explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1473: Location Sharing

2015-01-15T20:47:04Z

Origamimissile: it is not clear that Megan gave the phone her location.

{{comic
| number = 1473
| date = January 14, 2015
| title = Location Sharing
| image = location_sharing.png
| titletext = Our phones must have great angular momentum sensors because the compasses really suck.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft.}}

In this comic, [[Megan]] is visiting a website on her mobile phone. After loading it, the website {{w|Location-based service|asks for her location}}. The choice between allowing or denying a website or app access to certain information is common among smartphones. The term "location sharing" specifically refers to when a smartphone user shares their location with such an entity. An example is a weather app which would need your location in order to automatically find the correct forecast.

Megan is then asked her {{w|momentum}}, which she denies. The joke is based off of the Heisenberg {{w|uncertainty principle}}, which, in quantum mechanics, states that one cannot accurately know both the location and momentum of any particle simultaneously. However, since Megan is not a subatomic particle, it doesn't make any sense to say the app is trying to violate Heisenberg's principle.

The ramifications of the uncertainty principle being violated in this context are unknown, but the comic might be alluding to security problems that appear if an untrusted application is given access to momentum data generated by the gyroscope. Access to gyroscope data can be used for reading passwords entered into the on-screen keyboard or even guessing keyboard strokes on a keyboard lying on the same table as the phone.

It could also be an attempt to get [[Megan]] to unwillingly reveal her weight (mass to be more exact), as the mass can be inferred by dividing the momentum by velocity (the velocity in turn can be obtained by observing the change of the location over time). In order to be feasible, the location must be polled at least twice, as at least two location points are necessary to compute the velocity. It is a stereotype in many Western cultures that women tend to keep their weight secret. The stereotype implies that women tend to obsess about controlling (and not revealing) their weight in order to conform to societal and sexual pressure.

The title text refers to the inclusion of {{w|gyroscope}}s in modern cell phones that measure angular momentum, mostly to detect when the phone is tilted, but also used in a few mobile games. Randall suggests the poor accuracy of the compasses in mobile phones (measuring the angular position) is due to the gyroscopes being too good. (If both the gyroscope and the compasses were completely accurate to a subatomic scale, it would violate the uncertainty principle). Modern phones also include varied technologies (such as GPS) to pinpoint the user's location, with varying degrees of accuracy.

The uncertainty principle has previously been referenced in [[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]]. It has also been discussed in relation to the two comics [[1404: Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma]] and [[1416: Pixels]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan is holding her phone. Above her is the text she can see on the screen:]
:This website wants to know your location.
:[Two buttons are below this text. The first is white with a black frame and black text. The second (the chosen button) also has a black frame, but inside the frame is a black rectangle with white text. Around the chosen button are small lines indication rays.]
:Deny
:'''Allow'''

:[Megan is holding her phone.]

:[Megan is holding her phone. Above her is again the text she can see on the screen.]
:This website wants to know your momentum.
:[Two buttons are below this text. The first (the chosen button) has a black frame, but inside the frame is a black rectangle with white text. The second is white with a black frame and black text. Around the chosen button are small lines indication rays.]
:'''Deny'''
:Allow

:Megan: Nice try.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1361: Google Announcement

2014-04-28T05:16:18Z

Origamimissile: fixed link error (again)

{{comic
| number = 1361
| date = April 28, 2014
| title = Google Announcement
| image = google_announcement.png
| titletext = The less popular 8.8.4.4 is slated for discontinuation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|I'm sure there's more to the DNS thing.}}

Recently Vic Gundotra left Google. Being the head of Google+, this has caused many people, including [http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/google-is-walking-dead/ TechCrunch], to theorize that Google+ is going to be shutdown, despite the continuing comments from Google that it will remain active and updated.

The comic extrapolates this to an announcement that Google would be closing *all* its popular services, up to and including its e-mail service Gmail and even the core business of the company, its Internet search engine, to wholly concentrate on a relatively recent addition to its product lineup. According to Google, its Public DNS servers, better known by their IPv4 addresses 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, are supposed to be a faster (because of caching effects due to a large user base) alternative to using one's ISP's DNS servers, as well as less susceptible to censorship. When Turkey started blocking access to Twitter and YouTube recently, Turkish ISPs first did this on the DNS level by manipulating the results from their name servers. The most popular workaround was using Google's DNS server instead.

The reason behind this decision may be that Google considers a DNS server, a fairly low-level component of the Internet's service stack, to be the optimal place to collect information on its users, an accusation leveled at Google ever since it introduced the service.

The title text refers to the impression held by some that Google will shut down services that prove less popular than desired at short notice, even though they may in fact have a significant user base. A recent example of that is the closure of the RSS aggregation service, Google Reader, in July 2013. While the same DNS service is provided under both addresses, the more memorable 8.8.8.8 is likely to receive far more requests than 8.8.4.4.

==Transcript==
:Cueball is standing at a podium marked Google.

:Cueball: The rumors are true. Google will be shutting down Plus-

:Cueball: Along with Hangouts, Photos, Voice, Docs, Drive, Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Android, and Search-

:Cueball: To focus on our core project:

:Cueball: The 8.8.8.8 DNS Server.

{{comic discussion}}

1361: Google Announcement

2014-04-28T05:15:32Z

Origamimissile: /* Transcript */ fixed spelling error

{{comic
| number = 1361
| date = April 28, 2014
| title = Google Announcement
| image = google_announcement.png
| titletext = The less popular 8.8.4.4 is slated for discontinuation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|I'm sure there's more to the DNS thing.}}

Recently Vic Gundotra left Google. Being the head of Google+, this has caused many people, including [TechCrunch], to theorize that Google+ is going to be shutdown, despite the continuing comments from Google that it will remain active and updated.

The comic extrapolates this to an announcement that Google would be closing *all* its popular services, up to and including its e-mail service Gmail and even the core business of the company, its Internet search engine, to wholly concentrate on a relatively recent addition to its product lineup. According to Google, its Public DNS servers, better known by their IPv4 addresses 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, are supposed to be a faster (because of caching effects due to a large user base) alternative to using one's ISP's DNS servers, as well as less susceptible to censorship. When Turkey started blocking access to Twitter and YouTube recently, Turkish ISPs first did this on the DNS level by manipulating the results from their name servers. The most popular workaround was using Google's DNS server instead.

The reason behind this decision may be that Google considers a DNS server, a fairly low-level component of the Internet's service stack, to be the optimal place to collect information on its users, an accusation leveled at Google ever since it introduced the service.

The title text refers to the impression held by some that Google will shut down services that prove less popular than desired at short notice, even though they may in fact have a significant user base. A recent example of that is the closure of the RSS aggregation service, Google Reader, in July 2013. While the same DNS service is provided under both addresses, the more memorable 8.8.8.8 is likely to receive far more requests than 8.8.4.4.

==Transcript==
:Cueball is standing at a podium marked Google.

:Cueball: The rumors are true. Google will be shutting down Plus-

:Cueball: Along with Hangouts, Photos, Voice, Docs, Drive, Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Android, and Search-

:Cueball: To focus on our core project:

:Cueball: The 8.8.8.8 DNS Server.

{{comic discussion}}

1361: Google Announcement

2014-04-28T05:13:43Z

Origamimissile: /* Explanation */ fixed formatting error and grammatical/spelling errors

{{comic
| number = 1361
| date = April 28, 2014
| title = Google Announcement
| image = google_announcement.png
| titletext = The less popular 8.8.4.4 is slated for discontinuation.
}}

==Explanation==
Recently Vic Gundotra left Google. Being the head of Google+, this has caused many people, including [http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/google-is-walking-dead/ TechCrunch], to claim that Google+ is going to be shutdown, despite the continuing comments from Google that it will remain active and updated. Google is also known to shut down major products for smaller ones. This comic pokes fun at the Google Graveyard and the shutdown by extending it to every service, including their flagship Search, except the lesser known core DNS service. The title text reference that 8.8.8.8 is better know than 8.8.4.4, and as such, the latter would be included in the shutdown list.

==Transcript==
:Cueball is standing at a podium marked Google.

:Cueball: The rumors ar true. Google will be shutting down Plus-

:Cueball: Along with Hangouts, Photos, Voice, Docs, Drive, Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Android, and Search-

:Cueball: To focus on our core project:

:Cueball: The 8.8.8.8 DNS Server.

{{comic discussion}}

1361: Google Announcement

2014-04-28T05:12:30Z

Origamimissile: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1361
| date = April 28, 2014
| title = Google Announcement
| image = google_announcement.png
| titletext = The less popular 8.8.4.4 is slated for discontinuation.
}}

==Explanation==
Recently Vic Gundotra left Google. Being the head of Google+, this has caused many people, including [[http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/google-is-walking-dead/ | TechCrunch]], to clams that Google+ is going to be shutdown, despite the continuing comments from Google that it will remain active and updated. Google is also known to shut down major products for smaller ones. This comic pokes fun at the Google Graveyard and the shutdown by extending it to every service, including their flagship Search, except the lesser known core DNS service. The title text reference that 8.8.8.8 is better know than 8.8.4.4, and as such, the latter would be included in the shutdown list.

==Transcript==
:Cueball is standing at a podium marked Google.

:Cueball: The rumors ar true. Google will be shutting down Plus-

:Cueball: Along with Hangouts, Photos, Voice, Docs, Drive, Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Android, and Search-

:Cueball: To focus on our core project:

:Cueball: The 8.8.8.8 DNS Server.

{{comic discussion}}

1361: Google Announcement

2014-04-28T05:12:02Z

Origamimissile: /* Explanation */ added to explanation

{{comic
| number = 1361
| date = April 28, 2014
| title = Google Announcement
| image = google_announcement.png
| titletext = The less popular 8.8.4.4 is slated for discontinuation.
}}

==Explanation==
Recently Vic Gundotra left Google. Being the head of Google+, this has caused many people, including [[http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/google-is-walking-dead/| TechCrunch]], to clams that Google+ is going to be shutdown, despite the continuing comments from Google that it will remain active and updated. Google is also known to shut down major products for smaller ones. This comic pokes fun at the Google Graveyard and the shutdown by extending it to every service, including their flagship Search, except the lesser known core DNS service. The title text reference that 8.8.8.8 is better know than 8.8.4.4, and as such, the latter would be included in the shutdown list.

==Transcript==
:Cueball is standing at a podium marked Google.

:Cueball: The rumors ar true. Google will be shutting down Plus-

:Cueball: Along with Hangouts, Photos, Voice, Docs, Drive, Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Android, and Search-

:Cueball: To focus on our core project:

:Cueball: The 8.8.8.8 DNS Server.

{{comic discussion}}

1361: Google Announcement

2014-04-28T05:09:36Z

Origamimissile: /* Explanation */ fixed spelling error

{{comic
| number = 1361
| date = April 28, 2014
| title = Google Announcement
| image = google_announcement.png
| titletext = The less popular 8.8.4.4 is slated for discontinuation.
}}

==Explanation==
Recently Vic Gundotra left Google. Being the head of Google+, this has caused many people, including [[http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/google-is-walking-dead/| TechCrunch]], to clams that Google+ is going to be shutdown, despite the continuing comments from Google that it will remain active and updated. This comic pokes fun at that by extending this "shutdown" to every service, except the lesser known DNS service located at IP address 8.8.8.8. The title text reference that 8.8.8.8 is better know than 8.8.4.4, and as such, the latter would be included in the shutdown list.

==Transcript==
:Cueball is standing at a podium marked Google.

:Cueball: The rumors ar true. Google will be shutting down Plus-

:Cueball: Along with Hangouts, Photos, Voice, Docs, Drive, Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Android, and Search-

:Cueball: To focus on our core project:

:Cueball: The 8.8.8.8 DNS Server.

{{comic discussion}}

1361: Google Announcement

2014-04-28T05:01:53Z

Origamimissile: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1361
| date = April 28, 2014
| title = Google Announcement
| image = google_announcement.png
| titletext = The less popular 8.8.4.4 is slated for discontinuation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
:Cueball is standing at a podium marked Google.

:Cueball: The rumors ar true. Google will be shutting down Plus-

:Cueball: Along ith Hangouts, Photos, Voice, Docs, Drive, Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Android, and Search-

:Cueball: To focus on our core project:

:Cueball: The 8.8.8.8 DNS Server.

{{comic discussion}}

1361: Google Announcement

2014-04-28T05:00:43Z

Origamimissile: Added transcript

{{comic
| number = 1361
| date = April 28, 2014
| title = Google Announcement
| image = google_announcement.png
| titletext = The less popular 8.8.4.4 is slated for discontinuation.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
:Cueball is standing at a podium marked Google.
:Cueball: The rumors ar true. Google will be shutting down Plus-
:Cueball: Along ith Hangouts, Photos, Voice, Docs, Drive, Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Android, and Search-
:Cueball: To focus on our core project:
:The 8.8.8.8 DNS Server.

{{comic discussion}}