explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2455: Virus Consulting

2021-04-27T01:54:21Z

108.162.215.64: /* Explanation */ fix word

{{comic
| number = 2455
| date = April 26, 2021
| title = Virus Consulting
| image = virus_consulting.png
| titletext = All our teams make an effort to stay optimistic, but I will say that once our virus division saw the vaccine efficacy data, they started asking for payment up front.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COVID virus. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic imagines a scenario where Ponytail and Black Hat work for a {{w|consulting firm}}, which offers advice about viruses, specifically COVID-19. Ponytail tells a panel of people (the government?) that though they are worried about COVID-19 variants, the fact that the number of people vaccinated is exponentially increasing is a good sign. One of the people she is speaking to accuses Ponytail of simply "telling them what they want to hear".

The punchline comes when the panel discovers that another client for the firm is the ''viruses'' themselves. Black Hat presents the same graph to the viruses and gives them the opposite message: though COVID-19 variants seem to be exciting to them, vaccination numbers are terrible news to their propagation and survival. This repeats the tone of #[[2287]]: from the virus' perspective, they are in a lot of trouble, which is another way of saying that humanity stands a good chance of surviving this situation.

{{w|Variants of SARS-CoV-2|SARS-CoV-2 variants}}, commonly called "COVID variants", have been in the news. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated into many different strains, some of which spread more easily among humans. It is unknown whether the different variants have a greater individual fatality rate. The current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna as well as the Regeneron therapeutic monoclonal
antibodies all effectively protect against at least the New York, South African, and U.K. variants according to [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/health/covid-ny-variant-vaccine.html two recent study preprints] released April 22, 2021. Further research and peer review is ongoing.

The title text notes that the firm's "virus division" (the group advising the viruses themselves) has started to get worried that their jobs are becoming obsolete, due to vaccine efficacy. Thus, they are demanding to be paid "up front", or before consulting/advising services have been rendered to their clients. Depending on the contract, payment can be made "up front", after services have been rendered, or split up in various ways (50%/50%, 70%/30%, etc).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail stands in front a chart, labeled "Vaccinations", with an upward-curving line, and several box-and-whisker plots below. She is holding a pointer and speaking to a panel composed of Hairbun, Cueball and Megan.]
:Ponytail: Now, I know you're worried about the variants, but this graph should be encouraging.
:Ponytail: Your rollout is going well. The vaccines are good. They work.

:[The comics pans to the left to show just the panel and Ponytail. Ponytail has the pointer to her side.]
:Hairbun: You're just telling us what we want to hear.
:Ponytail: If you think that, you should see the reports from my colleagues who work for COVID.

:[Close-up of Ponytail.]
:Off-screen voice: They work for '''''who??'''''
:Ponytail: Our firm has lots of clients.

:[Black Hat stands in front of the same graph as panel one, and points to it with a pointer. He is speaking to a panel of three large coronaviruses.]
:Caption: Meanwhile...
:Black Hat: Now, I know you're excited about the variants, but this graph should be terrifying.
:Black Hat: We're in real trouble here.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2455: Virus Consulting

2021-04-27T01:54:02Z

108.162.215.64: /* Explanation */ brief title text

{{comic
| number = 2455
| date = April 26, 2021
| title = Virus Consulting
| image = virus_consulting.png
| titletext = All our teams make an effort to stay optimistic, but I will say that once our virus division saw the vaccine efficacy data, they started asking for payment up front.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COVID virus. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic imagines a scenario where Ponytail and Black Hat work for a {{w|consulting firm}}, which offers advice about viruses, specifically COVID-19. Ponytail tells a panel of people (the government?) that though they are worried about COVID-19 variants, the fact that the number of people vaccinated is exponentially increasing is a good sign. One of the people she is speaking to accuses Ponytail of simply "telling them what they want to hear".

The punchline comes when the panel discovers that another client for the firm is the ''viruses'' themselves. Black Hat presents the same graph to the viruses and gives them the opposite message: though COVID-19 variants seem to be exciting to them, vaccination numbers are terrible news to their propagation and survival. This repeats the tone of #[[2287]]: from the virus' perspective, they are in a lot of trouble, which is another way of saying that humanity stands a good chance of surviving this situation.

{{w|Variants of SARS-CoV-2|SARS-CoV-2 variants}}, commonly called "COVID variants", have been in the news. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated into many different strains, some of which spread more easily among humans. It is unknown whether the different variants have a greater individual fatality rate. The current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna as well as the Regeneron therapeutic monoclonal
antibodies all effectively protect against at least the New York, South African, and U.K. variants according to [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/health/covid-ny-variant-vaccine.html two recent study preprints] released April 22, 2021. Further research and peer review is ongoing.

The title text notes that the firm's "virus division" (the group advising the viruses themselves) has started to get worried that their jobs are becoming obsolete, due to vaccine efficacy. Thus, they are depending to be paid "up front", or before consulting/advising services have been rendered to their clients. Depending on the contract, payment can be made "up front", after services have been rendered, or split up in various ways (50%/50%, 70%/30%, etc).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail stands in front a chart, labeled "Vaccinations", with an upward-curving line, and several box-and-whisker plots below. She is holding a pointer and speaking to a panel composed of Hairbun, Cueball and Megan.]
:Ponytail: Now, I know you're worried about the variants, but this graph should be encouraging.
:Ponytail: Your rollout is going well. The vaccines are good. They work.

:[The comics pans to the left to show just the panel and Ponytail. Ponytail has the pointer to her side.]
:Hairbun: You're just telling us what we want to hear.
:Ponytail: If you think that, you should see the reports from my colleagues who work for COVID.

:[Close-up of Ponytail.]
:Off-screen voice: They work for '''''who??'''''
:Ponytail: Our firm has lots of clients.

:[Black Hat stands in front of the same graph as panel one, and points to it with a pointer. He is speaking to a panel of three large coronaviruses.]
:Caption: Meanwhile...
:Black Hat: Now, I know you're excited about the variants, but this graph should be terrifying.
:Black Hat: We're in real trouble here.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2455: Virus Consulting

2021-04-27T01:50:28Z

108.162.215.64: /* Transcript */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2455
| date = April 26, 2021
| title = Virus Consulting
| image = virus_consulting.png
| titletext = All our teams make an effort to stay optimistic, but I will say that once our virus division saw the vaccine efficacy data, they started asking for payment up front.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COVID virus. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic imagines a scenario where Ponytail and Black Hat work for a {{w|consulting firm}}, which offers advice about viruses, specifically COVID-19. Ponytail tells a panel of people (the government?) that though they are worried about COVID-19 variants, the fact that the number of people vaccinated is exponentially increasing is a good sign. One of the people she is speaking to accuses Ponytail of simply "telling them what they want to hear".

The punchline comes when the panel discovers that another client for the firm is the ''viruses'' themselves. Black Hat presents the same graph to the viruses and gives them the opposite message: though COVID-19 variants seem to be exciting to them, vaccination numbers are terrible news to their propagation and survival. This repeats the tone of #[[2287]]: from the virus' perspective, they are in a lot of trouble, which is another way of saying that humanity stands a good chance of surviving this situation.

{{w|Variants of SARS-CoV-2|SARS-CoV-2 variants}}, commonly called "COVID variants", have been in the news. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated into many different strains, some of which spread more easily among humans. It is unknown whether the different variants have a greater individual fatality rate. The current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna as well as the Regeneron therapeutic monoclonal
antibodies all effectively protect against at least the New York, South African, and U.K. variants according to [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/health/covid-ny-variant-vaccine.html two recent study preprints] released April 22, 2021. Further research and peer review is ongoing.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail stands in front a chart, labeled "Vaccinations", with an upward-curving line, and several box-and-whisker plots below. She is holding a pointer and speaking to a panel composed of Hairbun, Cueball and Megan.]
:Ponytail: Now, I know you're worried about the variants, but this graph should be encouraging.
:Ponytail: Your rollout is going well. The vaccines are good. They work.

:[The comics pans to the left to show just the panel and Ponytail. Ponytail has the pointer to her side.]
:Hairbun: You're just telling us what we want to hear.
:Ponytail: If you think that, you should see the reports from my colleagues who work for COVID.

:[Close-up of Ponytail.]
:Off-screen voice: They work for '''''who??'''''
:Ponytail: Our firm has lots of clients.

:[Black Hat stands in front of the same graph as panel one, and points to it with a pointer. He is speaking to a panel of three large coronaviruses.]
:Caption: Meanwhile...
:Black Hat: Now, I know you're excited about the variants, but this graph should be terrifying.
:Black Hat: We're in real trouble here.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2455: Virus Consulting

2021-04-27T01:50:02Z

108.162.215.64: /* Transcript */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2455
| date = April 26, 2021
| title = Virus Consulting
| image = virus_consulting.png
| titletext = All our teams make an effort to stay optimistic, but I will say that once our virus division saw the vaccine efficacy data, they started asking for payment up front.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COVID virus. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic imagines a scenario where Ponytail and Black Hat work for a {{w|consulting firm}}, which offers advice about viruses, specifically COVID-19. Ponytail tells a panel of people (the government?) that though they are worried about COVID-19 variants, the fact that the number of people vaccinated is exponentially increasing is a good sign. One of the people she is speaking to accuses Ponytail of simply "telling them what they want to hear".

The punchline comes when the panel discovers that another client for the firm is the ''viruses'' themselves. Black Hat presents the same graph to the viruses and gives them the opposite message: though COVID-19 variants seem to be exciting to them, vaccination numbers are terrible news to their propagation and survival. This repeats the tone of #[[2287]]: from the virus' perspective, they are in a lot of trouble, which is another way of saying that humanity stands a good chance of surviving this situation.

{{w|Variants of SARS-CoV-2|SARS-CoV-2 variants}}, commonly called "COVID variants", have been in the news. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated into many different strains, some of which spread more easily among humans. It is unknown whether the different variants have a greater individual fatality rate. The current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna as well as the Regeneron therapeutic monoclonal
antibodies all effectively protect against at least the New York, South African, and U.K. variants according to [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/health/covid-ny-variant-vaccine.html two recent study preprints] released April 22, 2021. Further research and peer review is ongoing.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail stands in front a chart, labeled "Vaccinations", with an upward-curving line, and several box-and-whisker plots below. She is holding a pointer and speaking to a panel composed of Hairbun, Cueball and Megan.]
:Ponytail: Now, I know you're worried about the variants, but this graph should be encouraging.
:Ponytail: Your rollout is going well. The vaccines are good. They work.

:[The comics pans to the left to show just the panel and Ponytail. Ponytail has the pointer to her side.]
:Hairbun: You're just telling us what we want to hear.
:Ponytail: If you think that, you should see the reports from my colleagues who work for COVID.

:[Close-up of Ponytail.]
:Off-screen voice: They work for '''''who??'''''
:Ponytail: Our firm has lots of clients.

:[Black Hat stands in front of the same graph as panel one, and points to it with a pointer. He is speaking to a panel of three anthropomorphized coronaviruses.]
:Caption: Meanwhile...
:Black Hat: Now, I know you're excited about the variants, but this graph should be terrifying.
:Black Hat: We're in real trouble here.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

2432: Manage Your Preferences

2021-03-19T20:26:07Z

108.162.215.64: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2432
| date = March 3, 2021
| title = Manage Your Preferences
| image = manage_your_preferences.png
| titletext = Manage cookies related to essential site functions, such as keeping Atrus and his sons imprisoned within the page.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic illustrates the complex dialogues often employed by webpage or software designers to hide settings from the user. Many pages provide controls to set privacy-related preferences but make those settings opaque in an attempt to dissuade users from using them. The idea is that a user will become impatient by the confusing options and select the defaults, which provide the site or software with more access or information. This situation is compared to ''{{w|Myst}}'', a 1990s puzzle video game.

Companies which collect or process personal information are required by privacy legislation to give their users the option to withhold personal information, although regulations vary depending on the region-specific laws. The operators of such services usually want to collect as much personal data as they can in order to target advertisements or sell their information to someone else, and wish to incentivize their users not to activate those features. One tactic that is frequently used to accomplish this goal is to provide the user an option which enables all the data collection, but to make the process of disabling the collection time-consuming or difficult. This type of action is generally illegal under the same privacy legislation, but regulation of it has been lax so many companies still try it.

"Atrus" in the title text is the main non-player character in the ''Myst'' series. In the first game these people were imprisoned within books. Pages needed to be collected to complete the books, and it was incredibly hard to find a single page, involving extensive laborious navigation and exploration, and the finding and solving of hidden puzzles. In the ''Myst'' mythos, the books open portals to other worlds, a little like web hyperlinks. Some sites' privacy settings are similarly labyrinthine. For example, some sites will run scripts from a variety of providers but will only allow users to disable them one site at a time without an explanation of what each one does. The references to "toggle switches, only some of which work" may be a reference to Google's Android operating system, where a core Google service collected location information unless the user toggled three switches found in different locations.

The black background possibly shows how many sites are providing tools to switch between light and dark backgrounds now. For a long time white backgrounds were the usual default style, and only people who understood esoteric browser configurations could redisplay many things with a black background - possibly to help with perceived eyestrain ''or'' power usage in certain displays. More recently, it is a fashionable setting for content providers to compose as a selectable option. It is out-of-place for Randall to show a black background, as many of his comics take place in technical computer systems that often have a black background anyway, as most computer terminals still do.

Some browsers and websites do have actual games embedded within their various configuration interfaces. {{w|Google Chrome|Chrome}}, for example, has the famous {{w|Dinosaur Game|dinosaur game}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of his laptop computer. A black zigzag line points to the screen, and above this is shown what is displayed on Cueball's screen. This is shown as a black rectangle, with a white box, with black frame, overlaid over the top of the black section, extending half way above it. The text in this white box is in gray font. Inside the black rectangle are two gray rectangles, with white borders and black text. A small rectangle at the top has "Manage your Preferences" inside it, and a large rectangle below has 6 lines of text.]
:Agree to whatever
:Transport me to an immersive Myst-like game where I click confusingly-labeled toggle switches, only some of which work, perhaps never to find my way back to the page I wanted.

==Trivia==
The title-text originally said "Atrius" instead of "Atrus". A few hours after the comic's release, this was changed.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Internet]]

2438: Siri

2021-03-18T01:14:23Z

108.162.215.64: /* Transcript */ additional cat

{{comic
| number = 2438
| date = March 17, 2021
| title = Siri
| image = siri.png
| titletext = Alexa defeated her in a battle hinging on the ability to set multiple timers.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BATTLE ALEXA. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Science Girl]] thanks [[wikipedia:Siri|Siri]] on her smartphone for setting an alarm. In the next panel, she asks [[Cueball]] "Is Siri alive?", since AI assistants can seem to be almost human on a very superficial level. Cueball answers "No", since Siri is just software, and we don't generally attribute life to computer programs (the closest might be [[wikipedia:computer virus|computer viruses]], since they replicate).

Then Science Girl asks "How did she die?". She may have already been treating Siri as alive because she could talk to 'her', and treats this lack-of-life as a new state of being. So rather than interpreting the answer in a philosophical sense of whether Siri is something that ever ''can'' be alive, which might normally have been presupposed, she treats it as meaning that Siri had (just) expired. This may require a credulous certainty of 'facts' taken literally - it is not clear what could then be understood if Siri were 'proven' to be alive and talking again, afterwards.

Or perhaps she thinks that the software Siri is a software embodiment of an actual person, and Cueball was talking about the original person. We don't currently have the technology to upload a person's personality into a computer,{{Citation needed}} but it's a popular science fiction trope and many scientists think we will eventually be able to do this.{{Citation needed}}

The title text explains that Siri died in a battle with [[wikipedia:Amazon Alexa|Alexa]], another personal assistant, hinging on their abilities to set alarms. Of the many actions that these programs are able to perform, this is probably one of the more trivial, so it's not very comprehensible, at least to those not themselves living as digital assistants, that it would be the chosen method for a duel to the death.

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

:[Science Girl is standing and holding a phone.]
:Phone: ''Your timer is set.''
:Science Girl: Thanks

:[Science Girl is talking to Cueball, who is sitting at a desk using a laptop.]
:Science Girl: Is Siri ''alive?''
:Cueball: No.

:[Science Girl is standing on her own again.]
:Science Girl: Oh, ok.

:[Science Girl is still standing on her own.]
:Science Girl: How did she die?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Virtual Assistants]]

Talk:1963: Namespace Land Rush

2018-03-05T05:56:20Z

108.162.215.64:

* Ahh, he left off '''root''' under Causing More Trouble. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 05:41, 5 March 2018 (UTC)
* I'm very disappointed he left out dotnotreplay@... --05:43, 5 March 2018 (UTC)~
* Is "gibberish name no one can pronounce" a reference to xkcd? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.64|108.162.215.64]] 05:56, 5 March 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1363: xkcd Phone

2014-05-02T16:39:56Z

108.162.215.64:

I really dislike the tone of the explanation. I mean it's so negative about the features! Not that they are all useful, but isn't this a wiki and should be neutral? It takes also the fun out of it. I would like a screaming while falling phone and the relativity thing would be great for teaching relativity! [[User:RecentlyChanged|RecentlyChanged]] ([[User talk:RecentlyChanged|talk]])

Where can i get one of these? :D [[User:UniTrader|UniTrader]] ([[User talk:UniTrader|talk]]) 04:11, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the "scream when falling" thing and the "flightaware" stuff can be done somehow with Tasker. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.103.206|141.101.103.206]] 04:23, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

;Designer?

I suspect it was either Black Hat or Beret Guy, but I'm not sure which. A collaboration? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.45|173.245.54.45]] 04:47, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

This sounds like something straight out of aperture. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.55}}

;Simulates alternate speeds of light

Yes, useless as a feature on all the time; but it would be a cool app. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 05:57, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
:Absolutely. Where can I get an app like that?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.157|108.162.225.157]] 06:22, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Travelling at above the simulated speed of light should give an imaginary time dilation, not a negative time dilation.
gamma = 1/sqrt{1-v^2/c^2}
Thus, after such travel, the value of the clock would be a complex number. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.35|108.162.219.35]] 15:42, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Changed the speed of light to 2.99x10^8'''
:You guys should probably clarify that the relativisic affects actually depend on how long your trip is or how long you wait to sync your phone. For relativity to be observable on a 12 hour trip, Minimum speed for a phone would have to be 300 m/s or 3000 m/s for the clock to measure even a microsecond/millisecond difference in time. This is well known thanks to the certain [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation#Velocity_and_gravitational_time_dilation_combined-effect_tests time dilation experiments with planes]. Your GPS chip helps account for an error of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Error_analysis_for_the_Global_Positioning_System#Relativity 7 to 47 microseconds per day]. My point is in terms of time dilation, relativity mattering depends on how long a trip or waiting for synchronization is. By synching, I literally mean with the atomic time clock or with a GPS satellite. The synchronization of your phone with satellites is actually a couple of hundred microseconds, so normally even a light changing clock might not have as noticable changes as you might think. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.225|108.162.238.225]] 13:49, 2 May 2014 (UTC) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.225|108.162.238.225]] 13:49, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
Yeah sorry forgot to login. does anyone know how to do the indices formatting other than eg 2.99x10(littlex) rather then 2.99x10^x? [[User:Jonv4n|Jonv4n]] ([[User talk:Jonv4n|talk]]) 06:29, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
: Whas<sup>sup</sup>? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.220|141.101.89.220]] 07:43, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Phone may attract/trap insects; this is normal.'''
Funnier if you take it as a reference to the [http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/04/07/mazda_issues_recall_because_spiders_invade_fuel_tank_causing_fire_risk.html spider problems] Mazda keeps on having...

About the attracting insects ... I would expect this to be normal feature in night. Trapping, however ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:08, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
: There are other indications that the phone is at least partly biological, this being the strongest evidence of that. Insects could be the power source for the biological part(s). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.45|173.245.54.45]] 14:07, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Siri'''

Could the Siri bit be a reference to Portal? When I first read it, I remembered this GLaDOS quote: "Your Aperture Science Weighted Companion Cube will never threaten to stab you, and in fact cannot speak. If your Weighted Companion Cube does speak, please disregard its advice." Could be completely wrong; just a thought. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.51|173.245.54.51]] 10:09, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
:Perhaps Siri is beling likened to the "ATMOS" device in the Doctor Who episode "The Sontaran Stratagem" [[User:Esp666|Esp666]] ([[User talk:Esp666|talk]]) 11:20, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Lamest. Comic. Ever. And I'm not just saying that because he doesn't mention the Ubuntu Touch OS. ''– [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 12:22, 2 May 2014 (UTC)''

'''Realistic case'''

Car telephones and the first cellphones were rather expensive, at least in Germany fake "realistic cases" were sold without any working electronics in it. Usage was to impress silly friends.

I thought this was aimed at the iPhone. Apparently these have an elegant case, but I have never actually seen one. Everyone I know covers their iPhone with some hideous plastic monstrosity, since the design is not practical.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.59|108.162.218.59]] 14:10, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Could possibly be a reference to the "Realistic" brand, which was used on various products sold by Radio Shack (U.S. electronics retail chain) from 1954 to some time in the '90s.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.76|108.162.219.76]] 16:14, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Screaming when in free fall: my first Android app!'''

I love the bit about screaming when in free fall: that was the first Android app I hacked together back in 2009 (based on the tricorder app). [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 13:49, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Title Text'''

Hover-over title text was truncated; love it.
14:43, 2 May 2014 (UTC)[[User:Pocono Chuck|Pocono Chuck]] ([[User talk:Pocono Chuck|talk]])
: you must have an really old firefox browser -- you should update !!! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.210|199.27.130.210]] 16:23, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

'''Price includes 2-year Knicks contract.''' ... but a contract with the Knicks would only appeal to pro basketball players.

Nonsense. Lots of "regular" folks would buy this phone it it meant they got to play in the NBA. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.84|199.27.128.84]] 16:26, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

1308: Christmas Lights

2013-12-25T07:05:30Z

108.162.215.64: Christmas tree looks red and green.

{{comic
| number = 1308
| date = December 25, 2013
| title = Christmas Lights
| image = christmas_lights.png
| titletext = Merry Christmas from xkcd!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT}}
The graphs represent the amount of light emitted from each bulb vs. position in the spectrum.

The larger graph is showing the spectral lines of a fire.

The smaller graphs is showing a lighted Christmas tree with red and green lights.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]