Talk:1508: Operating Systems

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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[something].js isn't that far off: https://github.com/runtimejs/runtime (Sometimes I feel like JavaScript is a cult...) :) Bb010g (talk) 06:07, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

Typo in title text: singed should be signed.Jezzaaaa (talk) 06:43, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

That's not a typo. Singed means slightly burnt. It's implying a post-apocalyptic environment. 108.162.219.126 07:10, 6 April 2015 (UTC)
I know almost nothing about Richard Stallman, but he does sound like the kind of guy who might be giving out signed photos of himself. :-) --RenniePet (talk) 19:02, 6 April 2015 (UTC)


"Blood Drone" Could be a play of words on "Bloodborne", the game. 108.162.212.14 09:01, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

[something].js is probably referring to Node.js or one of the many frameworks built on Node.JS (such as Google's Angular.js). Node.js isn't written in Javascript, but in c/c++ using Google's V8 JS engine and is a replacement for Apache (a web platform). My interpretation is that it's only a matter of time before someone builds an entire OS using Node.js principles.108.162.221.99 10:33, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

"Blood Drone" makes me think of blood-borne nanites more than anything. -108.162.250.179 11:21, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

Ditto here, "Blood Drone" implies, to me, an operating system for blood borne nanotech. Ioldanach (talk) 16:34, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

What if the ASI will be running on GNU/Hurd and 8 years after the war will seize Randal's house? -- Hkmaly (talk) 13:35, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

I cannot find any reliable source stating that iOS stands for "internet Operating System." To the contrary, and Internet Operating Systems seems like something different entirely. If anyone can find evidence to the contrary, please provide a link. 199.27.128.114 14:57, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that iOS came from the iPhone Operating System conjunction based on what I read on Wikipedia. I'm also inclined to support the idea that "Blood Drone" would be more likely to refer to blood-borne devices than to personal warfare devices, although with the timeline proximity to the Apocalypse, it is easy to see the reason for the other assumption. --Ancientt (talk) 16:33, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

I fixed a teeny tiny typo. off changed to of. The Goyim speaks (talk) 17:03, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

Looks like he doesn't have much faith in the future of Android. --RenniePet (talk) 18:55, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

Could the GNU/Hurd reference also be a play on words, suggesting that the dominant "operating system" or activity of the survivors in their low-tech post-apocalyptic society will be "herd"ing animals, like gnus? 173.245.52.118 20:58, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

I added some trivia The title text begins by referring to a single survivor. The next two times, however, it refers to a group. 199.27.128.204 00:18, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

I disagree. First, it's referring to one of a group of survivors finding the photo. The next two times, it's simply referring to the group looking at the photo that the one survivor found—Randall skipped over the matter of having them all go to look at the photo, possibly because he felt it was unnecessary. 199.27.133.40 00:56, 7 April 2015 (UTC)


I also think that the far future has to do with herds of (wild) gnus wandering the deserted land. They will take some time to return, during which there are no operating systems at Randall's house. In my view, gnu herds are what make the survivors come there with spears, to hunt them. I don't know if the survivors remember Stallman or any of his projects, I think they just read the strength of his beliefs from his facial expression, which is remarkably constant throughout the years. 141.101.104.188 01:12, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

I mean i assume we are supposed to suspend disbelief on the end part, because after the destruction of most of the human race, who would be continuing to work on an operating system? The Goyim speaks (talk) 01:29, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

I think that "In this case it was free software" should be changed to something like "In this case it was an operating system given up for dead that ultimately proved superior and enduring." Calion (talk) 01:32, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

I've changed the bits about Mac OS and Mac OS X to reflect a far more likely scenario. Besides the fact that I have a hard time seeing Randall adopting or abandoning an OS based on the current financial health of its producer, the timeline doesn't make sense. Apple's fortunes were far bleaker in 1995, when Randall began using Macs, than in 2001, when he stopped. Apple was in fact making a strong comeback at that time due to the success of the iMac and iPod. Calion (talk) 01:42, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

Is it correct to assume that all these OSs are used by Randall himself? The comic says that they are “running on his house”. It might be that he is not the one personally using every one of them. —108.162.219.132 06:58, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

08:49, 7 April 2015 (UTC) The coincident timeline of "no more Android" and the merger of iOS and OSX also probably indicates Randall will stop using Android should the Apple OS' merger happen" - Vikrant 08:49, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

08:49, 7 April 2015 (UTC) Further, the Stallman-singed-photo and "here is a man who believed..." reference might be a way of saying "OSs will come, and OSs will go, but the GNU/HURD will live on for ever"... - Vikrant 08:49, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

I disagree with DOS "making a comeback"; this is OSes running in his house so he is running it ironically. 141.101.98.188 14:23, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

It's utter no-sense, only Chuck Norris photo would survive end of civilization. Does the author, by the spear poking of Stallman's photo means that his sublime intention is really postmortem and virtual sodomization of Richard? 108.162.221.219 17:43, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

I don't think proximity to the timeline has any indication of frequency of use. A simple rule saying "keep OSes horizontal, and when adding a new OS, always put it in the lowest free slot" fits the timeline perfectly. Angew (talk) 18:30, 7 April 2015 (UTC)