So, the eCommerce keyword is probably right, but adding it made me feel like I was about 90. Does anyone still say eCommerce anymore? Or any of the other e words? posted by Artw at 9:39 AM on November 9, 2010 [2 favorites]
Grandfathered in? Pshaw! Real grandfathers prefer "electronic mail." None of this fancy e-business.
Also: neat! I'd be curious to see if anyone puts up items for sale just to attract the bots attention -- it seems like it might be possible to reverse-engineer the parameters to target items to it. posted by cjelli at 9:48 AM on November 9, 2010 [2 favorites]
ecommerce is something you do in cyberspace via the information superhighway. posted by burnmp3s at 9:48 AM on November 9, 2010 [7 favorites]
It's stories like these that make me wish I followed my father's advice and went into software engineering. Or learn any sort of programming language. posted by lizjohn at 9:48 AM on November 9, 2010
Google didn’t reveal anyone doing this already, and after asking a few people, the general opinion was that doing this was a terrible idea that would inevitably end badly. So obviously I had to do it.
It's stories like these that make me wish I followed my father's advice and went into software engineering. Or learn any sort of programming language.
Never too late.
And this project looks pretty fun. I thought I'd read the entire xkcd archive but I don't remember that one. posted by DU at 9:54 AM on November 9, 2010
++AA++ BATTERIES WERE DELICIOUS, TANGY AND SO COLD
++AB-+ USB CABLE LAST LONG TIME, BUT UNSATISFYING posted by bonehead at 9:56 AM on November 9, 2010 [27 favorites]
ecommerce is something you do in cyberspace via the information superhighway.
It has something to do with tubes, like a whole series of them. But not trucks. posted by T.D. Strange at 9:59 AM on November 9, 2010
I have something like this, except instead of a bot, it's just me on Ambien. I get little packages once or twice a week with books that I have no recollection of purchasing but seem like the sort of thing I might buy. (Although occasionally I get some bizarre stuff, and then it's "WTF, Ambien-me?") posted by Jacqueline at 10:01 AM on November 9, 2010 [18 favorites]
my my, another entry for the "life imitates XKCD" file. posted by sarastro at 10:01 AM on November 9, 2010 [4 favorites]
It's stories like these that make me wish I followed my father's advice and went into software engineering. Or learn any sort of programming language.
Grab a book. It's actually a lot easier than you'd suspect. posted by lumpenprole at 10:04 AM on November 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
++AA++ BATTERIES WERE DELICIOUS, TANGY AND SO COLD
implementation
XKCD has some up with a system where he just has to draw a stick figure of something, and the world makes it for free. It's like we're his printer. posted by w0mbat at 10:09 AM on November 9, 2010 [26 favorites]
E-COMMERCE! E-BUSINESS! /Strong Mad posted by Faint of Butt at 10:14 AM on November 9, 2010
This will be interesting once there are some results. Right now it's just like, "Hey, I designed this thing based on an xkcd strip! Can't wait to see what happens!"
Maybe we need a "post again in a week" flag. posted by Eideteker at 10:46 AM on November 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
Some robots prefer cells and there's nothing wrong with that. posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:48 AM on November 9, 2010
This is very cute, but I find the idea of buying things you're almost definitely not going to use just for entertainment... grating. posted by Jonathan Harford at 12:06 PM on November 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
This will be interesting once there are some results.
I don't think so. I foresee a lot of batteries and cords in this guy's future. posted by mrgrimm at 2:03 PM on November 9, 2010 [3 favorites]
One could imagine a machine that would lock itself in a hotel room and buy lots of goods and services with stolen credit cards (all the while stealing new credit cards). Some of these services could be physical acts -- like repairs, upgrades, or installing new computers in other hotel rooms.
The botnet would of course have a plan to do ... something sinister. Profit? posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:49 PM on November 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 9:39 AM on November 9, 2010 [2 favorites]