[GalFisk] How do they work?

[GalFisk]

The phone screen unexpectedly turns off. The computer suddenly goes into sleep mode. But at least this is modern times, and not the late 1900s.

[Sundowner64]

Switch to daylight saving time relevant?

[Biograd1]

Does this involve lights of some kind going out suddenly in the late 1900s? some other device from that period, whose function is now replaced by computers and smartphones, being prone to suddenly stop working?

[GalFisk]

Switch to daylight saving time relevant? No.

Does this involve lights of some kind going out suddenly in the late 1900s? No. some other device from that period, Yes. whose function is now replaced by computers and smartphones, No. being prone to suddenly stop working? Yesish.

[Biograd1]

So there was a temperamental device used in the late 1900s? that is no longer used today? (and to clarify, "late 1900s" means like 1908- or 1909-ish, correct? --like, you don't literally mean just before the start of the current millenium)

Was this device used for communication? transportation? household chores/tasks? to replace some type of hard manual labor?

[GalFisk]

So there was a temperamental device used in the late 1900s? Yes. that is no longer used today? Correct. (and to clarify, "late 1900s" means like 1908- or 1909-ish, correct? No. --like, you don't literally mean just before the start of the current millenium) I do.

Was this device used for communication? transportation? household chores/tasks? to replace some type of hard manual labor? No to all.

[trebor2]

I can see how this would likely fall under communication, but is the device a modem? Is it handheld? Is it used for entertainment? Would it have been located inside? Outside? In people's homes?

Phone screen: the display that was on some landline phones? Is this a landline you're talking about? Early mobile phone? Cordless phone? Car phone?

Are the phone and computer in the statement both in the same building? Is this something specific that would've happened once? Something that happened regularly? To one person? To many people?

Is Y2K relevant?

[GalFisk]

I can see how this would likely fall under communication, but is the device a modem? No. Is it handheld? DOYD. Is it used for entertainment? Could be. Would it have been located inside? Yes.Outside? No. In people's homes? Could be.

Phone screen: the display that was on some landline phones? Is this a landline you're talking about? Early mobile phone? Cordless phone? Car phone? No to all.

Are the phone and computer in the statement both in the same building? Yes. Is this something specific that would've happened once? No. Something that happened regularly? DOYD of "regularly". To one person? It happened to me. To many people? I'm sure it happens to others as well.

[Sundowner64]

Phone screen turning off .. because of power outage? loss of network connectivity? hardware malfunction? software malfunction? timeout?
Voice over IP relevant? (Quicktime, Skype?)
Is the "device" basically a computer?
Computer games relevant?

[GalFisk]

Phone screen turning off .. because of power outage? loss of network connectivity? No to all hardware malfunction? No, but OTRT. software malfunction? timeout? No to both.
Voice over IP relevant? (Quicktime, Skype?) No.
Is the "device" basically a computer? No.
Computer games relevant? Not in particular.

[Sarisberie]

So... it's not computer-related or telephony related in any way? Does the device require mains electricity, clockwork, battery, rechargeable? Toy-related? Force for ee-vill? Is it a plug or other thing that you set to ration your kids' use of their dad?

Is the 'device' an actual thing, imaginary thing, man-made thing, instruction, method, some thing that someone has devised? Would it be instantly recognisable to most people? Usable by most? Relevant where in the world it would be made/used/recognised? Ctrl-Alt-Delete relevant?

Television 'dibber'? Infra-red mechanism, other mechanism? So, say you 'dib' the device at the TV to change channel but the signal is not directional enough so it accidentally microwaves the cat or something? Is this the Harry Potter wand RCU?

[GalFisk]

So... it's not computer-related or telephony related in any way? Incorrect. Does the device require mains electricity, clockwork, battery, rechargeable? No to all. Toy-related? No. Force for ee-vill? No, haha. Is it a plug or other thing that you set to ration your kids' use of their dad? No.

Is the 'device' an actual thing, This. imaginary thing, man-made thing, This. instruction, method, some thing that someone has devised? And this. Would it be instantly recognisable to most people? Yes. Usable by most? Not any longer. Relevant where in the world it would be made/used/recognised? Yes. Ctrl-Alt-Delete relevant? Good q, but no.

Television 'dibber'? Infra-red mechanism, other mechanism? So, say you 'dib' the device at the TV to change channel but the signal is not directional enough so it accidentally microwaves the cat or something? Is this the Harry Potter wand RCU? No to all.

[Biograd1]

Was the device a computer peripheral? an accessory for your phone (e.g. a charger, earbuds, a stylus, etc.)? a part of either a computer or a phone, rather than the whole device (e.g. a power switch, the dial on an old rotary phone)? a completely non-technological device that nevertheless was used at the same time/by the same people as who use computers or phones (e.g. a case of some kind, a mouse pad, a pull-out drawer in a desk for a keyboard)?

[GalFisk]

Was the device a computer peripheral? No, but OTRT. an accessory for your phone (e.g. a charger, earbuds, a stylus, etc.)? a part of either a computer or a phone, rather than the whole device (e.g. a power switch, the dial on an old rotary phone)? a completely non-technological device that nevertheless was used at the same time/by the same people as who use computers or phones (e.g. a case of some kind, a mouse pad, a pull-out drawer in a desk for a keyboard)? No to all.

[Sarisberie]

Magnet? Guru Meditation Error?
Approx date when this device was first invented/discovered? Was there a particular reason why it stopped being used? Usurped by something else? No longer required or fashionable? Didn't work very well? Actually caused problems? Computer programme, programming language? Relevantly, time of day it happens? Relevantly, when it stopped being used? Video cassette? Kind of chair? Storage? Floppy discs involved? If it had been the early 1900's, might they have thought it was paranormal activity?

Relevant where or when it happens... like on a train, going through a tunnel?

[GalFisk]

Magnet? Magnets are relevant. Guru Meditation Error? No.
Approx date when this device was first invented/discovered? Not a yes/no question. Was there a particular reason why it stopped being used? Yes. Usurped by something else? Yes. No longer required or fashionable? Yes, because of the above. Didn't work very well? Not by today's standards. Actually caused problems? Sometimes, but not that relevant. Computer programme, programming language? No. Relevantly, time of day it happens? Relevantly, when it stopped being used? Video cassette? Kind of chair? No to all Storage? Yes. Floppy discs involved? Yes. If it had been the early 1900's, might they have thought it was paranormal activity? Very unlikely.

Relevant where or when it happens... like on a train, going through a tunnel? No.

[Biograd1]

Did the floppy discs stop working because they jammed inside the drive? because they were somehow accidentally erased? or was their "not working" simply related to how small their capacity was, such that sometimes a large file (or folder of significantly sized files) couldn't completely fit on one?

[trebor2]

Autosave feature relevant? Losing a bunch of work because you'd forgotten to save before [x] happened? Because you'd ejected the disk improperly? Because the disk came close to a magnet and got erased?

[Sarisberie]

Should we be looking at floppies, or cassette drives? iirc, floppies used to stop spinning and have a think every so often... they also had a read/write notch on... relevant? Would they just keep searching even if they couldn't find? Also, if the cassette had a glitch on it, e.g. the ribbon was damaged, you could waste a helluva lot of time, in vain, waiting for it to load the programme.
Whereas, auto-time-out &/or sleep mode happens now, if you leave the device alone for a bit, but that's no big deal in comparison. Any of that relevant pls?

[GalFisk]

Did the floppy discs stop working because they jammed inside the drive? because they were somehow accidentally erased? This. or was their "not working" simply related to how small their capacity was, such that sometimes a large file (or folder of significantly sized files) couldn't completely fit on one? No.

Autosave feature relevant? Losing a bunch of work because you'd forgotten to save before [x] happened? Because you'd ejected the disk improperly? No to all. Because the disk came close to a magnet and got erased? Yes.


Should we be looking at floppies, or cassette drives? Both work for the purpose of the puzzle. iirc, floppies used to stop spinning and have a think every so often... they also had a read/write notch on... relevant? No. Would they just keep searching even if they couldn't find? Also, if the cassette had a glitch on it, e.g. the ribbon was damaged, you could waste a helluva lot of time, in vain, waiting for it to load the programme.
Whereas, auto-time-out &/or sleep mode happens now, if you leave the device alone for a bit, but that's no big deal in comparison. Any of that relevant pls? No, the above is not relevant.

[Sundowner64]

Is the relevant part just that floppy disks all too often stopped working because they accidentally got demagnetized?
Is the phone and computer stopping working in our times also related to magnetism?
Geomagnetic storms relevant? the recent one in January that killed ~40 Starlink satellites?

[GalFisk]

Is the relevant part just that floppy disks all too often stopped working because they accidentally got demagnetized? No, it's more specific.
Is the phone and computer stopping working Potential FA in our times also related to magnetism? Yes.
Geomagnetic storms relevant? No. the recent one in January that killed ~40 Starlink satellites? No.

The mechanism behind that was really interesting, though. The storm made the atmosphere heat up and expand, increasing air resistance so the weak ion engines of the satellites were unable to raise their orbit.

[Sundowner64]

Is a specific source of magnetism relevant? natural? manmade?
Does the computer go to sleep mode because of power outage? because of inactivity? is it a direct effect of the magnetism on the computer? or, rather, indirect?

[GalFisk]

Is a specific source of magnetism relevant? Yes. natural? No. manmade? Yes.
Does the computer go to sleep mode because of power outage? because of inactivity? No to both. is it a direct effect of the magnetism on the computer? Yes. or, rather, indirect? No.

[Sundowner64]

The manmade source of magnetism: a tool? a permanent magnet? an electromagnetic device? a power generator? a transformator? an unshielded wire? an antenna?
Is the magnetic field part of the purpose of the tool or device? or, rather, an unwanted side effect?

[GalFisk]

The manmade source of magnetism: a tool? No. a permanent magnet? Yes. an electromagnetic device? a power generator? a transformator? an unshielded wire? an antenna? No to the rest.
Is the magnetic field part of the purpose of the tool or device? Yes. or, rather, an unwanted side effect? No(ish).

[Sundowner64]

Is the magnet used to fix or hold things? to lift things? to retrieve things? is it part of a toy? a magnetic clamp? a magnetic bracelet? a magnetic screwdriver or other tool?
Does the magnet come into direct contact with the phone? with the computer? if so: on purpose?

[trebor2]

Is the magnet a fridge magnet? A fridge? Something that you would carry in your pocket/purse/backback/shoulder bag?

So the phone is not an early cell phone...is it a modern cell phone? Does just the screen turn off? Does the whole phone turn off? Does the phone screen turn off at the same time the computer goes into sleep mode? Does the phone turn off first, and then the computer goes into sleep mode? If so, relevant how long after?

Does the same thing cause the phone and the computer to do that?

[GalFisk]

Is the magnet used to fix or hold things? DOYD. to lift things? to retrieve things? is it part of a toy? a magnetic clamp? a magnetic bracelet? a magnetic screwdriver or other tool? No to all.
Does the magnet come into direct contact with the phone? with the computer? Yes to both if so: on purpose? No.

Is the magnet a fridge magnet? A fridge? No to both. Something that you would carry in your pocket/purse/backback/shoulder bag? Yes.

So the phone is not an early cell phone...is it a modern cell phone? Yes. Does just the screen turn off? Yes. Does the whole phone turn off? No. Does the phone screen turn off at the same time the computer goes into sleep mode? Not necessarily. Does the phone turn off first, and then the computer goes into sleep mode? Irr. If so, relevant how long after? Irr.

Does the same thing cause the phone and the computer to do that? Yes.

[Sundowner64]

Is it the magnetic strip of a credit card?

[GalFisk]

Is it the magnetic strip of a credit card? No.

[Sarisberie]

Is it a phone case which has a magnetic closure?

[GalFisk]

Is it a phone case which has a magnetic closure?
SPOILER:

Phone cases often have magnets nowadays, and magnetics sensors that turn off the screen when closed. Laptops also have magnets and sensors to sense if the lid is closed. With all these magnets around, sometimes stuff turns off unintentionally.

But at least we don't use magnetic storage everywhere anymore, like in the 90s, so all those magnets around don't accidentally wipe our data.