Diceman at the dollar store

November 9, 2010 9:33 AM

Real world implementation of the buy-bot from xkcd. Follow it on Twitter!
posted by Artw (31 comments total)

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]

email?
posted by found missing at 9:40 AM on November 9, 2010

Fair point. But that one is sort of grandfathered in.
posted by Artw at 9:43 AM on November 9, 2010

eBygum?
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:45 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 [8 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

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

The hell? Who mails a bobcat?
posted by octothorpe at 9:55 AM on November 9, 2010 [5 favorites]

I wonder what kind of feedback the bot leaves?

++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

I'm sure it prefers 9V batteries.
posted by grouse at 10:09 AM on November 9, 2010 [4 favorites]

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 [27 favorites]

E-COMMERCE! E-BUSINESS! /Strong Mad
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:14 AM on November 9, 2010

i still think the rollercoaster chess ones are great
posted by handee at 10:25 AM on November 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

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

Unless they're living cells.
posted by weston at 10:54 AM on November 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Unless they're living cells.

Like this?
posted by pemberkins at 11:37 AM on November 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

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]

Like this?

No, like this.
posted by mmrtnt at 12:39 PM on November 9, 2010

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]

Cornell boxes.
posted by Artw at 2:51 PM on November 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'd like to see him either build a robot out of the purchased items, or else eat all the stuff.
posted by orme at 3:06 PM on November 9, 2010

The botnet would of course have a plan

Or so it would tell us for four seasons...
posted by Zed at 3:50 PM on November 9, 2010 [3 favorites]

fearfulsymmetry: "eBygum"

eGad.
posted by Splunge at 4:52 PM on November 9, 2010

"Does anyone still say eCommerce anymore? Or any of the other e words?"

Around my house, we still call escalators the "eStairs solution."
posted by klangklangston at 10:39 PM on November 9, 2010

e after i, except before mail.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:09 AM on November 10, 2010