Dairine Regan Callahan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wizard_redfive) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
voidtreckerexpress2020-08-09 07:23 pm
wizard_redfive) wrote in voidtreckerexpress2020-08-09 07:23 pm
[Open] It's Computer Time
Who: [Dairine and you]
Where: [Standard carriage]
When: [Grasshopper, Day 20.]
What: [Dairine is setting up the desktop computer she got for the public.]
Warnings: [Not much, other than I've never actually set up a new computer.]
The purchase had seemed like a good idea. With the mission comms issue sorted by the train, Dairine was eager to find something else she could improve. Programming the ICP was so far a dead end, even as she learned more about its coding. So instead, she moved onto her next biggest issue: the lack of shared note-taking. Back in Paradisa, the journals ensured that most events had a physical record. But here, for better and for worse, everyone was left to their own devices as far as note-taking. She could rely on her sister to pass along her own findings, but what about the rest? What Dairine wanted was a system where anyone—or ideally everyone— could share their findings in a permanent database.
And thus, a desktop computer was purchased. Originally Dairine had planned on putting the computer in her room to start up the database, but the sleeping carriage proved far too small for a full sized PC setup (at least without bothering her fellow roommates). So she checked over the pieces with Spot, added the new SSD card, and then put them back inside their truck for storage.
The mission, her immediate disappearance, and Nita's big wizardly time-out had pushed the project to the sidelines for a while. But with Dair in need of a good distraction, now seemed like the best time to set things in motion.
[Start Up]
Those in the Standard Carriage will see the young wizard intently looking over the printer and checking out its power supply. After taking some notes on her laptop, Dairine nods, then sets the laptop down on a nearby table.
"This should do." She reaches to the side and... suddenly pulls a trunk out of thin air. This is shortly followed by a smaller box. Flipping the lid open, she cracks her knuckles. "Right. Time to get started."
[Power Up]
With the SSD already handled, the process barely takes long at all. She sets up the tower and monitor, then pulls out the keyboard, mouse, mouse pad, and webcam. One after another, each cord is plugged into the correct port with remarkable certainty. It's pretty obvious Dairine's done this before.
With everything connected and ready to go, she turns the system on. The whirling of the fans immediately fills her corner of the carriage. Dairine breathes out, the familiar sound relaxing her more than she would have expected.
"OK, buddy. Let's see what you can do."
Where: [Standard carriage]
When: [Grasshopper, Day 20.]
What: [Dairine is setting up the desktop computer she got for the public.]
Warnings: [Not much, other than I've never actually set up a new computer.]
The purchase had seemed like a good idea. With the mission comms issue sorted by the train, Dairine was eager to find something else she could improve. Programming the ICP was so far a dead end, even as she learned more about its coding. So instead, she moved onto her next biggest issue: the lack of shared note-taking. Back in Paradisa, the journals ensured that most events had a physical record. But here, for better and for worse, everyone was left to their own devices as far as note-taking. She could rely on her sister to pass along her own findings, but what about the rest? What Dairine wanted was a system where anyone—or ideally everyone— could share their findings in a permanent database.
And thus, a desktop computer was purchased. Originally Dairine had planned on putting the computer in her room to start up the database, but the sleeping carriage proved far too small for a full sized PC setup (at least without bothering her fellow roommates). So she checked over the pieces with Spot, added the new SSD card, and then put them back inside their truck for storage.
The mission, her immediate disappearance, and Nita's big wizardly time-out had pushed the project to the sidelines for a while. But with Dair in need of a good distraction, now seemed like the best time to set things in motion.
[Start Up]
Those in the Standard Carriage will see the young wizard intently looking over the printer and checking out its power supply. After taking some notes on her laptop, Dairine nods, then sets the laptop down on a nearby table.
"This should do." She reaches to the side and... suddenly pulls a trunk out of thin air. This is shortly followed by a smaller box. Flipping the lid open, she cracks her knuckles. "Right. Time to get started."
[Power Up]
With the SSD already handled, the process barely takes long at all. She sets up the tower and monitor, then pulls out the keyboard, mouse, mouse pad, and webcam. One after another, each cord is plugged into the correct port with remarkable certainty. It's pretty obvious Dairine's done this before.
With everything connected and ready to go, she turns the system on. The whirling of the fans immediately fills her corner of the carriage. Dairine breathes out, the familiar sound relaxing her more than she would have expected.
"OK, buddy. Let's see what you can do."
no subject
"Ah, data. That makes sense." He said agreeably with a nod. "Even though it would be more interesting if it did have the internet."
He tilted his head slightly. "What kind of data are you looking for?"
no subject
"Yeah. Maybe some of the quicklife passengers could help us rebuild it from scratch?" She sighs, "Then again getting enough routers and other hardware for the job would really eat into our points."
They might be better off focusing small, at least until other more urgent concerns were handled.
"Everything," Dairine answers automatically with zero hesitation. She might be older, but some things stay the same. "The environment and cultures of the places we visit during missions, any anomalies that happen on the train, passengers who have come and gone, how many have died and if they came back changed, anything we find about the Voidtreker itself..." She waves her hands in emphasis before realizing that she's getting a bit too keen. "...Stuff like that."
no subject
"Making computers talk to each other isn't intrinsically that difficult, but then you'd still be dealing without having access to the outside world which is kind of the biggest benefit of the internet. If you're going to have this sitting here for use, you could have some kind of local database people could access and contribute to."
He leaned against the wall, looking like he was considering her requests. "It would be vitally important to gather that data, I agree. I'm surprised no one is doing that already? At least it doesn't seem like it. I have a theory that the places we visit are connected to the rest of it, but I can't say much about it, my theories are in their infancy."
no subject
"A local database is definitely more along the lines of what I was thinking," she acknowledges. "As convenient as it'd be to connect it to the ICP system, figuring out the required permissions would be one hellva challenge. Maybe for the best. Having a separate system from the ICP could be more ideal, in case that particular network becomes compromised."
Or if the train turns out to be more untrustworthy of an entity.
"Oh, a bunch of people already are, myself included." Dairine gently taps on the laptop's lid. "The problem is, most of it is in isolation, and usually with the train provided notepads. Makes comparing notes pretty tedious, and that's if you know the other passengers. I mean, sure you can ask for more information on the ICP, but then you're rolling the dice on who's listening at the time. And if someone has the same question later one, they won't be able to refer to the answers you get."
no subject
"I wasn't thinking of trying to piggyback on the ICP, although I mean, we probably could. In theory it's not too hard to make a local network, provided we have the necessary materials, which is probably where the sticking point is." He commented.
Senku nodded as she described the problem. "Ah, there does seem to be a lack of research just lying around. So, something like this could solve the problem if you got everyone to transcribe their thoughts in a communal terminal isntead."
no subject
"Hypothetically we could, but getting the necessary permissions to connect to the ICP wouldn't be easy. Even if you learn the system's code, finding a place to input commands is rather tricky." Especially since Dairine is averse to hacking, doubly so with a system that seems connected to an intelligence. "Materials is definitely the biggest sticking point. We still have very little information on how we collect points or why some get more than others. So purchases have to be pretty well thought out."
"Yeah, even if it was just a copy of their previous notes, it'd make things so much easier! And if they prefer, folks could print out what they want to review." She jabs a finger towards the printer.
no subject
"I plan on keeping an eye on anywhere we visit to gather materials, but it depends, I guess, on what I can get my hands on."
He nodded slightly, glancing at the printer. "That'd be useful for some people, sure."
Sorry this is so late, feel free to ignore if you want
"You make the train mad, I'm not cleaning up the mess."