Talk:1815: Flag

2017-03-24T18:07:36Z

162.158.102.76:

A vote for me is a vote for bread on every table and a [https://smile.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715/ 73% battery level] until the end of time! [[User:Jameslucas|jameslucas]] <small>([[User talk:Jameslucas|" "]] / [[Special:Contributions/Jameslucas|+]])</small> 14:02, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Given that the design is a screenshot, the flag could be part of an existing logo, e.g. of a U.S. sport association.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 14:15, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

The comic states "our NEW country" so I removed the theory it could be a new US flag.
The most recent sovereign state, according to Wikipedia, is South Sudan created in 2011 so we could assume Randall never intended to talk about a real-life country [[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.28|162.158.234.28]] 14:25, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

:It could be referring to new country proposals by techno-libertarians and the like? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasteading] -[[User:Jules.LT|Jules.LT]] ([[User talk:Jules.LT|talk]]) 14:32, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:: for instance https://www.cnet.com/news/asgardia-will-be-a-new-nation-in-space-and-you-can-be-a-citizen/ [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 14:44, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Note that official flags have an aspect ratio of 3:2 (with a few exceptions, like Switzerland and Nepal). The proposed flag including the notification bar measures 474 x 316 pixels (3*158 x 2*158 pixels), following the standard. If one removes the notification bar the resulting flag is somewhat wider than the standard. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.250|188.114.110.250]] 15:06, 24 March 2017 (UTC)
:Those "few" exceptions include 106 of the 189 or so sovereign states. Even that overstates the popularity of 3:2 since some nations have multiple different official flag specifications for different uses or users. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.21|162.158.62.21]] 15:29, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

According to [https://developer.apple.com/ios/human-interface-guidelines/ui-bars/status-bars/ Apple's own documentation], this kind of bar is referred to as a "status bar", and not a "notification bar". --[[User:Jonhaugen|Jonhaugen]] ([[User talk:Jonhaugen|talk]]) 15:28, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Since the screenshot is part of the editing process, I don't think this can be interpreted as a mistake. It probably is entirely deliberate. The joke relies on the fact that most of the times when this bar appears, it is a side effect of the way the relevant data (the rest of the image) has been obtained, rather than part of the information itself. Actually, not only can the bar be ignored most of the time, but this is so often true that some people may not pay any attention to it at all. The committee's mistake might not have been that they failed to understand that Randall actually meant for the bar to be there, they might have not noticed it at all (even more likely if they looked at the image in full screen on a similar device). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.184|141.101.88.184]] 16:08, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

The real reason for firing him would most probably be that he made the committee and any decision making bodies up the chain look unprofessional. He may have missed it or intentionally trolled them, but it seems the status bar made it through the committee and all the way to becoming official without getting noticed. That sort of publicity will result in heads rolling, starting with the easiest target, the designer (depending on the state maybe literally, but if he was just fired it's probably not that type of system).--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.102.76|162.158.102.76]] 18:07, 24 March 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1806: Borrow Your Laptop

2017-03-03T09:29:53Z

162.158.102.76:

One assumes this is a software development environment or similar

{|
!Statement
!Explanation
|-
|Oh, just hit both shift keys to change over to QWERTY.
| Likely has keyboard in DVORAK
|-
|Caps lock is control. And spacebar is capslock.
| Changing Caps Lock to a "more useful" key is common. However to change an even larger key to be capslock (Space) is odd
|-
|And two-finger scroll moves through time instead of space.
|Two finger scrolling is often used to move through a document or application on a mousepad or touchscreen device - this could be seen as moving through space (despite the cursor not actually being real). Randall is presumerably making a comment re: Space Time continuum or similar?
|-
|Once I've used a computer for a while no one else will ever use it again.
|It is unlikely that any user who tries using a computer configured like this would be expecting it and would find the workflow very hard - they are unlikely to ask again to use Cueball's computer
|}
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.197|141.101.99.197]] 07:55, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Just a minor point QWERTY is not the standard "Roman" keyboard but "English" as "French" is AZERTY and German is something else. The other thing is that just the change from US to UK can really mess things up, $>£ is trivial as @ not only moves, but the symbol keys all seem to do different things. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 08:58, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Yeah, in the UK I often have to use a Windows box misconfigured as US, where @ is in the wrong place. At work, one had a postit note explaining how to get the @ symbol, until I spent all of 5 seconds fixing it. Worse though is Apple, who insist on using US keyboard layout even in the UK. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 09:24, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

I'm surprised that no one has pointed out the impossibility of changing from DVORAK to QWERTY by pressing both shift keys, seeing as most laptops have hardware keyboards.
unless he has somehow rigged a voltronesque keyboard or he has a touchscreen keyboard or an onscreen one.
[[User:Dudeonyx|Dudeonyx]] ([[User talk:Dudeonyx|talk]]) 09:20, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

The part "The next point on the list makes little sense" is not exactly true. Swapping caps lock with ctrl is actually quite common (if extravagant), google it. Some do it because they are used to some old layout (probably either pre-PC era or from the Unix world, see some Sun keyboards from the 90s). Most do it because ctrl is useful but small (especially on laptops), while caps lock is a large, rarely used key. Opinions on the ergonomy of this vary, trending towards negative, although there certainly are avid supporters.

So, the line actually starts like something you may actually hear in real life (I know I have). And then you get to... SPACE?!? Why would you turn space into a caps lock?! That's where the joke hits. It's not that the whole point of the list makes little sense, it's that it takes an existing, somewhat justified but controversial idea and turns it on its head midway through. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.102.76|162.158.102.76]] 09:29, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1815: Flag

Talk:1806: Borrow Your Laptop