Editing 949: File Transfer
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Web hosting is simply the ability to create a website and store all the data for said website on a server which is connected to the internet. If Cueball's friend's cousin had the ability to do that, sharing the file would be as easy as putting a copy of it in an accessible directory and sending the link to the desired recipient. | Web hosting is simply the ability to create a website and store all the data for said website on a server which is connected to the internet. If Cueball's friend's cousin had the ability to do that, sharing the file would be as easy as putting a copy of it in an accessible directory and sending the link to the desired recipient. | ||
− | {{w|Megaupload}} was one of many sites on the | + | {{w|Megaupload}} was one of many sites on the internet that recognizes most users' inability to host large files on their own, and so offers to host large files, sometimes for free, sometimes for a small fee. The payoff is that in order to make such a service profitable, many of these sites are cluttered with banner and pop up ads in a mad effort to squeeze as much ad revenue out of every page view as possible. It's not a dealbreaker for some, but Cueball seems to think it'll be too much for his friend's cousin to handle. |
− | {{w|AOL Instant Messenger|AIM}} | + | {{w|AOL Instant Messenger|AIM}} direct connect was a file sharing system on AOL Instant Messenger, which was already suffering severe drops in popularity by the year 2000. Clearly, Cueball is grasping at straws here: anybody desperate enough to invoke the name of AOL as a solution instead of a problem must be at their wits' end. |
{{w|Dropbox (service)|Dropbox}} is a program with a web-based GUI that automates file sharing between two computers on the internet. But this solution also has its issues, as it requires that at least the sending party has a Dropbox account. Installing Dropbox software is not actually required, since Dropbox also provides a web interface for uploading and downloading files. At the time of the comic's publication, Dropbox was still relatively new and unknown, thus why it is not Cueball's first suggestion. | {{w|Dropbox (service)|Dropbox}} is a program with a web-based GUI that automates file sharing between two computers on the internet. But this solution also has its issues, as it requires that at least the sending party has a Dropbox account. Installing Dropbox software is not actually required, since Dropbox also provides a web interface for uploading and downloading files. At the time of the comic's publication, Dropbox was still relatively new and unknown, thus why it is not Cueball's first suggestion. | ||
− | While Cueball is still explaining Dropbox, the friend's cousin has copied the file to a USB drive and physically transported it to the friend's house, circumventing the | + | While Cueball is still explaining Dropbox, the friend's cousin has copied the file to a USB drive and physically transported it to the friend's house, circumventing the internet entirely. It's not an elegant solution, but sometimes traditional methods are the most efficient ways to get something done. |
When used to transfer files between computers in the same room or building, this same approach is referred to as {{w|sneakernet}}. This comic is also an illustration of what {{w|Andy Tanenbaum}} said in 1989: ''Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway.'' Sneakernet was examined in this [https://what-if.xkcd.com/31/ What If] article. | When used to transfer files between computers in the same room or building, this same approach is referred to as {{w|sneakernet}}. This comic is also an illustration of what {{w|Andy Tanenbaum}} said in 1989: ''Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway.'' Sneakernet was examined in this [https://what-if.xkcd.com/31/ What If] article. | ||
− | {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}} | + | {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}} is considered to be the inventor of the World Wide Web. In the title text, [[Randall]] implies that he would be disturbed by the need today to use two separate protocols (smtp for sending the file as an email attachment and http for retrieving the file from the mail server web interface) to perform a third, unrelated, obvious function such as file transfer. |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
− | This comic has a resemblance to both [[1810: Chat | + | This comic has a resemblance to both, [[1810: Chat System]], and [[2194: How to Send a File]] |
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Internet]] | [[Category:Internet]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | [[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | ||
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