Editing 1084: Server Problem
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | [[Cueball]] has messed up his | + | [[Cueball]] has messed up his Linux server, apparently not for the first time. [[Megan]] offers to take a look at the PC, and she casually types in 'ls' — a very basic command that lists the files in the current directory. The computer returns a bizarre error message — it trips over one of the simplest commands, indicating that Cueball's system is messed up. ''Really'' messed up. |
− | + | The {{w|Filesystem Hierarchy Standard#Directory structure|/usr/share}} path should indicate "architecture-independent shared data". Adobe is a software company that produces Acrobat, Flash and Photoshop. Android VM would be a virtual machine for the mobile Operating System created by Google called Android. The .jar extension suggests a Java-language program. None of Adobe, Android, or Java are needed to run 'ls'. All of the above have nothing to do with each other. Also, basic system executables like 'ls' would never be placed within /usr/share or within some 'example' or 'doc' directory. On Linux, executables don't have filename extensions like ".exe" or ".jar". Additionally, it would require the folder to be within {{w|PATH (variable)|$PATH}}. In other words, the error message implies that the server is in a very bad state. | |
− | + | [[Megan]] is bewildered by this result and tells Cueball to "shut down the system and wait for the {{w|technological singularity|singularity}}," referring to a hypothetical future event when superintelligence can be artificially created. Since future superintelligent humans/computers transcend our comprehension, we can't predict or even understand what will happen after the singularity. One interpretation is that Megan is telling Cueball that his system is such a mess that it will take a post-singularity superintelligence to fix it (or run it in its current state, as only an intelligence beyond present comprehension would be capable of doing). | |
− | + | The last frame has Cueball recommending a course of action which mimics a common error message: "______ is busy, please try again later." Obviously he has seen this type of message frequently enough to try it as a general cure in all similar cases. | |
− | + | In the title text, {{w|Ray Kurzweil}} is an author and futurist who has {{w|Singularity Summit|talked}} and {{w|The Singularity Is Near|written}} much about a ''"{{w|technological singularity}}"''. Presumably, mangling the jargon (by confusing the concept of the "singularity" with the science fiction term "{{w|cyberspace}}") is something Kurzweil (as an expert) would find annoying. | |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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:Cueball: I, um, messed up my server again. | :Cueball: I, um, messed up my server again. | ||
− | :Megan: I'll take a look. You have the ''weirdest'' tech problems | + | :Megan: I'll take a look. You have the ''weirdest'' tech problems |
− | :[ | + | :[Megan uses the root prompt.] |
− | :<code | + | :<code>~# ls</code> |
− | :[ | + | :[Computer returns the following.] |
:<code>/usr/share/Adobe/doc/example/android_vm/root/sbin/ls.jar:</code> | :<code>/usr/share/Adobe/doc/example/android_vm/root/sbin/ls.jar:</code> | ||
:<code>Error: Device is not responding.</code> | :<code>Error: Device is not responding.</code> | ||
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:Megan: What did you ''do!?'' | :Megan: What did you ''do!?'' | ||
:Cueball: Maybe the device is busy. Should I try it later? | :Cueball: Maybe the device is busy. Should I try it later? | ||
:Megan: You should shut down this system and wait for the Singularity. | :Megan: You should shut down this system and wait for the Singularity. | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Linux]] | [[Category:Linux]] | ||
[[Category:Protip]] | [[Category:Protip]] | ||
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