this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
735 points (98.9% liked)

Comic Strips

14848 readers
2177 users here now

Comic Strips is a community for those who love comic stories.

The rules are simple:

Web of links

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 43 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] AnUnusualRelic 13 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

This method also works for display resolution names like WHKLWXD which is 4k but with six extra pixels on the left side.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

At work I used to have a WUXGA, 1920×1200. I liked it because it just gave extra space. Typically on a desk you're cramped on vertical space, not horizontal.

Prior to that I had a 1080p with two 1600×900 monitors flanking it lol.

[–] thermal_shock 2 points 1 hour ago

Isn't that just 16x10 instead of 16x9? Been awhile since I've messed with those resolutions

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

And the monitor with extra pixels on the right side will obviously have a different name

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago

It's obviously called WHKRWXD.

[–] AnUnusualRelic 3 points 2 hours ago

You can't start mixing those up, they're for entirely different market segments!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Same method companies use for generating brand names on Amazon.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago
[–] bisby 47 points 6 hours ago (4 children)

My comment from last time this was posted.

The most commonly cited monitor in recent years for this is “AW3423DWF”… Which is AlienWare 34" from 2023, DisplayPort, WQHD, Freesync.

Point is, people see a lot of characters and complain when in reality it is exactly what you are referring to. The name is an encoded version of its capabilities. Its just that the encoding isn’t always clear because if every company used the same encoding they would have the same name. and if there are 2 similar monitors you would need to have every feature in the name to differentiate them, so the shorthand encoding becomes necessary. (Eg, AW3423DW and AW3423DWF only really differ on freesync vs gsync, thus the F at the end)

[–] InfiniteHench 3 points 2 hours ago

I get the logic here but I just don’t think most people think like this. Products are called the “Honda Accord” and the “Apple iPhone” and the “Cordless handheld vacuum” for a reason.

Maybe these code names make sense for the actual engineers working on them. But only the nerdiest of the nerdiest of nerdy consumers will remember a couple of these names. In my line of work I’ve spent a couple decades with a ton of regular folks, non-techy people. You might be surprised how many of them can barely remember what number of iPhone they’re on, and don’t even think about asking them which version of iOS is installed.

TBC: This is not a knock against people who aren’t neck-deep in every industry of every product they own. I couldn’t tell you which engine is in my Hyundai Tuscon or which generation of motor is in my cordless vacuum.

I just think these names are gibberish, probably greenlit by people who don’t think about this stuff. But they aren’t effective names for regular consumers.

[–] AnUnusualRelic 2 points 2 hours ago

Just use the same common encoding and postfix it with the brand name (or prefix, depends on what you like to sort)

[–] AmazingAwesomator 20 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (2 children)

i think bundling these features together in a brand name and incrementing it with version number would be more helpful.

having the "alienware porkchop 23" would allow people to become familiar with the branding and understand the featureset that this model comes with.

dwf does not mean anything to most.

[–] bisby 12 points 5 hours ago

That only works if you assume that there is something consistent to version. Some years it's a 34" ultra wide, some years it's a 32" 4k. Will there ever be another 34" ultra wide from alienware? Who knows! Not every monitor gets a revision. and if you have random names for 100 different monitors every year, that doesn't really help make sense of things either.

Alienware Monitor 7.... Well they release 100 different models a year, and every year thats going to increment, and consumers often conflate "bigger number better" so you better make sure you get the numbering right.

And "Porkchop" means absolutely nothing to anyone. DWF at least means something to some people. Going from 0% usefulness to even 10% usefulness is a good move.

[–] shortrounddev 7 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Do monitors keep a stable amount of features from one generation to the next? I mean the only real reason to upgrade a monitor is for new features, not because it has incrementally improved on the features it already offered, or size maybe. What would be the basis for calling something a "porkchop" vs a "lizard milkshake"

I guess you could have like 3 tiers of features, going from Cheapest to most Expensive (i.e, lower end is 60hz, higher end 120+hz) and then each generation you know which monitor is "better"

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 hours ago

Can you decipher this one for me please?

34GP63A-B

Only the 34 makes sense.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Ah, yes. Like my highly successful
LG V ~60~ ^ThinQ^ 5GUW | DualScreen

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago

I think the actual featureset is: "Made for tomorrow. Here for today."
As in: It is made to become usable tomorrow (hopefully with firmware updates by then) and it will last until the end of today (so definitely before all the updates arrive)

[–] Melonpoly 63 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Sony and everything that isn't a PlayStation

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 hours ago

Ah yes, the very sensible named headphones WH1000-XM# and the earbuds WM1000-XM#, where the # is the generation

[–] [email protected] 32 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I‘m sure the Playstation also has a horrible internal model name. It would be necessary to distinguish different variants.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 7 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 hours ago

Japan received the SCPH-1000, North America received the SCPH-1001, and Europe received the SCPH-1002.

i do not like this

[–] Deestan 50 points 7 hours ago (3 children)

The naming pattern makes it easier to have different "models" per major retailer. This hinders consumer price comparisons.

[–] then_three_more 2 points 3 hours ago

Oh does that get retailers out of price matching too.

[–] aeronmelon 18 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Are monitors mattresses now?

[–] Test_Tickles 14 points 6 hours ago

Always have been. Or at least since the beginning of the world wide web.
Stores had long used the "low price guarantee" slogan to draw customers. And they had trained the average customer to believe that it meant they had the lowest prices. Back in those days price comparisons were hard. Sales ads changed every week or two but other than what was in the ads you had to go from store to store checking the price yourself. Yes, you could call around to different stores, but that was unreliable. Even just getting stores phone numbers was a hassle. Plus, most stores didn't have their inventory computerized, and the ones that did were only close to correct once a year, right after they did their yearly inventory. So they just had to keep track of a couple of their closest and biggest competitors. If you tried hard enough you could save a few dollars, but it was rare and took a lot of effort. Most people would settle on what they thought was the "best store" and just stick with it. Even when a competitor had a sale at a significantly lower price that was simple enough for them to deal with, they would just pull their stock from the shelves and put a sign on it in the back room that said don't sell until a certain date. If you shopped somewhere like Sears or circuit City where their sales people worked on commission, You could sometimes develop a relationship with one of the veteran sales people as "your guy". And they would be able to have this insane knack for "searching the storeroom" for you and "mysteriously" finding the "last box that had been misplaced".
Then Walmart came on the scene and was a huge pain in the ass by actually having cheaper prices on a lot of things. Enough companies complained that eventually a few suppliers would have a special model number for a few high dollar items that they sold to Walmart and then a different model number for everyone else. But this was only on a few things like computer stuff and car stereos.
And then the internet came along and they were forced to slowly start giving just about every store "unique models".

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 hours ago

Higher quality models? No, same for TVs, an LG C3 is an LG C3 no matter where you buy it. But base models? Heck yeah.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

It's also a pain in the ass when there are different models for different regions (where presumably all they do is change the power cable, packaging and regulatory stuff, possibly sneak in localized ads) and you can't find reviews.

[–] psmgx 13 points 7 hours ago (1 children)
[–] SilverShark 11 points 6 hours ago (2 children)
3. Year
 * Two digit year it was released.

Very cool, but not Y2K compliant.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

Mark my words, they'll regret this when Y2.1K rolls around and they have to rejigger their entire supply chain to add a 1 to all their model numbers.

[–] JcbAzPx 1 points 2 hours ago

Next up is Y2.1K actually.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 hours ago

Jacob named HDDs, too!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 hours ago (4 children)

Give credit to Apple here, they’re one of the only brands with sensible product names. “Apple Studio Display” “iPhone 16” etc.

I wish more brands did this.

Shoutout to PlayStation too, but not the rest of Sony 😂

[–] Thekingoflorda 9 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

They're also not perfect:

  • Apple pencil
  • Apple pencil (2th gen)
  • Apple pencil (USB-C)
  • Apple pencil pro

I believe the Apple pencil pro > Apple pencil (USB-c) > Apple pencil (2th gen) > Apple pencil, but it's very unclear IMO.

[–] YarHarSuperstar 5 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

2th

Talk about "bone apple teeth" 😅

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago

Say it with a lisp. Seconth.

[–] skizzles 1 points 5 hours ago

Are we forgetting the actual model names?

Macbook Air - Mine is A2337. They do have arbitrary model numbers for all of their stuff too. Guaranteed they do the same thing with their pens, pencils, and other stuff. It's just that most consumers rarely pay attention to them. To be fair though, most of the apple model numbers I've seen are similar to what I said above which is not nearly as bad as how they do TVs lol.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 hours ago

Except for the M series ultra and max chips, I can never remember which is the higher spec

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

MagSafe has entered the chat

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago

Even Apple isn't great with that. They often have different models for earlier and later in the year, various variants of each size, and little distinguishing features other than model number- same as those monitors.

It just isn't as visible on their products as much, because they at least try to make it more simple for consumers.but monitors often have model line, size, and resolution short hand to differentiate as well.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 hours ago

Not wrong, but don't tell me you were never like

Which of these shitty camera phones has the best resolution

I can't read the model number and its even worse with bifocals!