<s>
According	O
to	O
reviewer	O
Eric	O
Burns	O
,	O
the	O
strip	O
is	O
set	O
in	O
a	O
world	O
where	O
"[u]sers	O
were	O
dumbasses	O
who	O
asked	O
about	O
cupholders	O
that	O
slid	O
out	O
of	O
their	O
computers	O
,	O
marketing	O
executives	O
were	O
perverse	O
and	O
stupid	O
and	O
deserved	O
humiliation	O
,	O
bosses	O
were	O
clueless	O
and	O
often	O
naively	O
cruel	O
,	O
and	O
I.T.	B-General_Concept
</s>
<s>
He	O
has	O
encouraged	O
the	O
office	O
to	O
standardise	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
(	O
much	O
to	O
Stef	O
's	O
chagrin	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Born	O
in	O
a	O
server	B-Application
from	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
dust	O
,	O
lint	O
,	O
and	O
quantum	O
events	O
,	O
the	O
Dust	O
Puppy	O
looks	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
ball	O
of	O
dust	O
and	O
lint	O
,	O
with	O
eyes	O
,	O
feet	O
and	O
an	O
occasional	O
big	O
toothy	O
smile	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
was	O
briefly	O
absent	O
from	O
the	O
strip	O
after	O
accidentally	O
being	O
blown	O
with	O
compressed	O
air	O
while	O
sleeping	O
inside	O
a	O
dusty	O
server	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
Dust	O
Puppy	O
is	O
very	O
innocent	O
and	O
unworldly	O
,	O
he	O
plays	O
a	O
superb	O
game	O
of	O
Quake	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
created	O
an	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
named	O
Erwin	B-Application
,	O
with	O
whom	O
he	O
has	O
been	O
known	O
to	O
do	O
occasional	O
song	O
performances	O
(	O
or	O
filks	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Crud	O
Puppy	O
(	O
Lord	O
Ignatius	O
Crud	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
evil	B-Application
twin	I-Application
,	O
born	O
from	O
the	O
crud	O
in	O
Stef	O
's	O
keyboard	B-Device
;	O
he	O
is	O
the	O
nemesis	O
of	O
the	O
Dust	O
Puppy	O
and	O
sometimes	O
takes	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
"	O
bad	O
guy	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Erwin	B-Application
first	O
appeared	O
in	O
the	O
January	O
25	O
,	O
1998	O
strip	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Erwin	B-Application
is	O
a	O
highly	O
advanced	O
Artificial	B-Application
Intelligence	I-Application
(	O
AI	B-Application
)	O
created	O
overnight	O
during	O
experimentation	O
in	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
by	O
the	O
Dust	O
Puppy	O
,	O
who	O
was	O
feeling	O
kind	O
of	O
bored	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Erwin	B-Application
is	O
written	O
in	O
COBOL	B-Application
because	O
Dust	O
Puppy	O
"	O
lost	O
a	O
bet	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Erwin	B-Application
passes	O
the	O
Turing	O
test	O
with	O
flying	O
colours	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
a	O
dry	O
sense	O
of	O
humour	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Erwin	B-Application
is	O
rather	O
self-centered	O
,	O
and	O
he	O
is	O
fond	O
of	O
mischievous	O
pranks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
,	O
Erwin	B-Application
occupied	O
the	O
classic	O
"	O
monitor	B-Device
and	O
keyboard	B-Device
"	O
type	O
computer	O
with	O
an	O
x86	B-Operating_System
computer	B-General_Concept
architecture	I-General_Concept
,	O
but	O
was	O
later	O
given	O
such	O
residences	O
as	O
an	O
iMac	B-Device
,	O
a	O
Palm	O
III	O
,	O
a	O
Coleco	B-Device
Adam	I-Device
on	O
Mir	B-Device
,	O
a	O
Furby	O
,	O
a	O
nuclear	O
weapon	O
guidance	O
system	O
,	O
an	O
SGI	B-Device
O2	I-Device
,	O
a	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
Calculator	B-Application
(	O
with	O
reverse	O
Polish	O
notation	O
,	O
which	O
meant	O
that	O
Erwin	B-Application
talked	O
like	O
Yoda	O
for	O
weeks	O
afterward	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
Lego	B-Application
Mindstorms	I-Application
construction	O
,	O
a	O
Tamagotchi	O
,	O
a	O
Segway	O
,	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
5150	I-Device
,	O
a	O
Timber	O
Wolf-class	O
BattleMech	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
Internet-equipped	O
toilet	O
(	O
with	O
Dust	O
Puppy	O
being	O
the	O
toilet	O
brush	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
punishment	O
for	O
insulting	O
Hastur	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miranda	O
is	O
a	O
trained	O
systems	O
technologist	O
,	O
an	O
experienced	O
UNIX	B-Application
sysadmin	O
,	O
and	O
very	O
,	O
very	O
female	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pitr	O
is	O
the	O
administrator	O
of	O
the	O
Columbia	O
Internet	O
server	B-Application
and	O
a	O
self-proclaimed	O
Linux	B-Application
guru	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pitr	O
's	O
achievements	O
include	O
:	O
making	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
(	O
second	O
)	O
strongest	O
coffee	O
,	O
merging	O
Coca-Cola	O
,	O
Pepsi	O
into	O
Pitr-Cola	O
and	O
making	O
Columbia	O
Internet	O
millions	O
with	O
a	O
nuclear	O
weapon	O
purchased	O
from	O
Russia	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
infamous	O
Vigor	B-Language
text	O
editor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
briefly	O
worked	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
nearly	O
succeeding	O
in	O
world	O
domination	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
released	O
from	O
there	O
and	O
returned	O
to	O
Columbia	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
is	O
also	O
a	O
fan	O
of	O
old	O
technology	O
,	O
having	O
grown	O
up	O
in	O
the	O
age	O
of	O
TECO	B-Application
,	O
PDP-6es	O
,	O
the	O
original	O
VT100	B-Device
,	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
,	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
3270	I-Operating_System
and	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
5150	I-Device
;	O
one	O
could	O
,	O
except	O
for	O
the	O
decent	O
taste	O
in	O
clothing	O
,	O
categorise	O
him	O
as	O
a	O
Real	O
Programmer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
was	O
once	O
a	O
cannabis	O
smoker	O
,	O
as	O
contrasted	O
with	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
technological	O
staff	O
,	O
who	O
prefer	O
caffeine	O
(	O
Greg	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
cola	O
,	O
Miranda	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
espresso	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
favourite	O
wallpaper	O
is	O
a	O
large	O
,	O
complex	O
,	O
and	O
utterly	O
meaningless	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
sucks	O
at	O
Quake	B-Application
,	O
even	O
once	O
managing	O
to	O
die	O
at	O
the	O
startup	O
screen	O
in	O
Quake	B-Application
III	I-Application
Arena	I-Application
;	O
in	O
addition	O
,	O
he	O
manages	O
to	O
die	O
by	O
falling	O
into	O
lava	O
in	O
any	O
game	O
that	O
contains	O
it	O
,	O
including	O
games	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
normally	O
impossible	O
to	O
step	O
in	O
said	O
lava	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
said	O
that	O
he	O
educated	O
himself	O
on	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
in	O
order	O
to	O
make	O
informed	O
jokes	O
about	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eric	O
Burns	O
attributed	O
initial	O
success	O
of	O
the	O
comic	O
to	O
the	O
makeup	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
internet	O
,	O
saying	O
,	O
"	O
In	O
1997	O
,	O
a	O
disproportionate	O
number	O
of	O
internet	O
users	O
...	O
were	O
in	O
the	O
I.T.	B-General_Concept
</s>
<s>
The	O
webcomic	O
Penny	B-Application
Arcade	I-Application
produced	O
a	O
strip	O
in	O
1999	O
just	O
to	O
criticise	O
Frazer	O
,	O
saying	O
"	O
people	O
will	O
pass	O
up	O
steak	O
once	O
a	O
week	O
for	O
crap	O
every	O
day.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
person	O
who	O
said	O
they	O
assisted	O
Frazer	O
in	O
the	O
pranked	O
posted	O
on	O
Reddit	B-Application
,	O
several	O
readers	O
considered	O
the	O
prank	O
unacceptable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
strip	O
and	O
Loki	O
Software	O
teamed	O
up	O
for	O
player	B-Application
skin	I-Application
and	O
custom	O
level	O
contest	O
for	O
Quake	B-Application
III	I-Application
Arena	I-Application
in	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
