explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1586: Keyboard Problems

2015-10-06T18:36:34Z

199.27.133.126:

{{comic
| number = 1586
| date = October 5, 2015
| title = Keyboard Problems
| image = keyboard_problems.png
| titletext = In the future, a group of resistance fighters send me back in time with instructions to find the Skynet prototype and try to upgrade it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs some rewording and reorganizing}}

This comic parodies how people diagnose and solve computer problems. Cueball and Megan are trying to solve a keyboard issue, but are somewhat incompetent at diagnosing the issue. Cueball in particular blames a broken keyboard on software or a keyboard virus.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] complains that some keys in his keyboard don't work. Generally speaking, this could be due either to a software problem (i.e. the keyboard driver not working properly, or some program ignoring keypresses) or to a hardware problem (the keyboard is physically damaged, typically because of dirt under the keys).

If the problem is in software, booting from a different operating system (e.g. an external recovery disk) should solve it, as the computer would not be using the faulty software. Conversely, if the problem is in hardware, changing the keyboard should solve the problem as the new keyboard is not physically damaged and has no dirt under the keys.

However, the problem stays there after booting from an external recovery disk (so it's not a software problem) and it has "followed Cueball since his last computer" (i.e. persists after changing to a new laptop with a new keyboard, so it's not a hardware problem). Cueball is reasonably puzzled.

[[Megan]] seems to be used to Cueball's computer behaving strangely, and she doesn't even attempt to explain or solve the problem. The only explanation she needs for the problem is that "it's Cueball's computer". The characters in this comic are probably the same as in [[1084: Server Problem]], [[1316: Inexplicable]], and possibly [[349: Success]].

Both Cueball and Megan are entirely clueless to the fact that the issue is likely a hardware issue with the keyboards, rather than a virus that spreads between computers. It's possible Cueball uses the computer in a dirty environment with food or dust clogging up all of his keyboards. Blaming such a broken-key problem on software or a virus is completely absurd.

The last panel is a reference to {{w|The Terminator}}, a 1984 movie often referenced in xkcd. In the movie, the artificial intelligence named Skynet initiates a nuclear war, destroying most of humanity, then it sends killing machines to finish the rest. These include flying drones - Megan suggests that if such robots come to Cueball's vicinity, they will (physically) crash since computers around Cueball can't seem to ever work properly, and so hiding in Cueball's house she should be safe from the robots.

The title text refers to main plot of the movie and its sequel {{w|Terminator 2: Judgment Day}}. As Skynet's army is losing the battle against the human Resistance movement, it finds a way to send a humanoid robot {{w|Terminator_(character)|T-800}} back in time to kill the mother of the Resistance's leader. The Resistance in turn sends a soldier back in time to protect her. In the sequel, the situation repeats with the more advanced {{w|T-1000}} being the killer and a reprogrammed T-800 being the protector of the child (the future leader). Along the way, they manage to destroy the research lab where Skynet hardware is to be born in the future. The title text suggests an alternative mission into the past, sending Cueball back in time and using his power to cause Skynet to malfunction instead of destroying it physically (as Skynet was created later anyway, despite the destruction of the research lab).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits between two laptops. Megan stands behind him.]

:Cueball: Keys on my keyboard keep failing, even when I boot from an external recovery disk.
:Megan: Sounds like it's hardware, then.

:[Cueball moves over to the laptop behind him.]

:Cueball: Yeah... except the problem followed me from my ''last'' computer.
:Megan: You have the most ''bizarre'' tech issues.

:[Cueball picks up the keyboard from the rear computer and plugs it into the one in front of him.]

:Cueball: It must be spreading via keyboards. This one won't work with ''any'' computer now.
:Megan: When the robot apocalypse happens, I'm hiding out in your house. Any Skynet drones that come near will develop inexplicable firmware problems and crash.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Terminator]]

1586: Keyboard Problems

2015-10-05T23:00:42Z

199.27.133.126:

{{comic
| number = 1586
| date = October 5, 2015
| title = Keyboard Problems
| image = keyboard_problems.png
| titletext = In the future, a group of resistance fighters send me back in time with instructions to find the Skynet prototype and try to upgrade it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs some rewording and reorganizing}}
This comic is about how computer problems appear with no obvious cause. Even technically skilled people often find themselves powerless to diagnose the problem, and resort to tricks and quirks to solve or circumvent the problem without really understanding how or why the trick should work.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] complains that some keys in his keyboard don't work. Generally speaking, this could be due either to a software problem (i.e. the keyboard driver not working properly, or some program ignoring keypresses) or to a hardware problem (the keyboard is physically damaged, typically because of dirt under the keys).

If the problem is in software, booting from a different operating system (e.g. an external recovery disk) should solve it, as the computer would not be using the faulty software. Conversely, if the problem is in hardware, changing the keyboard should solve the problem as the new keyboard is not physically damaged and has no dirt under the keys.

However, the problem stays there after booting from an external recovery disk (so it's not a software problem) and it has "followed Cueball since his last computer" (i.e. persists after changing the keyboard and even the whole computer, so it's not a hardware problem). Cueball is reasonably puzzled.

[[Megan]] seems to be used to Cueball's computer behaving strangely, and she doesn't even attempt to explain or solve the problem. The only explanation she needs for the problem is that "it's Cueball's computer". The characters in this comic are probably the same as in [[1084: Server Problem]], [[1316: Inexplicable]], and possibly [[349: Success]].

The last panel is a reference to {{w|The Terminator}}, a 1984 movie often referenced in xkcd. In the movie, the artificial intelligence named Skynet initiates a nuclear war, destroying most of humanity, then it sends killing machines to finish the rest. These include flying drones - Megan suggests that if such robots come to Cueball's vicinity, they will (physically) crash since computers around Cueball can't seem to ever work properly, and so hiding in Cueball's house she should be safe from the robots.

Both Cueball and Megan are entirely clueless to the fact that the issue is likely a hardware issue with the keyboard, rather than a virus that spreads between computers.

The title text refers to main plot of the movie, or rather it's sequel {{w|Terminator 2: Judgment Day}} - as Skynet's army is losing the battle against human Resistance movement, it finds a way how to send a humanoid robot {{w|Terminator_(character)|T800}} back in time to kill the mother of the Resistance's leader. The Resistance in turn sends a soldier back in time to protect her. In the sequel, the situation repeats with more advanced {{w|T-1000}} being the killer and T-800 being the protector of the kid - future leader. Along the way, they manage to destroy research lab where future Skynet hardware is to be born. The title suggest alternative mission into the past, using Cueball's power to cause Skynet's malfunction instead of destroying it physically (as Skynet got created later anyways, despite the destruction of the research lab).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball] sits between two laptops. Megan stands behind him.]

:Cueball: Keys on my keyboard keep failing, even when I boot from an external recovery disk.
:Megan: Sounds like it's hardware, then.

:[Cueball moves over to the laptop behind him.]

:Cueball: Yeah... except the problem followed me from my ''last'' computer.
:Megan: You have the most ''bizarre'' tech issues.

:[Cueball picks up the keyboard from the rear computer and plugs it into the one in front of him.]

:Cueball: It must be spreading via keyboards. This one won't work with ''any'' computer now.
:Megan: When the robot apocalypse happens, I'm hiding out in your house. Any Skynet drones that come near will develop inexplicable firmware problems and crash.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Terminator]]

1508: Operating Systems

2015-04-06T06:19:36Z

199.27.133.126: Linked to GNU Hurd Homepage

{{comic
| number = 1508
| date = April 6, 2015
| title = Operating Systems
| image = operating systems.png
| titletext = One of the survivors, poking around in the ruins with the point of a spear, uncovers a singed photo of Richard Stallman. They stare in silence. "This," one of them finally says, "This is a man who BELIEVED in something."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}

In this comic, Randall provides a timeline of the use of different operating systems in his house.

The title text refers to Richard Stallman, the founder of the [http://www.fsf.org/about Free Software movement] and the [https://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu.html GNU project], and refers to the timeline when [https://www.gnu.org/software/hurd/hurd.html GNU/Hurd] is the only Operating System having survived the apocalypse.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1442: Chemistry

2014-11-09T23:45:06Z

199.27.133.126:

:"I" would have two in Randall's system as a sans-serif element, and four as a serif element. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.202|108.162.249.202]] 00:51, 4 November 2014 (UTC)

::The crossbar on "I" is actually not a serif, it's a part of the letter. Some popular sans-serif fonts that have a crossbar on "I" include Tahoma and Verdana. --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 13:24, 6 November 2014 (UTC)

What is the force that holds the two or three glyphs of an atom together called? How many bonds does the i's dot in Ti have? Ann how dangerous is comic sans cheMStry? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.39|141.101.104.39]] 06:52, 3 November 2014 (UTC)
:The letter i can only form one bond, as the other side is bonded with its dot. This is pretty basic chemestry![[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 08:20, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

::Ok. Let's look at something advanced. Fe. Os. {{w|Ununtrium|Uut}}. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:20, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Presumably hydrocarbon chains are still supported, albeit with hydrogens forming the backbone in a zip-like arrangement. You'd need phosphorous on the end, with a sans serif valence of 1. [[User:SleekWeasel|SleekWeasel]] ([[User talk:SleekWeasel|talk]]) 08:09, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

I believe he is making fun of incompetent chemistry students. I've seen some draw CH4 as C-H-H-H-H, i.e. according to some random and weird rules that have nothing to do with chemistry. - This comic proposes an equally nonsensical new paradigm. - Aeneas, 3rd November 2014, 10:01 CET

The crystalline structure is not like real-life crystalline carbon (neither diamond nor graphite). I removed that but someone should add a bit about it.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.39|141.101.99.39]] 11:48, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Old English Krypton is particularly hazardous and may explode on contact. Dark matter is composed entirely of cursive script elements. [[User:DivePeak|DivePeak]] ([[User talk:DivePeak|talk]]) 12:01, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

"Mydrane" is a trade mark for a company that markets miscellaneous medical supplies. "Hydrane" is a process for coal gasification by hydrogenation, producing ideally mostly light hydrocarbon gases (mostly methane) and a minimum of liquid products. Not clear whether either is relevant here.[[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 12:29, 3 November 2014 (UTC)
::Hydrane is probally relevant. The real Mydrane almost certainly isn't. However, two other words come to mind; Mydriasis (the dialation of the pupil) and Myopia (near-sightedness), which could be what was happening to us Chemistry geeks when we first saw that. Also, the "compound" he claims to be Mydrane does somewhat resemble a pair of eyes or a pair of glasses. -[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.137|173.245.48.137]] 17:42, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Amount vs. number.
In the explanation: "the formation of bonds between elements often relies on the amount of valence electrons an element has." Should read, "the formation of bonds between elements often relies on the NUMBER of valence electrons an element has…"

-Avenue

It would be a very interesting exercise to invent a new set of symbols that WERE accurate using this system.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 12:47, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

I don't know how relevant this is, but Hydrogen does exist in a metallic phase unde rhigh pressure and temperatures. It's liquid, though, and not crystalline. Also, C2H does also exist, but as a very unstable radical (basically an Acetylene Radical) which seems to be found in space. I have NO idea where Mydrane comes from. There are a lot of Hydrogencompounds ending with -ane (Borane, Silane, Methane), but no idea how this applies here. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.188|108.162.231.188]] 14:21, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Question: does N(itrogen) only have two bonds, or are those angles a different kind of bond (perhaps ionic vs covalent)? If so, tungsten (W) would be interesting, for a start... (In fact, going though the elements in my head, from the monoglyph elements it would be the most complex under this system. The diglyphs might give Meitnerium (Mt... but was that previously Une as a systematic triglyph?) or Thulium (Tm) some interesting qualities, depending on how the system actually works. Triglyphs are always intended to be replaced, so I think those are moot.
:Wow, is this a serious question or are you just trolling for conspiracy nuts? Of course the conspiracy theorists will tell you that before the invention of printing all the angles were curves, and they were compressed to tight angles to make blocks of movable type smaller and cheaper. Reputable experimental chemists, however, have reported that the bonds between two tungstens is stronger than between two uraniums and we can attribute the difference to the angles. It is fairly evident that right angles (e.g. at the upper left corners of "F" and "P") are essentially inert, and it appears that bond strength increases as the angle becomes more acute. Opposing angles (e.g. "K") seem to Kancel each other out. This is still a very contentious topic![[User:DivePeak|DivePeak]] ([[User talk:DivePeak|talk]]) 05:09, 4 November 2014 (UTC)

As for symbols that ''are'' accurate, there are a number of systems. Hydrogen is represented on the "gold discs" on the Voyager spacecraft (as a starting key to easily decode other information on there) but without a complete overhaul of a system, I'd imagine ''no'' advanced civilisation will have started out with "let's show it how it actually works" (accurately, and without elements such as phlogiston creeping in!) before giving arbitrary names. Electron-orbital diagrams probably work well, though, for some things. And something that reveals the (for example) pi-bonds works better in combinatory diagrams. I think. It's been a while since I did any serious chemistry.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.112|141.101.99.112]] 14:41, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Oxygen has 6 valence electrons, not two. It forms two bonds because it's got room for two more. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.105|108.162.216.105]] 16:49, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Could Mydrane be My Dr -ane where -ane is the common ending for an alkane. My Dr = CCH...which could be Cape Code Healthcare? ~~rbnm

I wonder how many bonds the capital letter "I" would have-- two or four? Seeing as how Randall writes it in this comic, I'm guessing two. Also, would it be possible for carbon to bond with itself ad infinitum in a chain which looks like the teeth on a zipper ("C", upside-down "C", and so on)? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.177|108.162.238.177]] 00:29, 4 November 2014 (UTC)
::Yes, Carbon can form very long chains, and also carbon rings (but only with an even number of carbon atoms).[[User:DivePeak|DivePeak]] ([[User talk:DivePeak|talk]]) 04:23, 4 November 2014 (UTC)
:::Assuming that you're talking Comic Universe, I don't see why it ''can't'' be an odd number of carbons in a ring. Even if we're forced to bend round a ...∩U∩U... sort of thing (only end-connected, between characters, not end-snuggled, IYSWIM) you can have one that bends round outside of the plane of the page similar to a mobius strip and could still 'zipper' in a closed circuit with an odd number.
:::IRL, of course, there's {{w|Cyclopentane}} and {{w|Cyclopropane}} (3- and 5-carbon rings), among others, and {{w|Cycloundecane}} (11-carbon saturated ring, with an irregular and aperiodic "wiggle" around the circuit) shows one way that the Fictional Cyclocarbon could (just with a greater angle of bond between successive carbons, and no hydrogens involved) work with odd numbers. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.112|141.101.99.112]] 07:56, 5 November 2014 (UTC)
::::My bad - I thought the comic universe was only two dimensional and it would have to be an even number. I need to upgrade my screen! [[User:DivePeak|DivePeak]] ([[User talk:DivePeak|talk]]) 02:51, 6 November 2014 (UTC)

Me is not the designation of two carbon chains. Methane is CH4. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.147|108.162.221.147]]rbnm

Any idea why the title text says "usually" more reactive? Do we have examples of where serifs could be less reactive than their sans serif counterparts?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.90|108.162.229.90]] 11:51, 9 November 2014 (UTC)
:Usually: For example, serif oxygen and sans-serif oxygen are both inert.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.126|199.27.133.126]] 23:45, 9 November 2014 (UTC)