xkcd

[Max_Killjoy]

Sadly, I think "Big Stupid" is running the show right now.

[georgie_leech]

Sadly, I think "Big Stupid" is running the show right now.

"Running" is a strong word. Maybe "flailing at."

I'd like to see this extended into two dimensions like the scariness of the name vs scariness of the thing. In this case, sinister/silly rating on the X axis and actual sinster/silly on the Y. I nominate Big Corn as having a silly name for a sinister influence on a broad spectrum of life.

[enderlord99]

I think we all know who the real mastermind is!

[Rockphed]

"Running" is a strong word. Maybe "flailing at."

I'd like to see this extended into two dimensions like the scariness of the name vs scariness of the thing. In this case, sinister/silly rating on the X axis and actual sinster/silly on the Y. I nominate Big Corn as having a silly name for a sinister influence on a broad spectrum of life.

While I agree that a 2-dimensional representation would probably be better, I think that delving too far would quickly result in political discussions.

[Lord Torath]

So, what's the best emoji? Vote Now in the March 32^nd Emoji March Madness Duel to the Death!!!

[Tetrimino]

This was probably intentional on Randall's part, but the top google image search result for "wheel" is in fact a bicycle wheel today. I'm curious whether the bike wheel was the first result before today, of if it rose to the top after all the xkcd readers searched "wheel" and clicked on the first bike wheel they saw. It would be interesting to see Beret Guy attach a wheel of cheese to his cars, or a ferris wheel or wheel of fortune for that matter.

[Fyraltari]

Google search results are personalized to the user. Two different persons will get two different top results.

[137beth]

The first page of DuckDuckGo image searches (which are not personalized) does include bicycle wheels, though they aren't first.

[Tetrimino]

Google search results are personalized to the user. Two different persons will get two different top results.

That's what I thought after I first did the search, but then I immediately tried again in an incognito window, which should have prevented personalized results, and I still got the same bicycle wheel.

[DataNinja]

That's what I thought after I first did the search, but then I immediately tried again in an incognito window, which should have prevented personalized results, and I still got the same bicycle wheel.

From what I understand, incognito just stops the results you gain and the cookies and whatnot during that session from being recorded. It still reads the cookies and stuff that already exists on your computer.

[Tetrimino]

From what I understand, incognito just stops the results you gain and the cookies and whatnot during that session from being recorded. It still reads the cookies and stuff that already exists on your computer.

Are you sure? I was under the impression that incognito windows didn't read cookies or anything.

[DataNinja]

Are you sure? I was under the impression that incognito windows didn't read cookies or anything.

Well, I've gotten results that seem excessively personalized based on my past stuff before - and different than other people experimenting with the same thing - when we did some testing in that regard.

[Kornaki]

Are you sure? I was under the impression that incognito windows didn't read cookies or anything.

Incognito mode only prevents people on your computer from seeing your browsing activity, it does not prevent websites from seeing cookies already stored in your computer.

[Fyraltari]

That's what I thought after I first did the search, but then I immediately tried again in an incognito window, which should have prevented personalized results, and I still got the same bicycle wheel.

Incognito stops your search history from being recorded in your computer (well if you know your stuff I think you can still access it). It has no effect on Google’s servers.

[Douglas]

Incognito mode prevents a web site from accessing any record of anything on your computer that happened outside the Incognito window, and prevents other windows on your computer from accessing anything that's recorded in the Incognito window. This means Google cannot access your browser history or cookies.

Incognito mode does not, as far as I know, prevent access to things like that you're using Chrome, what version you're using, what your screen resolution is, and many other bits and pieces of information like that, which can be used to create a "device fingerprint" that is mostly stable (so it will be the same in an Incognito window as in your normal browsing or a previous Incognito session) and is very likely unique when considered as a whole. Incognito mode certainly does not prevent a web site from recording things on its own servers, and Google could (I don't know if they actually do) save your device fingerprint on their servers and use it to look up your search history in their records even in Incognito mode.

Incognito mode also does not hide your IP address, which might rarely change and could be used to track you with a bit less certainty.

[Tetrimino]

It says a lot about the world today that I read this and assumed this was an actual thing people believed. That being said, there's probably actually someone out there who really thinks this.

[georgie_leech]

It says a lot about the world today that I read this and assumed this was an actual thing people believed. That being said, there's probably actually someone out there who really thinks this.

The alt-text is... regrettably not as fictional as it should be.

[Lord Torath]

The alt-text is... regrettably not as fictional as it should be.

You mean St. Andrews actually has a lightsaber team?

Or did I get the wrong comic?

[Kato]

You mean St. Andrews actually has a lightsaber team?

Or did I get the wrong comic?

Yeah, I also think they talk about Wednesday's comic.. Or at least it makes more sense.
I sure wish today's comic was true, though!

[georgie_leech]

You mean St. Andrews actually has a lightsaber team?

Or did I get the wrong comic?

Alas, I don't have access to comics unreleased at the time of posting

[Lord Torath]

Alas, I don't have access to comics unreleased at the time of posting

I suppose I could have checked the Wiki to see if the Diploma Legal Notes was posted today. Most of the time "today's" comic isn't up when I get to work, and shows up sometime later in the day. Thus, I assumed the Diploma Legal Notes was Wednesday's comic.

That, and your comment was much funnier when applied to today's Alt-Text!

[AvatarVecna]

"Google results are personalized, two different people searching for the same thing get different things."
"Oh yeah well what if instead I test that theory by having one person search in two different ways? Does it help if one of the ways, Google pinky-swore it probably wouldn't spy on me?"
"...one person doing it twice and getting the same result doesn't disprove two people doing it once and getting different results. Have you tried asking a friend?"
"Who needs friends when you have Incognito Mode?"

[Radar]

"Google results are personalized, two different people searching for the same thing get different things."
"Oh yeah well what if instead I test that theory by having one person search in two different ways? Does it help if one of the ways, Google pinky-swore it probably wouldn't spy on me?"
"...one person doing it twice and getting the same result doesn't disprove two people doing it once and getting different results. Have you tried asking a friend?"
"Who needs friends when you have Incognito Mode?"

The question remains, if it does more then this.

[halfeye]

The question remains, if it does more then this.

Does it really sound like that over there?

[Max_Killjoy]

Whoever linked to webring, Malwarebytes is reporting that it blocked a Trojan from that address.

[Radar]

Does it really sound like that over there?

I could try to pretend I was chanelling officer Crabtree, but it is just a mistake on my part.

[Morquard]

Could you guys instead of saying "Today's comic" actually just link to the comic? Figuring out "today's comic" when reading through the thread is extremely painful.

[Rockphed]

Could you guys instead of saying "Today's comic" actually just link to the comic? Figuring out "today's comic" when reading through the thread is extremely painful.

Yeah, the comics always even have the permanent link helpfully under them. The only excuse is if you are using a touch-screen device, and then you really should have thought of that before you decided to inconvenience the rest of us you selfish so-and-so.

On the other hand, I feel the need to throw over ripe fruit at Randal because he doesn't list the date of first posting on his comics. Let's just hand out the blame all around.

[georgie_leech]

Yeah, the comics always even have the permanent link helpfully under them. The only excuse is if you are using a touch-screen device, and then you really should have thought of that before you decided to inconvenience the rest of us you selfish so-and-so.

On the other hand, I feel the need to throw over ripe fruit at Randal because he doesn't list the date of first posting on his comics. Let's just hand out the blame all around.

No, us mobile folk can still find the permalink by hitting the previous- and next-comic buttons in succession. I just felt safe knowing there couldn't be anything regrettable about a light saber fencing team not being fictional.

[Rockphed]

No, us mobile folk can still find the permalink by hitting the previous- and next-comic buttons in succession.

My limited experience with mobile devices is that copy and paste are only one step above auto-open-heart-surgery.