{w|neutron reflector}}, you would have a {{w|criticality accident}}, which may explain why you would not own another phone after this one.
* '''Shake for factory reset''' - A {{w|factory reset}} is often possible on electronic devices, and is usually accomplished either by pressing a button or closing an electrical bridge. This one works like an Etch-a-Sketch. This would not be preferred, as slight disturbances could easily cause massive losses of data.
* '''Norton MacAfee protection: if you're ever attacked by John MacAfee, Peter Norton will come out of retirement to defend you'''. {{w|Norton (software)|Norton}} and {{w|MacAfee}} are competing software security companies. This "protection" combines the two of them and claims that Norton (the person) will defend you if MacAfee (the person) attacks you.

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

* Full drivetrain warranty
* Coated for easy swallowing
* Surgical-grade apps
* Built-in 600 lb magnet for magnet fishing
* Oral-B partnership: hold phone against teeth to ultrasonically remove plaque
* 40 mL emergency water supply
* Security feature: unmarked side buttons
* 3,000,000-volt arc allows wireless charging from a range of up to 36 inches
* 99.9% BPA- and hands- free
* Extended release charge cable
* Closed timelike curves
* Fits in standard shipping container
* Interlocking, stackable
* Nintendo partnership: GameBoy Printer compatibility
* Sustain Pedal
* CDC partnership: when in an indoor space with too many people, phone begins playing "We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)" at slowly increasing volume until everyone leaves
* Sacrificial anode
* Tactical helium reserve
* 50% below critical mass (2x safety factor)
* Shake for factory reset
* Norton MacAfee protection: if you're ever attacked by John MacAfee, Peter Norton will come out of retirement to defend you

The xkcd Phone 12* and 12 Max**

<nowiki>*Standard</nowiki> **For people named Max

"The only phone you'll ever own"®™

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|xkcd Phones]]

Talk:899: Number Line

2020-08-21T02:12:48Z

172.69.63.161:

Where does sqrt(-1) go? [[Special:Contributions/67.78.183.206|67.78.183.206]] 19:07, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

:It goes up (literally above 0). A number line can be extended to a complex plane with sqrt(-1) as the unit of measurement in the vertical direction. Or at least, that's where it actually goes. I don't know where Randall would put it. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 01:04, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

I'm sorry...are you indicating the ACTUAL location for an IMAGINARY number? {{unsigned|‎74.213.186.41}}

Yes, that's exactly where it is (up to switching clockwise for counterclockwise). There is nothing strange about providing a location for imaginary or complex numbers, the location described is logical, and the adjective 'imaginary' is an artifact of nomenclature and nothing more.[[Special:Contributions/173.48.140.216|173.48.140.216]] 20:40, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

In fact, complex numbers are nearly more real than real ones! Complex analysis really opened my eyes to how much "stepping out" can help in solving problems. The complex notion of analyticity yields fruit in real analysis. Extensions to hypercomplex numbers are weirder, however. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 20:27, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

Analyticity must be an imaginary word, and therefore would be found one unit directly above any dictionary. [[Special:Contributions/50.203.89.169|50.203.89.169]] 14:19, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
:Oh my god, I can't believe how hard I laughed at that. Would an imaginary friend actually be above you then? I'm going to use that sometime. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.61|108.162.219.61]] 21:25, 24 April 2014 (UTC)
:"I'm sorry, you have reached an imaginary number. Please rotate the phone by 90 degrees and try again."[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.250|141.101.98.250]] 17:01, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

Is unexplored a map reference? [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 17:53, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

Note that the digits 5 and 6 do not show up on any of the numbers in the comic, reinforcing the fact that the integers 5 and 6 are unexplored. [[User:Blitzer|Blitzer]] ([[User talk:Blitzer|talk]]) 02:34, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
:So the 5th digit of pi can not be known either? [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 03:56, 12 July 2014 (UTC)
:: The ''wha''th digit of pi? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.119|108.162.215.119]] 01:59, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
Thank God (or someone else, I'm not choosy) that the SCP link here still works. The rest of the site's gone private. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.223}}

It appears that Wikipedia had noticed the implications of the title text here. The message now says that it might never be complete, but can be expanded with reliably sourced articles. I'm not 100% sure it's due to Randall's involvement, but I like to think so. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.17|141.101.104.17]] 22:01, 9 December 2014 (UTC)

I am not American, but the linked Wikipedia Article does not support the claims about president's day being observed between the 2 birthdays of Washington and Lincoln in general, but just that in some states Lincoln is also referenced on that day. Even if it was put as a day between these birthdays by definition and on purpose, I do not see the reference here... Especially as this number is given as specific, unlike presidents day, which can occur in a range of days... Someone who knows more of American culture, and also what "observed" (which would link it to holidays....) can mean in English language please revert this. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 12:41, 18 September 2019 (UTC)

The link to "bleem" does not work for me, but the word can be found in Urban Dictionary. ——[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.161|172.69.63.161]] 02:12, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2377: xkcd Phone 12

Talk:899: Number Line