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Mutual self-perpetuating sleep-deprivation freakouts!

10 (17.5%)

"I tried. Five times. They keep forgetting."

5 (8.8%)

"You're not stupid!"

0 (0%)

Just takes her hobbies very seriously.

0 (0%)

Who sets their alarm for 9:17?

2 (3.5%)

MARIGOLD LOUISE FARMER!

6 (10.5%)

Hanners grounds Marigold!

6 (10.5%)

JOU JOU YUUJOU! BANJI MAJI KACHOU!!!

5 (8.8%)

Hi dad... No, I didn't BREAK SOMETHING... No, it's not the Red Chinese...

0 (0%)

You run a SHOE WEBSITE.

0 (0%)

I'm not lying! I swear! Talk to my dad, he'll prove it!

1 (1.8%)

Your father wants me to extend it to a week (AUGH!)

6 (10.5%)

No video games for the next three days!

0 (0%)

Sad eyes at Momo! (It's for your own good)

0 (0%)

Th - the Mitsubishi PX-3500?

0 (0%)

But it costs thirty thousand...

0 (0%)

I'LL TAKE OUT A LOAN JUST LET ME PLAY SOME FRIGGIN' VIDEO GAMES

7 (12.3%)

Were you serious about the new chassis?

0 (0%)

'Sides, I like you just the way you are.

3 (5.3%)

Momo fills out her resume!

5 (8.8%)

14 Elm Grove Lane (no such number)

1 (1.8%)

Total Members Voted: 51

[Skewbrow]

Certainly I can't recall any time at which we saw anyone actually making use of an AnthroPC, can you?

There was that time when Marten was working on his music blog via Pintsize. I guess it's open to debate whether that was "making use of an AnthroPC"

[Blackjoker]

*puts on serious penguin hat* Actually using computers instead of the AnthroPCs isn't all that weird. Assuming that they (anthroPCs) are a fairly new thing most people would still be used to computers as normal. Plus, a lot of the features that would make the AnthroPCs practical as computers are either expensive addons (early on Faye mentioned stuff like hologram projectors and the like) or are impractical. Pintsize's mannerisms aside, just using him as an MP3 player would likely be hideously boring for him if all he could do was sit around, especially given that at his size he'd be awkward to carry. And to be blunt, most companies might be worried about their data being on something that can get angry and walk off if offended or on a whim so regular computers would probably be quite commonplace.

[pwhodges]

Another way of expressing what I meant is this:

Society treats difference from the norm as pathological, yes.

You ever suffered from any mental disorder?

Well no, though I have had therapy; I've also been attacked by a mentally ill relative.  The fact that some people are ill doesn't alter the point of what I said.

[TheBiscuit]

*puts on serious penguin hat* Actually using computers instead of the AnthroPCs isn't all that weird. Assuming that they (anthroPCs) are a fairly new thing most people would still be used to computers as normal. Plus, a lot of the features that would make the AnthroPCs practical as computers are either expensive addons (early on Faye mentioned stuff like hologram projectors and the like) or are impractical. Pintsize's mannerisms aside, just using him as an MP3 player would likely be hideously boring for him if all he could do was sit around, especially given that at his size he'd be awkward to carry. And to be blunt, most companies might be worried about their data being on something that can get angry and walk off if offended or on a whim so regular computers would probably be quite commonplace.

Given that I basically agree with all your points, it raises an interesting question. What is the point of owning an AnthroPC? Is it what I already said, they make nice (if expensive) pets? Is there some other reason? Leaving aside such purely individual quirks as Pintsize's malevolence, Winslow's slight crush on his owner and Momo's tendency to produce electric shocks and eels, is there a useful purpose to owning one? If not a useful purpose, then can we say it's sufficently enjoyable for the owners? I can't imagine they are cheap...

[Is it cold in here?]

Winslow was used for Youtube access not long ago.

[Blackjoker]

*puts on serious penguin hat* Actually using computers instead of the AnthroPCs isn't all that weird. Assuming that they (anthroPCs) are a fairly new thing most people would still be used to computers as normal. Plus, a lot of the features that would make the AnthroPCs practical as computers are either expensive addons (early on Faye mentioned stuff like hologram projectors and the like) or are impractical. Pintsize's mannerisms aside, just using him as an MP3 player would likely be hideously boring for him if all he could do was sit around, especially given that at his size he'd be awkward to carry. And to be blunt, most companies might be worried about their data being on something that can get angry and walk off if offended or on a whim so regular computers would probably be quite commonplace.

Given that I basically agree with all your points, it raises an interesting question. What is the point of owning an AnthroPC? Is it what I already said, they make nice (if expensive) pets? Is there some other reason? Leaving aside such purely individual quirks as Pintsize's malevolence, Winslow's slight crush on his owner and Momo's tendency to produce electric shocks and eels, is there a useful purpose to owning one? If not a useful purpose, then can we say it's sufficently enjoyable for the owners? I can't imagine they are cheap...

Well actually I can think of several. I even pointed a few out WAAAAAAAY back when there was a thread discussing the origins of Pintsize (in terms of his behavior and the like). One big one is this, when I was in college having someone that could help independently in research while I worked, as well as helping me bounce ideas off of would be really nice. Not to mention the fact that there is that whole 'oh cool, a robot friend'.  Even ignoring those, though, anthroPCs can do computer stuff, Hannelore as an example mostly just uses a normal computer to look at porn and the like both out of a respect for Winslow and because...well it would be like having a friend watch you watch porn, kind of awkward for people without personal issues. But if you want to listen to music, watch videos, or just converse with someone that can literally call on the whole of the internet to possibly produce stimulating ideas..well what else could you want? Plus, yeah many people might not have AnthroPCs (out of the cast 3 of 12 people have them, and in two of those cases they were probably pretty big purchases.) but I can certainly see the appeal.

[Tova]

Long term health consequences? Really? Yes, she's fairly sedentary, but again, a person who sat and read instead of the games, or watched TV/movies for the same durations that Marigold plays video games would be just as sedentary.

And would suffer some of the same health consequences, except for the RSI and related muscular problems.

[Kugai]

Momo will be hired by Microsoft..

[cesariojpn]

Wait...isn't she a computer?  Why is she using a separate computer to type up her resume?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/237878/can_you_do_real_work_with_the_30yearold_ibm_5150.html

Seriously.. what is she going to do with the poor eels? put them on down her skirt like on that alternative version of one of the strips?? Ugh... 

It's a reference back to her first appearance.

Wait, she references "a model number" (HDC-4100X) in her first appearance, yet her "resume states another "model number" (Sony KawaiiPC). Am I missing something here?

[jwhouk]

I suspect it's one of two things:

1. She has a different chassis, with the Japanese schoolgirl look, unlike her geisha-like outfit in that original cartoon, OR

2. Jeph just forgot.

[Near Lurker]

Hmm... my first thought was that she was "divorcing"/"emancipating" herself from Marigold by getting a job... I didn't realize "I'll get a job" was meant like that.

[Is it cold in here?]

Maybe it's got both a name and a model number, or maybe KawaiiPC is the product line.

[SirDudley]

Okay, so I was wrong about the late-night inspection from Hanners. It still could happen, though. All depends on Jeph's mind.

Also, Momo writing a functional resume. Interesting. I'm curious as to where Jeph will take this.

[Sorflakne]

Ah come on, Momo, we like you the way you are 


Though I do wonder if the chassis in question is the one we saw when Momo dreamed of Sven...






In which case, if it is, then this could really go places.

[TheBiscuit]

Though I do wonder if the chassis in question is the one we saw when Momo dreamed of Sven...






In which case, if it is, then this could really go places.

That was Sven? I looked at that particular strip a few days ago and I thought it was Angus. In any case, I really can't imagine that plot being allowed to develop very far. Even if Momo were to get a job, how long do you suppose it would take her to earn that much money? I'm assuming it would be well over a year, and considering QC time that is pretty much after we are all dead and gone to dust.

[Is it cold in here?]

Maybe the problem with employing AnthroPCs is the lack of opposable thumbs. Even a high end model like Momo-tan didn't get fingers until a quite recent update.

[stoutfiles]

Maybe the problem with employing AnthroPCs is the lack of opposable thumbs. Even a high end model like Momo-tan didn't get fingers until a quite recent update.

Who said anything about only AnthroPC's?  Different, more efficient robots would be built for certain jobs; they would work 24/7 and never complain or want money, because they would be programmed that way.  Just like a robot on a car assembly line in our world.  Any human that does a simple labor job would have to worry about being replaced. 

*puts on serious penguin hat* Actually using computers instead of the AnthroPCs isn't all that weird. Assuming that they (anthroPCs) are a fairly new thing most people would still be used to computers as normal. Plus, a lot of the features that would make the AnthroPCs practical as computers are either expensive addons (early on Faye mentioned stuff like hologram projectors and the like) or are impractical. Pintsize's mannerisms aside, just using him as an MP3 player would likely be hideously boring for him if all he could do was sit around, especially given that at his size he'd be awkward to carry. And to be blunt, most companies might be worried about their data being on something that can get angry and walk off if offended or on a whim so regular computers would probably be quite commonplace.

Given that I basically agree with all your points, it raises an interesting question. What is the point of owning an AnthroPC? Is it what I already said, they make nice (if expensive) pets? Is there some other reason? Leaving aside such purely individual quirks as Pintsize's malevolence, Winslow's slight crush on his owner and Momo's tendency to produce electric shocks and eels, is there a useful purpose to owning one? If not a useful purpose, then can we say it's sufficently enjoyable for the owners? I can't imagine they are cheap...

The same reason people buy an expensive dog I suppose, the big difference is that one is a living creature and the other isn't.  It would be weird for me to be friends with a computer, but for the QC cast it isn't so it must be commonplace.  A lot of questions to ask there such as Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?   

[Skewbrow]

A lot of questions to ask there such as Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?   

Guessing what Pintsize dreams of? It may occasionally involve sheep, but I don't think I want to know the exact role the sheep have in his dreams.

[Is it cold in here?]

I don't have dreams, but I do have some lovingly-rendered computer animations that work just as well.

[Method of Madness]

I'm about 756,827,000 seconds old.  Because of this, I also figured out that May 4, 2019 (late evening) is when I'll have been alive for one gigasecond.

[HiFranc]

Wait...isn't she a computer?  Why is she using a separate computer to type up her resume?

I suspect that she's not big enough to reach the Ethernet cable to unplug it from the computer and put it into her body.  Furthermore, if she fell on it, she would probably damage it and wake Marigold up.  The easiest solution without a human to deal with the cables is to  type it.

[codeRoman]

Wait...isn't she a computer?  Why is she using a separate computer to type up her resume?

I suspect that she's not big enough to reach the Ethernet cable to unplug it from the computer and put it into her body.  Furthermore, if she fell on it, she would probably damage it and wake Marigold up.  The easiest solution without a human to deal with the cables is to  type it.

I kinda just assumed anthroPCs have wireless 4g-like connections to the internetz...

[HiFranc]

[...]

I kinda just assumed anthroPCs have wireless 4g-like connections to the internetz...

You might be right as I don't remember Pintsize ever connecting up to anything to get things off the net.  In which case I'm confused as to why she used a keyboard.

[cesariojpn]

Maybe the problem with employing AnthroPCs is the lack of opposable thumbs. Even a high end model like Momo-tan didn't get fingers until a quite recent update.

You forgot about one particular place in your answer.

[pwhodges]

Pintsize and Winslow managed cables OK when testing to see if Hanners was a Cyborg.

[HiFranc]

Pintsize and Winslow managed cables OK when testing to see if Hanners was a Cyborg.

They had a bed to stand on when to do that.  Furthermore, we don't know if the cables had to be unpluded from anything.

[TinPenguin]

One of the skills Momo lists in her introduction is 'heuristic internet trawling'. This is exactly the first thing I thought of in answer to the question 'what use is an AnthroPC?' Think about it. You want to know something? No need to type it into Google, no need to try hundreds of different combinations of keywords. Just call over to your sentient little computer and ask it to search the web for that information. If you look at science fiction, one of the most common functions of any sentient computer is to give its owners information.

[Mr. Doctor]

Seriously.. what is she going to do with the poor eels? put them on down her skirt like on that alternative version of one of the strips?? Ugh...  

It's a reference back to her first appearance.

I know about that strip... It doesn't make it more confortable at all.

[ElvisRevenge]

97 TERABYTES?! HOLY COW!

That is all.

[wrwight]

Who said anything about only AnthroPC's?  Different, more efficient robots would be built for certain jobs; they would work 24/7 and never complain or want money, because they would be programmed that way.  Just like a robot on a car assembly line in our world.  Any human that does a simple labor job would have to worry about being replaced. 

Um, that sounds more like the robots we have in the real world that do real jobs that people used to do. I find it hard to believe any sentient being would "work 24/7 and never complain or want money," if they were truly self-aware. In fact, that seems like the exact sort of thing in a lot of sci-fi media that leads to a robot rebellion.

In the real world though, robotics could indeed take over some of the jobs that people do now. I'm fairly convinced they won't any time soon though, because people need to work to eat, and taking away more jobs would be a terribly unpopular idea. Now, if we could get off this rock, I think there would be plenty of jobs people would be happy to let robots do since spreading out would mean a huge expansion of jobs, and automation would be incredibly helpful.

[dragontart]

In the real world though, robotics could indeed take over some of the jobs that people do now. I'm fairly convinced they won't any time soon though, because people need to work to eat, and taking away more jobs would be a terribly unpopular idea.

This is the main idea of a world where nobody has to work and gets everything for free because nobody needs to be paid for it, in easy terms. I forgot if there's a name for that concept. This does of course not work in the real world with real humans.

[wrwight]

Yeah, robot automation seems like it would fit perfectly in a socialist-type society, where the general idea is that society as a whole benefits from everyone's work, rather than individuals only. Socialism is a tricky thing though, and I think robot automation for the general benefit of a society is equally as tricky if not more so.

[Arancaytar]

Maybe Marigold uses Momo as a file repository, considering her frankly amazing amount of storage.  I know technology is a bit more advanced in the world of QC, but that's a lot. The biggest hard drives currently on sale seem to be about 4TB, and you could maybe stuff about five of them into a single PC if you wanted to... which still gives Momo a capacity about five times what can reasonably be achieved in a single device in our world.

To house the sort of intelligence and consciousness that AnthroPCs possess, she'd need a huge amount of memory. I wonder if 97TB is her total capacity or what she has left over for storage after subtracting her "personality".

[Border Reiver]

Yeah, robot automation seems like it would fit perfectly in a socialist-type society, where the general idea is that society as a whole benefits from everyone's work, rather than individuals only. Socialism is a tricky thing though, and I think robot automation for the general benefit of a society is equally as tricky if not more so.

There's still that whole bit of paying for the resources used by the robots to make the goodies

[rje]

Maybe that computer is where the printer is attached?

Does anyone use hardcopy resumes any more?

As someone who has been frantically looking for a new job for the last three weeks I can say freaking no
And it's annoying as fuck

At least with paper applications and resumes I can know that the workplace got my app. I mean maybe they threw it in the trash right after I walked out but still, it's a little less stressful than thinking my digital application just poofed into nothingness in cyberspace.

But then I have to apply for entry level jobs not something that really requires a resume, so it might be different in the upper echelons of society, idk.

[Is it cold in here?]

Robots in the QC universe seem to be unreliable once they get past a certain level of capability. Remember that robot 18-wheeler have gone crazy.

Pintsize has wireless Internet, and he's a pretty basic model.

[stoutfiles]

Who said anything about only AnthroPC's?  Different, more efficient robots would be built for certain jobs; they would work 24/7 and never complain or want money, because they would be programmed that way.  Just like a robot on a car assembly line in our world.  Any human that does a simple labor job would have to worry about being replaced. 

Um, that sounds more like the robots we have in the real world that do real jobs that people used to do. I find it hard to believe any sentient being would "work 24/7 and never complain or want money," if they were truly self-aware. In fact, that seems like the exact sort of thing in a lot of sci-fi media that leads to a robot rebellion.

In the real world though, robotics could indeed take over some of the jobs that people do now. I'm fairly convinced they won't any time soon though, because people need to work to eat, and taking away more jobs would be a terribly unpopular idea. Now, if we could get off this rock, I think there would be plenty of jobs people would be happy to let robots do since spreading out would mean a huge expansion of jobs, and automation would be incredibly helpful.

Who said anything about sentient?  They're programmed to be that way.

The difference between QC and reality is that they have the technology to have robots do jobs that do what they're told in QC.  They don't have to build robots with personalities and stubby arms.  They could build ones with no personality and advanced mechanics for jobs.  Ones that make coffee and take cofee orders, with over 100,000 insults, for instance.

[DonInKansas]

97 TERABYTES?! HOLY COW!

That is all.

This was my exact thought as well.

[purple.platypus]

Wait, she references "a model number" (HDC-4100X) in her first appearance, yet her "resume states another "model number" (Sony KawaiiPC). Am I missing something here?

Yes, that "Sony KawaiiPC" is not a model number but a brand name. "Dell Inspiron" is not the model number of my laptop, "PP41L" is, but both are equally legitimate things to call it (and neither is the same thing as the serial number, of course).

[FunkyTuba]

Seems to me that an Anthro's serial number should be as private as their social security number in the US... it'd be how they get their support.

Or maybe asking an anthropc for their serial number would be like asking their age? i.e. not polite

[celticgeek]

PT410x went by his serial number:  PT410x

[Is it cold in here?]

Welcome back to the comic subforum! You've been missed.

New question: why did Momo-tan put her gender on the resume? In our world's USA, among human applicants, employers aren't allowed to ask or care about that in almost all situations. If there were a job requiring a robot with the "male" bit on, she could reconfigure for it anyway.

[jwhouk]

What was THE MOMENT OF THE WEEK?

Mutual self-perpetuating sleep-deprivation freakouts!    - 8 (17.4%)
"I tried. Five times. They keep forgetting."    - 2 (4.3%)
"You're not stupid!"    - 0 (0%)
Just takes her hobbies very seriously.    - 0 (0%)
Who sets their alarm for 9:17?    - 1 (2.2%)
MARIGOLD LOUISE FARMER!    - 6 (13%)
Hanners grounds Marigold!    - 6 (13%)
JOU JOU YUUJOU! BANJI MAJI KACHOU!!!    - 4 (8.7%)
Hi dad... No, I didn't BREAK SOMETHING... No, it's not the Red Chinese...    - 0 (0%)
You run a SHOE WEBSITE.    - 0 (0%)
I'm not lying! I swear! Talk to my dad, he'll prove it!    - 1 (2.2%)
Your father wants me to extend it to a week (AUGH!)    - 4 (8.7%)
No video games for the next three days!    - 0 (0%)
Sad eyes at Momo! (It's for your own good)    - 0 (0%)
Th - the Mitsubishi PX-3500?    - 0 (0%)
But it costs thirty thousand...    - 0 (0%)
I'LL TAKE OUT A LOAN JUST LET ME PLAY SOME FRIGGIN' VIDEO GAMES    - 7 (15.2%)
Were you serious about the new chassis?    - 0 (0%)
'Sides, I like you just the way you are.    - 2 (4.3%)
Momo fills out her resume!    - 4 (8.7%)
14 Elm Grove Lane (no such number)    - 1 (2.2%)

Total Voters: 46

[Kugai]

Welcome back to the comic subforum! You've been missed.

New question: why did Momo-tan put her gender on the resume? In our world's USA, among human applicants, employers aren't allowed to ask or care about that in almost all situations. If there were a job requiring a robot with the "male" bit on, she could reconfigure for it anyway.

I just think she was describing what kind of AnthroPC she is. 

[Carl-E]

I dunno - it was listed as "gender", but specified AnthroPC female - seems a bit like putting your race on an application.  "Yes, I'm a second class citizen, since I'm not human". 

[sharpreed]

Just noticed this but in the panel right before Marigold falls asleep she looks a lot like Sven... Could this explain the crush MoMo has on him

[wrwight]

Stoutflies, I would have to fall back on that last "paragraph" of my post that you quoted and say that when referring to non-sentient robots, I would guess the idea of using them to replace humans is just as unpopular in the QCverse as it is in the real world. I don't know if you keep up with robotics, but there are plenty of things robots could be programmed to do today that would be cost-effective and eliminate thousands of jobs. In the near future the cost-effective part will spread to other realms of robotics, and probably bump that up to millions of jobs. We've already seen that things are not always pretty in the QC job market (e.g. when Marten lost his first job), so if I had to take a stab at why non-sentient machines don't do all the work it would be along those lines.

I think the reason everyone has been jumping to the AnthroPCs and sentient robots is because they would be the high-functioning robots, and therefore able to take on more jobs. Also, the discussion came up when an AnthroPC filledo ut a resume in the comic. It's true though that you never said that, and even went as far as to say you specifically didn't mean that, so my apologies for being a bit slow on the uptake there.

[Is it cold in here?]

Are the QC' world's non-sentient robots any better than ours?

[Carl-E]

Don't know that we've ever seen any non-sentient (unsentient?  insentient?  asentient?) robots n the QCverse.  The battlebot was sentient, as was the defense array Hanners used to chat with...

One risk would be that sentient assebly robots at a factory might go on strike! 

[HiFranc]

Don't know that we've ever seen any non-sentient (unsentient?  insentient?  asentient?) robots n the QCverse.  The battlebot was sentient, as was the defense array Hanners used to chat with...

Wasn't the defence array something from a guest strip?