1678: Recent Searches - Revision history

Whoop whoop pull up: /* List of searches */

2026-02-03T15:16:53Z

‎List of searches

104.225.176.218: fixed the link

2025-12-18T19:43:14Z

fixed the link

104.225.177.101: asfASDFASDFASDFA

2025-12-18T15:09:57Z

asfASDFASDFASDFA

134.96.203.160: Operating System Chromium -> chromeOS (There's also Chromium OS, but Chromium itself is not an OS)

2025-07-11T11:33:56Z

Operating System Chromium -> chromeOS (There's also Chromium OS, but Chromium itself is not an OS)

172.69.58.102: Su is a better example than sudo, because it's more like a mode than a way to execute a single command

2024-07-17T08:41:39Z

Su is a better example than sudo, because it's more like a mode than a way to execute a single command

172.70.80.238: /* Explanation */ comment out confusing sentence

2024-05-25T02:34:14Z

‎Explanation: comment out confusing sentence

42.book.addict at 00:33, 1 March 2024

2024-03-01T00:33:00Z

FaviFake at 10:08, 26 August 2023

2023-08-26T10:08:20Z

LostXOR: Changing CPU jumpers would probably cause a crash or physical damage

2023-05-17T17:42:27Z

Changing CPU jumpers would probably cause a crash or physical damage

172.69.134.161: /* Explanation */

2023-01-02T10:01:37Z

‎Explanation

@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 ; autoexec code posted by verified twitter users. ('''Title text''')
 : The term "autoexec" refers to code that runs automatically, usually during boot, and derives from one of three boot-time files for {{w|MS-DOS}}: AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and COMMAND.COM.  AUTOEXEC.BAT would typically contain commands for customizing the command prompt, loading additional drivers, and/or automatically launching a program.
-:Automatically executing code from the Internet is generally a terrible idea, because it could be written by someone with malicious intent and harm your computer. The joke here is that the code would only be executed if written by someone who has been "verified" on Twitter. Twitter's verification service (at the time the comic was made) only serves to show that a user is who they claim to be, not whether anything they say (or program) can be trusted, so this would provide little protection. Usually, Twitter verification is used by celebrities so they can be distinguished from people claiming to be them. The line implies that Randall is only interested in running code posted by celebrities.
+:Automatically executing code from the Internet is generally a terrible idea, because it could be written by someone with malicious intent and harm your computer. The joke here is that the code would only be executed if written by someone who has been "verified" on Twitter. Twitter's verification service (at the time the comic was made) only served to show that a user was who they claimed to be, not whether anything they say (or program) could be trusted, so this would provide little protection. Usually, Twitter verification is used by celebrities so they can be distinguished from people claiming to be them. The line implies that Randall is only interested in running code posted by celebrities.
 :Most code downloaded from authentic sources (such as Microsoft and official Linux distributions) is verified by a cryptographic signature from a true trusted source, authenticating the origin of the software. These may include software updates that run automatically in the background.  The joke here is that the term "verified" means very different things between Twitter users and software distribution.
 :Additional hilarity was added to this by circumstances in 2022 when, after [[Elon Musk]]'s takeover of the site, anyone could buy a visually identical verification symbol for $8. With a number of notable spoof/fake accounts being 'verified', it was potentially an even worse idea than it was in the first place — not that all genuinely verified users could be trusted to be unimpeachable in this regard.

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 ; Recursive font
 : An idiosyncratic mix of {{w|recursion}} and the font style ''{{w|cursive}}'', referring especially to text handwritten in a flowing manner. {{w|PostScript}} (the language in which {{w|PostScript fonts|some fonts}} are written) is capable of recursion and PostScript Type 3 fonts are able to use the full language. This could create effects like fonts with complicated fractal borders and fill patterns - but the increase in processing time would contribute to seeming brokenness of the computer (or printer) rendering the font.
-:A true recursive font would be a form of {{w|fractal}}s ([http://blog.matthen.com/post/5340546486/first-sketches-in-mathematica-for-a-new-font-it example]). Notably, there is a font called [recursive.design Recursive] which is called that because it is a variable font with 5 axes.
+:A true recursive font would be a form of {{w|fractal}}s ([http://blog.matthen.com/post/5340546486/first-sketches-in-mathematica-for-a-new-font-it example]). Notably, there is a font called [https://recursive.design Recursive] which is called that because it is a variable font with 5 axes.
 ; Regex matching valid EBNF
 : EBNF refers to {{w|Extended Backus–Naur Form}}, which is used to define {{w|formal language}}s. EBNF specifies recursive patterns that are impossible for a {{w|Regular_Expression|regular expression}} (regex) to determine whether it is valid or not. There is some irony in using regex to test the validity of something which ''defines'' the validity of things like regex.

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 ; Recursive font
 : An idiosyncratic mix of {{w|recursion}} and the font style ''{{w|cursive}}'', referring especially to text handwritten in a flowing manner. {{w|PostScript}} (the language in which {{w|PostScript fonts|some fonts}} are written) is capable of recursion and PostScript Type 3 fonts are able to use the full language. This could create effects like fonts with complicated fractal borders and fill patterns - but the increase in processing time would contribute to seeming brokenness of the computer (or printer) rendering the font.
-:A true recursive font would be a form of {{w|fractal}}s ([http://blog.matthen.com/post/5340546486/first-sketches-in-mathematica-for-a-new-font-it example]).
+:A true recursive font would be a form of {{w|fractal}}s ([http://blog.matthen.com/post/5340546486/first-sketches-in-mathematica-for-a-new-font-it example]). Notably, there is a font called [recursive.design Recursive] which is called that because it is a variable font with 5 axes.
 ; Regex matching valid EBNF
 : EBNF refers to {{w|Extended Backus–Naur Form}}, which is used to define {{w|formal language}}s. EBNF specifies recursive patterns that are impossible for a {{w|Regular_Expression|regular expression}} (regex) to determine whether it is valid or not. There is some irony in using regex to test the validity of something which ''defines'' the validity of things like regex.

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 : {{w|Cron}} is a utility on most Unix-like OSes that allows you to schedule commands or scripts to be run periodically. These scheduled jobs are read from a ''crontab'' file. A job that updates the crontab (therefore creating new jobs, removing old ones or editing existing ones) is paramount to a {{w|job scheduler}}, and trying to use cron for such functionality could result in highly unstable functionality (although a crontab could be sensibly regenerated periodically by a set of machines from a master crontab file annotated with per-host directives). This is similar to {{w|self-modifying code}}.
 ; [https://www.google.com/search?q=fsck+chrome+extension fsck Chrome extension]
-: This is a search for an interface to the Unix '''f'''ile'''s'''ystem che'''ck'''er {{w|fsck}} via third-party software added to Chrome. fsck is a program for checking your filesystem for corruption. Repairing a filesystem this way would be inadvisable.{{Citation needed}} This might indicate confusion about the meaning of the term "online filesystem repair", in which "online" means "while the filesystem is in use" rather than "over the Internet". Alternatively, Randall might want to repair an installation of the operating system Chromium, in a manner less drastic than the {{w|factory reset}} preferred by Google.
+: This is a search for an interface to the Unix '''f'''ile'''s'''ystem che'''ck'''er {{w|fsck}} via third-party software added to Chrome. fsck is a program for checking your filesystem for corruption. Repairing a filesystem this way would be inadvisable.{{Citation needed}} This might indicate confusion about the meaning of the term "online filesystem repair", in which "online" means "while the filesystem is in use" rather than "over the Internet". Alternatively, Randall might want to repair an installation of the operating system chromeOS, in a manner less drastic than the {{w|factory reset}} preferred by Google.
 ; Recursive font
 : An idiosyncratic mix of {{w|recursion}} and the font style ''{{w|cursive}}'', referring especially to text handwritten in a flowing manner. {{w|PostScript}} (the language in which {{w|PostScript fonts|some fonts}} are written) is capable of recursion and PostScript Type 3 fonts are able to use the full language. This could create effects like fonts with complicated fractal borders and fill patterns - but the increase in processing time would contribute to seeming brokenness of the computer (or printer) rendering the font.

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 :{{w|Turing completeness}} is the {{w|computational complexity}} required to simulate any {{w|computable function}} (given an infinite amount of memory). Recently there have been cases where [http://beza1e1.tuxen.de/articles/accidentally_turing_complete.html unexpected mechanisms] from card games to text parsers were proved to be Turing complete. Hardlinks being Turing complete would imply that creating and deleting hardlinks alone is enough to satisfy the requirements of Turing completeness.
 ; Opposite of safe mode
-: {{w|Safe mode}} is a diagnostic mode in many operating systems and applications which allows the user to troubleshoot problems by disabling unnecessary functionality. The "opposite of safe mode" implies a "dangerous mode" where the purpose is to allow uselessly dangerous actions (in actuality this supposed dangerous mode is the default mode). A common example is the {{w|sudo}} command in Unix-like OSes, which grants the user system-level permissions.
+: {{w|Safe mode}} is a diagnostic mode in many operating systems and applications which allows the user to troubleshoot problems by disabling unnecessary functionality. The "opposite of safe mode" implies a "dangerous mode" where the purpose is to allow uselessly dangerous actions (in actuality this supposed dangerous mode is the default mode). A common example is the {{w|su_(Unix)|su}} command in Unix-like OSes, which grants the user system-level permissions on an ongoing basis.
 :It's also possible that Randall sees Safe Mode so often that he sees regular mode as an unusual and unique state and needs help navigating back to it.
 ; Predictive touchpad

@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 ; Predictive touchpad
 : {{w|Predictive text}} is a feature of many smartphone keyboards that predicts the most likely word the user wishes to type, and then gives the user the option to place the full word in the sentence immediately without having to finish typing it. A {{w|touchpad}} is a computer pointing device, similar to a {{w|computer mouse}}. The idea of a "predictive touchpad" seems absurd because, as opposed to typed words, there are not a limited number of swipe combinations that are possible on a touchpad. A "predictive touchpad" implies that a computer could predict where the user was going to move the mouse or click, which in this case would seem to defeat the purpose of a user input device.{{Citation needed}}
-:Interestingly, a version of Linux had a predictive cursor option, where the cursor jumped to the nearest button (like window close) when it moved near to but didn't quite reach that button.
+<!--
 ; Google docs from bootloader
 : A {{w|bootloader}} is a very small program that is usually the very first thing to execute when a computer boots up. It is used mainly for loading the operating system into memory.  Such a program by itself would not be capable of directly running something as complex as {{w|Google Docs}}.

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 :An alternate way to convert an image file, such as a .GIF file, into a text-based file like an .XLS file, is through {{w|optical character recognition}} (OCR). This is only effective if the image is a copy (i.e. a scan or reasonably clear photograph) of a document containing letters and words, and neither .GIF nor .XLS are file formats anyone would usually use in that case.
 ; Clock speed jumper sample rate
-: A jumper is an intentional short circuit used for selecting options for an electronic circuit. They are usually used where it is not feasible to use programming (such as outputting a byte or word through a port) to alter the selection, such as before the processor even begins executing. A common example would be, on some motherboards, jumpers can be used to alter the clock speeds of various motherboard functions (such as the CPU or the front side bus). These jumpers should ordinarily be modified when the computer is off. However, this search is asking how often the motherboard checks the status of the clock speed jumpers, implying that they intend to change these jumpers while the computer is powered on, and often enough that the sample rate matters (change cpu speed several times a second, by moving jumpers on the motherboard.). That is, of course, a little silly.
+: A jumper is an intentional short circuit used for selecting options for an electronic circuit. They are usually used where it is not feasible to use programming (such as outputting a byte or word through a port) to alter the selection, such as before the processor even begins executing. A common example would be, on some motherboards, jumpers can be used to alter the clock speeds of various motherboard functions (such as the CPU or the front side bus). These jumpers should ordinarily be modified when the computer is off. However, this search is asking how often the motherboard checks the status of the clock speed jumpers, implying that they intend to change these jumpers while the computer is powered on, and often enough that the sample rate matters (change CPU speed several times a second, by moving jumpers on the motherboard.). This would likely make the computer crash, or worse, cause physical damage to its components.
 ; [https://www.google.com/search?q=clean+reinstall+keybinding Clean reinstall keybinding]
 : This refers to keybinding, the practice of mapping (binding) a certain key to a certain function (e.g., pressing PRTSC will take a screenshot). Most keyboards do not output characters directly, but only codes for which keys have been pressed (or released).  Keybindings translate the pressing of the "A" key on your keyboard into the letter "A" being sent to a program which is reading keyboard input. A "clean reinstall" of keybindings is something that would almost never be necessary - it means Randall has modified his default keybindings to such an extent that his [[1031:_s/keyboard/leopard/|leopard]] has become unusable (similar to [[1284: Improved Keyboard]]), necessitating a "clean reinstall" of the bindings. Alternatively, he might be doing clean reinstalls so often that he wants a keybinding to execute them with minimal loss of time.