Tech Loops
Tech Loops
[A flow chart 18 boxes linked (or not) with arrows going in several different directions. At the top is an arrow pointing to the right with text under. The rest of the text in the chart is written inside the boxes.] [Under arrow:] Supports
[Going from the top below the tip of the arrow and reading left to right and top to bottom the following text is written in the boxes that all are in some way connected with each other. The number of arrows going in and out of each box is noted behind the text in square brackets as [in, out]:] Updater [1, 3] Tool [1, 1] Tool [1, 1] Repository [3, 0] Library [1, 1] Library [2, 3] Library [1, 1] Chat Client [2, 1] VM [2, 1] IRC for some reason [1, 1] Custom Settings [1, 1] Hardware Workaround [1, 2] Library [1, 1] Awful hack from 2009 [3, 3] Library [1, 1] Library [0, 1]
[The last box in the lower middle is not connected to any other boxes but has two exit arrows pointing to two questionmarks.] DLL needed by something [0, 2] ? ?
[Box alone at the top right corner, with no connections:] Things I actually want to use my computer for [0, 0]
[Caption below the panel:] Every now and then I realize I'm maintaining a huge chain of technology solely to support itself.

The comic is about how much time a geek might spend on a computer just to maintain the system itself, rather than actually using it for something relevant. This can in the worst cases go all the way up to the point where maintaining the system becomes the main goal. Often the operating system (OS) needs periodic updates, which might break some apps which in turn need to be updated; apps themselves might need to be updated, which can create all sort of incompatibilities which the geek then needs to spend time fixing.  One term for this is " dependency hell ".
Most people consider computers as tools to achieve something else — e.g. to surf the web, play games, read news or balance their bank account — and they would rather not have to spend lots of time on maintaining the OS or the computer if they can avoid it.
Here, however, Randall finds he's spending most of the time using his computer just for the sake of maintaining the OS or the hardware on said computer. It's tools for the sake of tooling, rather than tools as helpers to build something else.
A hardware equivalent would be the RepRap Project : get a 3D printer and end up spending all the time printing 3D parts for itself instead of creating something else like toys or art.
An alternative interpretation is how a simple task can get maddeningly tricky because of the inherent complexity of the system. An example of this appears in 949: File Transfer , where the simple task of sending a file from one computer to another gets practically impossible despite having all kinds of cloud tools available, many of them designed to perform much more complex tasks with one simple click. In this view, the box labeled "things I actually want to use my computer for" could refer to simple actions like transferring a file and all the rest of the graph are unsuccessful tiring attempts to solve the problem by installing increasingly complex tools which end up not solving the simple problem properly. This is similar to this traditional programming joke .
In the title text Randall realizes that what he really wishes to do it often only to learn about and discussing new tools to improve the chain. So in this way it is for sure only a system to support itself. But on the other hand, then the box with things he actually wishes to use the computer for, is then not disconnected from the rest, but an integral part of it all.
Other comics about the same concept are 349: Success and 763: Workaround .
There are 18 boxes in the chart, but only 12 different texts. 16 of the boxes are interconnected. Two are not connected to any other boxes.
Here is a list of all the items explained individually:
The flow chart described: → means supports (key) Things I actually want to use my computer for [isolated box with no links into or out of, by any of the following] DLL needed by something → ? [two exits to unknowns] Library (1) → Awful hack from 2009 → Awful hack from 2009 → IRC for some reason → Awful hack from 2009 → (Loop) Awful hack from 2009 → Library (2) → Library (3) → Repository Awful hack from 2009 → Library (4) → Library (5) → Custom Settings → Library (6) → Library (6) → Chat Client → Repository Library (6) → Hardware Workaround → Hardware Workaround → VM → Chat Client → Repository Hardware Workaround → Awful hack from 2009 → (Loop) Library (6) → Tool (1) → Updater → Updater → Repository Updater → Library (6) → (Loop) Updater → Tool (2) → VM → Chat Client → Repository (Note the Repository node leads to nowhere)
[A flow chart 18 boxes linked (or not) with arrows going in several different directions. At the top is an arrow pointing to the right with text under. The rest of the text in the chart is written inside the boxes.] [Under arrow:] Supports
[Going from the top below the tip of the arrow and reading left to right and top to bottom the following text is written in the boxes that all are in some way connected with each other. The number of arrows going in and out of each box is noted behind the text in square brackets as [in, out]:] Updater [1, 3] Tool [1, 1] Tool [1, 1] Repository [3, 0] Library [1, 1] Library [2, 3] Library [1, 1] Chat Client [2, 1] VM [2, 1] IRC for some reason [1, 1] Custom Settings [1, 1] Hardware Workaround [1, 2] Library [1, 1] Awful hack from 2009 [3, 3] Library [1, 1] Library [0, 1]
[The last box in the lower middle is not connected to any other boxes but has two exit arrows pointing to two questionmarks.] DLL needed by something [0, 2] ? ?
[Box alone at the top right corner, with no connections:] Things I actually want to use my computer for [0, 0]
[Caption below the panel:] Every now and then I realize I'm maintaining a huge chain of technology solely to support itself.
