612: Estimation - Revision history

Lettherebedarklight: /* Trivia */ add Category:Comics with a Spanish translation

2025-12-15T08:58:22Z

‎Trivia: add Category:Comics with a Spanish translation

2607:FB90:3309:E628:45A2:841A:2678:C87: /* Explanation */

2025-08-30T18:00:30Z

‎Explanation

FaviFake: didn't see it! good catch ip

2025-03-05T18:03:50Z

didn't see it! good catch ip

172.71.26.101: /* Trivia */ Surprised you didn't do this, FF.

2025-03-05T17:32:37Z

‎Trivia: Surprised you didn't do this, FF.

FaviFake at 16:04, 5 March 2025

2025-03-05T16:04:37Z

172.70.211.130: /* Explanation */ Added a mention of Dave Plumber.

2024-08-02T20:14:21Z

‎Explanation: Added a mention of Dave Plumber.

Flipping Mackerel: /* Explanation */ Given David Plummer's video, it's clear that claiming that Windows (even early versions) only used the current transfer rate would be disingenous.

2024-07-23T17:58:51Z

‎Explanation: Given David Plummer's video, it's clear that claiming that Windows (even early versions) only used the current transfer rate would be disingenous.

172.71.215.9: Less technical explanation

2024-05-27T22:32:59Z

Less technical explanation

AgentMuffin at 11:20, 24 August 2023

2023-08-24T11:20:48Z

Mushrooms: /* Trivia */

2022-06-16T15:17:40Z

‎Trivia

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:58, 15 December 2025
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	[[Category:Computers]]		[[Category:Computers]]
	[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]		[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
		+	[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-When moving or copying files using {{w|File Explorer|Windows Explorer}}, a dialog box opens to inform the user how long it would take. However, to the bafflement of many the time often keeps wildly fluctuating. This comic pokes fun at this quirk of Windows. One possible cause of this behavior is an estimation where the current transfer rate is given the most weight, which if we were to continue with the car scenario put forth by Randall, is like giving an ETA based on the speed the car is currently at with no consideration of the future, such as traffic lights, traffic jams, or expressways. File transferring is limited by various factors such as how fast the files can be read, how quickly the disk can be written to, and even the size of each file themselves (think the difference between carrying a large box versus having to carry a hundred miscellaneous items).
+When moving or copying files using {{w|File Explorer|Windows Explorer}}, a dialog box opens to inform the user how long it would take. However, to the bafflement of many, the time often keeps wildly fluctuating. This comic pokes fun at this quirk of Windows. One possible cause of this behavior is an estimation where the current transfer rate is given the most weight, which if we were to continue with the car scenario put forth by Randall, is like giving an ETA based on the speed the car is currently at with no consideration of the future, such as traffic lights, traffic jams, or expressways. File transferring is limited by various factors such as how fast the files can be read, how quickly the disk can be written to, and even the size of each file themselves (think the difference between carrying a large box versus having to carry a hundred miscellaneous items).
 A better implementation would keep track of the average file transfer rate over the entire operation, which would even out the bumps and give a more accurate estimate. Windows 8 avoids the problem by doing away with the time estimate.

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ==Trivia==
-In 2021, {{w|Dave Plummer}}, whose team worked on the Windows progress dialog, created a [//youtu.be/9gTLDuxmQek video in response to this strip]. It further explains why the estimate can be wrong and fluctuate extremely.
+In 2021, {{w|Dave Plummer}}, whose team worked on the Windows progress dialog, created a [//youtu.be/9gTLDuxmQek video in response to this strip] in which he further explains why the estimate can be wrong and fluctuate extremely.
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 ==Trivia==
-In 2021, [[:wikipedia:Dave Plummer|Dave Plummer]], whose team worked on the Windows progress dialog, created a [//youtu.be/9gTLDuxmQek video in response to this strip]. It further explains why the estimate can be wrong and fluctuate extremely.
+In 2021, {{w|Dave Plummer}}, whose team worked on the Windows progress dialog, created a [//youtu.be/9gTLDuxmQek video in response to this strip]. It further explains why the estimate can be wrong and fluctuate extremely.
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-When moving or copying files using {{w|File Explorer|Windows Explorer}}, a dialog box opens to inform the user how long it would take. However, to the bafflement of many the time often keeps wildly fluctuating. This comic pokes fun at this quirk of Windows.
+When moving or copying files using {{w|File Explorer|Windows Explorer}}, a dialog box opens to inform the user how long it would take. However, to the bafflement of many the time often keeps wildly fluctuating. This comic pokes fun at this quirk of Windows. One possible cause of this behavior is an estimation where the current transfer rate is given the most weight, which if we were to continue with the car scenario put forth by Randall, is like giving an ETA based on the speed the car is currently at with no consideration of the future, such as traffic lights, traffic jams, or expressways. File transferring is limited by various factors such as how fast the files can be read, how quickly the disk can be written to, and even the size of each file themselves (think the difference between carrying a large box versus having to carry a hundred miscellaneous items).
 A better implementation would keep track of the average file transfer rate over the entire operation, which would even out the bumps and give a more accurate estimate. Windows 8 avoids the problem by doing away with the time estimate.
 The title text refers to the fact that if the connection is lost, and data can no longer be transmitted, the estimation just gets larger and larger as time goes on rather than realizing that no data being sent means there is no connection. This is a behavior that occurs on {{w|Microsoft}} network connections even when the connection is not lost. Kubuntu avoids this problem, but not that of wide fluctuations, by including only the past few seconds in its estimate. If there has been zero progress within the averaging interval, it reports "Stalled".
 ==Transcript==
@@ Line 29: / Line 22: @@
 :[Caption below the frame:]
 :The author of the Windows file copy dialog visits some friends.
 {{comic discussion}}
 [[Category:Computers]]
 [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:14, 2 August 2024
Line 15:		Line 15:

	The title text refers to the fact that if the connection is lost, and data can no longer be transmitted, the estimation just gets larger and larger as time goes on rather than realizing that no data being sent means there is no connection. This is a behavior that occurs on {{w\|Microsoft}} network connections even when the connection is not lost. Kubuntu avoids this problem, but not that of wide fluctuations, by including only the past few seconds in its estimate. If there has been zero progress within the averaging interval, it reports "Stalled".		The title text refers to the fact that if the connection is lost, and data can no longer be transmitted, the estimation just gets larger and larger as time goes on rather than realizing that no data being sent means there is no connection. This is a behavior that occurs on {{w\|Microsoft}} network connections even when the connection is not lost. Kubuntu avoids this problem, but not that of wide fluctuations, by including only the past few seconds in its estimate. If there has been zero progress within the averaging interval, it reports "Stalled".
		+
		+	This comic is refrenced by Dave Plumber (the creator of the Windows Explorer ETA system) in [https://youtu.be/9gTLDuxmQek?si=bTBIpzCQM9J7MV8I this YouTube video]

	==Recognition==		==Recognition==

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 ==Trivia==
-*The actual author of the windows copy dialog created a video explaining why it's so broken.
+*The actual author of the windows copy dialog created a video explaining why it's so broken. The video references this strip, and explains it is the reason the video was created. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gTLDuxmQek
 ==Transcript==