q_id stringlengths 6 6 | title stringlengths 4 294 | selftext stringlengths 0 2.48k | category stringclasses 1
value | subreddit stringclasses 1
value | answers dict | title_urls listlengths 1 1 | selftext_urls listlengths 1 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ftrmm7 | Why does the plague doctors wore mask of a Crow | Why does the plague doctors portrayed in any movie or photos wore mask with beaks like a Crow? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"At the time, the germ theory of disease had yet to be established. The prevailing thinking was the miasma theory of disease, which held that disease was caused by bad air and especially bad smells. Plague doctor masks were so... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fts5ry | How are well known illegal TV streaming sites able to stay up? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fm8qnl6",
"fm90337",
"fm931f3"
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"text": [
"These sites do one of two things. They operate in a jurisdiction where it would be difficult to shut them down. If they are ever actually shut down, they simply create a new site and port everything over. It's usually a game of whack-a-mole... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ftsgti | what does the phrase record your web traffic mean? | is it recording what's being used on the wifi? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fm8waeh"
],
"text": [
"Not just wifi, but everything you do on the web. Your \"web traffic\" consists of every website you go to, every action you take, everything that your browser downloads in the background, what cookies are being set, etc, etc."
],
"score": [
5
],
"text_urls":... | [
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ftu1wz | What exactly is being done when game servers are down for maintenance? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fm91xb2",
"fm93zik",
"fm96cjo"
],
"text": [
"maintenance. Just like your home PC needs new software installed, security update patches, upgrade to memory or hard drive, cleaning out dust on fans, etc etc",
"Typically the have a development server running in parallel. They get the ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
ftvaj2 | the difference between volume and gain. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fm9dpvv",
"fm9v741",
"fm9y7z9"
],
"text": [
"At the simplest level: gain goes in, volume comes out. Volume is easy. It's just how loud the sound that comes out of your speakers is. Gain is how loud the sound that goes *into* the system is, before it's processed by anything inside (lik... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fu3blv | Why are certain CPU sizes of nanometers important and why not just go bigger to accommodate more “stuff” on them? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmak1r2",
"fmajf59"
],
"text": [
"That nm measurement is a measure of how fine the individual circuit traces are on the unit. So the smaller the measurement, the finer the 'wires', the more you can fit in a cpu. As a bonus, narrower circuitry also requires less power, lower voltages, and ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fu7971 | Why does a PS4 have to download a game that you have the physical copy of? Shouldn’t it just play the game right off the disc? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmb20si"
],
"text": [
"It doesn't necessarily have to download anything off the Internet, but it does have to install it from the disc. Blu-ray discs are just too slow for modern games to be played from them directly. They have to be installed to the hard disk instead, which is much faster re... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fu7c6q | what is the difference between 5G and 4G? While we are here, what is a "G" ? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmb2ldm",
"fmb2mkj",
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],
"text": [
"G means generation. 1G = First generation, which meant we could actually make phone calls outside of the house. 2G = second generation, which brought in text messaging, mobile internet. 3G = third generation, which brought in faster mobile ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fu7rqp | Why are passwords and stuff that keeps things locked prime numbers | How come there’s prime numbers and not un-prime numbers? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmb4vnv"
],
"text": [
"Increasingly they're not - other methods are being used. However, the basic principle is that you want a mathematical operation that is easy to perform in one direction but hard to perform in reverse. If I give you two prime numbers, multiplying them is easy. Even if I ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fu8ug8 | Is there a reason we couldn't flash firmware on a CPAP or APAP to function more like a ventilator? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmbc96d"
],
"text": [
"CPAPs only push air in. A ventilator needs to push air in and also pull air back our. I don't know about APAP functionality."
],
"score": [
5
],
"text_urls": [
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} | [
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fu9y25 | How do phone/console emulators work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmbj8in"
],
"text": [
"Consoles are just like computers - they have storage (like a hard drive), memory (RAM), a processor (CPU) and some other parts. An emulator is a program which creates a virtual version of the console's hardware, including the console processor's instruction set (the lan... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fuljvt | How GitHub works | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmdgfnn"
],
"text": [
"First, what Git is because obviously Github depends on it. Git is software revision control. This means that not only does it store each released version of a piece of software in a timeline, it includes the many *many* incremental updates applied. If your program is tr... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fuofvf | How do self healing plastics work? | Some test tubes in labs have the ability to be poked by needles yet the needle hole closes again. There are also membranes that are able to do that. How does that work and how „pokeable“ are these surfaces? Can one just poke them 10 (20, 100) times all over the place and they still „heal“? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fme3ezu",
"fme5zvb"
],
"text": [
"So most if not all engineered materials like plastics are made from polymers. Which are long twisted strands of molecules. When those materials are punctured or broken the bonds between the molecules themselves are broken. In most cases those bonds can't ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fupvfr | How would the EARN IT act negatively affect end to end encryption? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fme4q3r"
],
"text": [
"Hopefully a simple example: No matter how good a safe you install to store your valuables, the government wants the safe manufacturer to make a door at the back with a key available to the government. This is just in case, the government feels that you might be storing ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fut61j | In electronic devices, how can electrons carry information? In this context, what is information exactly? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmepic2",
"fmeioq8",
"fmeqswk"
],
"text": [
"Think of at as an abacus. The beads in an abacus represent numbers. In a microchip, clusters of electrons are the beads. The abacus is binary, so each bead is a “1” and an empty space where a bead isn’t is a “0.” The pathways in this abacus... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
futluy | Why is zoom so popular nowadays? i never heard about this company before | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmepm1f"
],
"text": [
"For business type interactions, it has it all for free, up until you need the meeting rooms for a longer period of time, or for more than a certain number of people. We use it for education conferences, and meet in a virtual \"room\" with 50 plus people, then break into... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fv84jz | Why do games go crazy when alt-tabbing? | When I minimize or switch to a different tab, it just freezes and turns to black before I see my desktop. When I switch tab back to my game, sometimes it goes back flawlessly (especially when windowed). Sometimes, it takes a full minute before I can see my game again. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmh90eg"
],
"text": [
"You have your in-game settings configured for Full Screen, which means your video card is only rendering the game and is no longer rendering anything on your desktop for that screen. When you alt-tab in full screen mode, the video card has to drop rendering for the game... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fvc1rp | How does GeForce NOW or other game streaming services downloads and installs even huge games in a few seconds? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmhl96w",
"fmhvkjb"
],
"text": [
"The answer is in your title. They're not downloaded and installed on your local machine, you're streaming the game from their machines.",
"They don't. The game is actually running on a remote server in a data centre somewhere, and a compressed video s... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fvep6m | How exactly do website cookies have the ability to track you? | All I really know about cookies is that they store info from sites you visit, info like login details and similar stuff. But I've only recently heard that they can track people. How do they do this? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmi0wx3"
],
"text": [
"Think of a cookie as a number written on your chest. Every time you enter a store, they write down when you entered, what you did, and when you left. Every time you drive, they watch what you drive, how you drive, and where you go. Now all that data is sent to a central... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fvgm79 | How do printers work? | Ok so I know how they get the picture of what to print but how does it actually make the picture? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmi9jvr"
],
"text": [
"There are several ways of doing that, but nowadays there are really only two kinds of printers: Laser/LED printer (99% of office printers) use an electrostatically charged drum which can hold toner powder like hair can get attracted to a charged balloon, a laser can sel... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fvhd54 | Why do most fighting games function at 60fps, even when the game itself doesn’t run at 60 | Most popular fighting games tend to consistently run at 60fps, even in the day and age where 60fps frame rate has become rare due to coding concerns and wanting to “Sell” it through upgraded systems. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmiqut7"
],
"text": [
"The game *does* run on 60fps, as they are in effect \"turn based\" games, with distinct states in each of those 60 turns. The graphics are strictly tied to the ingame turns, so things like continuous movement(like in a shooter, or racing game) don't make sense, and ther... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fvj80c | what is dirty_bytes and dirty_background bytes in linux system? | I do have an idea but I don't know if it is the correct idea. Where I got the terms from: [ URL_0 ]( URL_0 ) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmip3wx"
],
"text": [
"URL_0 Dirty memory is related to how Linux caches writes to nonvolatile storage (hard drives, USB sticks, etc.). Basically the actual writing operation only begins when a given amount to be written is accumulated to prevent the system from having to babysit a huge amoun... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fvj92t | Why are so many tech guys of Indian origin | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmiodry",
"fmip9gk"
],
"text": [
"Probably because something like 1 in 7 people is Indian. It's a really big (populous) country with a strong tech sector",
"India has a good public school system in part due to the British Empire and a society which believes in education as a way of im... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fvnlip | how do people isolate specific audio tracks from a file without access to the master tapes? Such as when someone makes an isolated vocal or bass track of a song or when someone makes a mashup of instruments from one song with the vocals from another. | Such as when people make "isolated bass/vocal," tracks of popular songs or make a meme mashup of one song with he vocal line of another over it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmjk2m9",
"fmjfaqw",
"fmk5v85",
"fmkbud7"
],
"text": [
"To add to what the other commenter said, audio files are usually in stereo - there are actually 2 tracks, one for the left side and one for the right - and when a song is created, different sounds are usually placed in differ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fvpv99 | Why do modern phones lack the soap opera effect of modern TVs? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmjxd4o",
"fmk0pj3",
"fmk1pae"
],
"text": [
"I think they r referring to that hyper realistic quality in the picture.. i dont like it..it does remind me of a soap opera..I thought i was high the first time i saw it on someones tv..",
"The effect you’re talking about is the motion ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fvqn39 | how we are able to take clear photos of earth without getting any satellites in the picture. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmjzdbm"
],
"text": [
"if any satellites are in view they are so small and so far away from the camera that you cant see them"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text_urls": [
[]
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} | [
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fvubsj | Why does reseating RAM actually fix things for a computer? | My stock CPU fan wasn’t working properly so I saw a YouTube video that said to reseat the RAM. I doubted it would work but ever since then, my fan has been working perfectly. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmkkzpt"
],
"text": [
"I've never reseated memory and gotten it to work again. The fact that it was impacting your CPU fan leads me to wonder if your motherboard is possessed. BUT. If there's any dirt or dust or crud in the RAM slot, then it could have a bad connection, including intermittent... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fvum8f | What makes ads to load faster than the content in websites and apps? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmkmbp6",
"fmkmse8"
],
"text": [
"It’s typically because ads are stored on a different server than the content from a website or app. The servers for ads are faster since they are paying to deliver content to you, they want to make sure it loads quick and properly.",
"It's all about t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fvz0dg | How does LiDAR work, what are the uses/benefits, especially in the context of phone cameras/AR? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmlbp2u"
],
"text": [
"LiDAR just sends a laser out and measures time for it to return (it bounces off something, the time it takes to travel there and back is used to calculate distance). The benefit of it is that it's very accurate and precise It's used a lot in archaeology and agriculture ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fvzaok | How can people who use gambling and card playing sites be sure that there's no funny business going on behind the scenes? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmla23q"
],
"text": [
"They cannot. This is one of many reasons that state gambling regulators have a problem with online gambling. Software in this environment is simply too susceptible to to cheating, as many MMORG companies can testify."
],
"score": [
8
],
"text_urls": [
[]... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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fvzrz4 | How do anti-plagiarism detectors and programs work to find exact wordings from other sources and determine that they aren't just coincidence? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmlebsl",
"fmlqc1m",
"fmlcq5i",
"fmlcyp1",
"fmm69q5"
],
"text": [
"It is VERY rare for a single sentence to be repeated by random chance. The odds of an entire paragraph or page being copied are zero. To give you some context. I've written several 100,000 word books. Often I'l... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fw2rkh | What is happening when uploads/downloads get stuck at 99%? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmlvwgs",
"fmmm5gz",
"fmmhuzv"
],
"text": [
"The first thing you should know is that progress bars aren’t real. They are somewhat linked to actual progress, but they do not accurately measure progress; they’re just there for the user to be able to visualize what’s happening. That’s wh... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fw4ogh | Why are cell phone towers found in pairs? | My husband and I were driving around and keep noticing that cell phone towers are almost always in pairs. Particularly along highways and in open fields. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmm8abh",
"fmm7e6x"
],
"text": [
"The existing tower is strong enough for 2 sets of antennas, but 4 companies want their antennas in the area, so the tower owner built another tower.",
"* Most cell sites are privately owned and space on them is leased by carriers. * Most cell sites ho... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fw5sbi | Why do you say the alarm goes “off” and not “on” ? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmmfatj",
"fmn2ul3"
],
"text": [
"That's a customary term for result of something being triggered. Same with a trap, a gun, a camera flash, etc. The trigger could be considered \"on\" in its armed state. Once the mechanism releases it, the result would be that the trigger is no longer on ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fw90mn | When a photographer is attempting to catch something at a very precise moment, why can they not use video and then select the exact frame they want to be the photo? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmn0hgv",
"fmn9acc",
"fmmy7yw"
],
"text": [
"They could, but taking a video at High res and High Speed produces a FUCKTON of data. They would have to go with specialized hardware that are both able to have the space to record, and the capacity to write that fast. In short, they would ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fwa9w9 | How the video app ZOOM is dangerous/not secure | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmnf37o"
],
"text": [
"Zoom doesn't have end-to-end encryption. A bank web page has end-to-end encryption, so you can type stuff in knowing that even someone has tapped into your internet connection and is watching all the traffic coming in and out of your house, they can't steal anything bec... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fwavz5 | How come cheat codes are not prevelant in modern games today? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmnah54",
"fmn9ipe",
"fmn9p0j"
],
"text": [
"The biggest reason is really that games in the past were often brutally hard and cheat codes were a way to make them easier or fun, especially for kids. Games didn't have different difficultly levels or even saves a lot of times, so they co... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fwh07r | How do broadcasting stations estimate how many people watch their program? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmod303",
"fmo988g"
],
"text": [
"I’d like to highjack this post and ask how radio stations know how many listeners they have.",
"They don’t estimate. They know. A certain amount of households have boxes that track and report what they watch. This is where they get the numbers. Plus, ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fwin68 | Netflix streaming | Why do Netflix not buffer while YouTube and other streaming site buffers? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmogz94",
"fmovfqw"
],
"text": [
"They do. It’s just that it does in very small amounts of data that you don’t even realize. Also their structure is far more different than YouTube. They’re probably closer to you than YouTube is.",
"They do, but their algorithms are so good at it that... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fwitve | What are seeds/peers in torrent? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmoh1wz"
],
"text": [
"Seeds is the amount of computers sharing the file(s) and peers is the amount of computers downloading the file(s)."
],
"score": [
14
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
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fwjsvf | How do proxy servers work and what do different types of proxy do? | I can't seem to understand it when looking on professional sites. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmonbc7",
"fmou4mv"
],
"text": [
"Normally, when you connect to a web page, it is a direct connection between your computer and that web page. With a proxy server, your computer instead connects to the proxy server and then the proxy server connects to the web page and it relays the infor... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fwm9hx | Fire shutters | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmp298w",
"fmp52db"
],
"text": [
"They typically give you enough time to get out of there after the alarm goes off. And then they stop the fire and smoke from spreading to *everyone else*. So instead of the entire building burning down and a large number of tenants dying and all of them n... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fwmo30 | Why are people so afraid of 5G? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmp4ofr"
],
"text": [
"The best answer to this is that people fear that which is new. 5G is fundamentally no different than any other cell-phone frequency that is already in use. However, people, generally, lack a proper understanding of how things work and are more prone to react based on em... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fwo0pn | How do iPhones fake Taptic feedback buttons feel so real? | When I first got my phone I didn’t even realise my home button didn’t have moving parts until about a year in. How in holy hell is this illusion so effective and how does it work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmpdt7p",
"fmplr7x"
],
"text": [
"Your phone vibrates a bit when you push the button. It does one oscillation (there's a very tiny motor with an unbalanced weight that spins only once around for each click). Your phone, being a computer, is exceptionally fast at reacting. Your hands, bein... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fwo8j9 | How do computers know how to turn 0s & 1s into information like images and sounds? | I'm assuming that there are programs running in the computer telling it to do these things, I just don't understand how 0s & 1s are turned into usable information. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmpfjpw",
"fmperyf",
"fmpef7j"
],
"text": [
"It's all fundamentally math, down at the metal. You can think of it like this: A computer fetches an instruction from memory. That instruction is a series of on and off switches that turns on a specific component in the CPU, such as the cir... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fwoqdu | How can someone track me using my IP? Can they find out my info our location solely from online posts? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmphu4k",
"fmpjvjd"
],
"text": [
"If you Google any ip address you can see where it is located (which city). If you post online, only the administrators of the site can see your ip address.",
"Have you ever tracked a package through UPS before? It's sorta like that. When you access an... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fwt5s4 | Why do some older recordings of songs have different instruments coming more prominently from either the right or left of my headphones? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmqfu9l",
"fmqsxqb"
],
"text": [
"I know what you're talking about. Others commenters are thinking about normal stereo mixing, which is pleasant. Some old records (with original mixing) have a very radical separation, like guitars 100% on one side, vocals in the middle, drums 100% on the ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fwtxlb | Time it takes to save something onto the hard-drive vs deleting it | How does saving something onto the hard drive (or moving from one hard drive to another) take a long time, whilst deleting it takes a couple of seconds? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmqebyc",
"fmqsx75"
],
"text": [
"When you store a file you do have to write all the data that in content to the disk and update the file table with a file name, what blocks on the drive the file is stored at, and some other information. When you delete a file you do not touch the data bu... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fwuomk | why newer operating systems can’t run 32 bit applications/games | I downloaded Mac OS Catalina and i cannot play 32 bit games such as Undertale. Why would a stronger newer operating system not be able to run a simpler format?? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmqj0mx",
"fmqo0bo"
],
"text": [
"Newer operating systems can run 32-bit programs just fine. You can blame Apple specifically for trying to force everyone who develops software for their platform to code 64-bit software by removing any and all native 32-bit support for programs from their... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fx36nz | Why is it impossible to generate true random numbers with a computer? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmrw0tc",
"fmrw20m",
"fmrwv7e",
"fmrwqf2"
],
"text": [
"You can program a computer to spit out what can be called “random” numbers, but the machine is always controlled by its programming. You can’t get anything you could really call a random sequence of numbers, because the machi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fx9lqf | What is different about the insides of wires that transmit power (Charger), data (Aux, Ethernet), or both (USB-C)? | Basically what is inside that allows wires to transfer only energy, only data, or both? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmsxpl8",
"fmsz4mb"
],
"text": [
"It's more about the connections between the two ends of the cord. Cords that are only for power only have connections at the pins that carry power, so a power only cord will have less individual wires inside it than one that can transfer power and data. T... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fx9oks | How is it possible that scammers can make their number look like your banks number? And if they can do that, why can't they make it so if you try to call the bank it goes to them instead? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmsyrrg",
"fmt4yrm"
],
"text": [
"Displayed called ID is sent from the caller to the receiver. This information is not secure, and it can say anything you want it to say. The equipment that turns your called number into where the call goes is done completely differently, securely.",
"... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fx9rhd | Why does it take wireless earbuds cases to charge for a really long time even though they have a small battery size ? | I've recently bought a Razer Hammerhead and as you know, BT earbuds are quite small and they usually have a case to charge them. What I don't understand is, I'm quite sure that the case doesn't boast a big battery like my phone, but somehow it takes about 90 mins to fully charge the case. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmsyij9",
"fmsyxqu"
],
"text": [
"Charging those tiny batteries at a fast rate would cause them to get hot and malfunction. Things go bad fast when those batteries fail. As a result, and the fact that being in your ear exposes your delicate ear and even brain to potential damage. The comp... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fxa68b | what does VMware do? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmt4hrt",
"fmt4mkt"
],
"text": [
"VMware is a program that simulates a new computer (usually called a virtual machine) and boots it. All hardware is simulated, faked, proxied, or otherwise not real in the usual sense. There's even a BIOS setup menu like when your system says \"Press DEL t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fxddj3 | How does authenticator apps work? How do the other ends like steam and discord know that the code provided is correct even when the auth app is working offline? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmto9o3"
],
"text": [
"Math and clocks. There are some calculations which are quick and easy to do in one direction and yet practically impossible to do in the other direction. A common example is that it is easy to tell if a number is a prime number, but *finding* the next prime number is ve... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fxdtzv | Why do computers slow down with time? | Computers tend to slow down after a few years of use, and tend to remain slow even after the removal of the majority of installed software and/or “cleaning”. Why is that? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmtqnsn",
"fmtrshw",
"fmu4irq",
"fmtrjih"
],
"text": [
"The average system requirements of software increase. But honestly I think this in general is a bit of a misconception. My main computer is 10 years old, the computer I'm typing this on is 8 years old. They both still run abs... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fxlbbc | I have smart LED lightbulbs that can change into a dozen different colors. How’s does that work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmv2jhn"
],
"text": [
"There are 4 leds inside the light. A red, green, blue, and white one. When you select a color, the rgb leds are lit to varying degrees to give off the color selected. Red and blue will be brighter for purple for instance."
],
"score": [
8
],
"text_urls": [
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fxud1a | Why do computers get slower? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmwh6rk",
"fmwpikq",
"fmx7pch",
"fmxityl",
"fmwt8ua"
],
"text": [
"Because over time more features are added to the operating system and apps as updates. This happens because there is always pressure to add more capabilities, to stay competitive. If you could take an older slo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fxveyo | Why is it bad to use Zoom? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmwn3gd"
],
"text": [
"URL_0 It claims to be encrypted, it’s not. It shares your information with third parties (Facebook, LinkedIn, others) It’s not secure (room listing and room bombing was possible until few days ago) Their business model is based on information collected on the users."
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fxvh46 | 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmwomqi",
"fmwnjqf"
],
"text": [
"Answer: they're different generations of the same technology. 1G also exists (when your phone has a data connection but no symbol). The main differences that the average users will notice is speed. 2G is incredibly slow and struggles to even load text-onl... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fxx4ac | differences between LAN, MAN, and WAN | What are the actual difference between these types of networks? The sites that I can find really only say that LAN's are smaller than MAN's, which are smaller than WAN's. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmwywzd"
],
"text": [
"LAN - your home/office building’s network MAN - your city’s local ISP WAN - a major internet ISP or the Internet as a whole"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fy2jr1 | in computer science, what does recursive mean? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmxz2i7"
],
"text": [
"recursive means that a function calls itself. The old joke is \"in order to understand recursion, you must first understand recursion\" It would look something like this in Python: def countdown(n): if n == 0: print('Blastoff!') else: print(n) countdown(n - 1) To go thr... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fy6c2h | Why is green the choice of color when it comes to editing in/out when recording video? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmygzt3",
"fmyh3t7",
"fmymn4q"
],
"text": [
"Well basically because humans aren’t green. Green isn’t anywhere close to the human skin tone, while others could potentially confuse the system and cause some issues. The color can also be blue, or pink! These colors are also somewhat rare... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fyeqmt | Why is internet service inconsistent and unreliable for days or weeks after a thunderstorm rolls through town? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fmziu4b"
],
"text": [
"Water can get trapped in the COAX cable and then does all sorts of things to the signal. When I did that kind of work, any low points we built into the wire run also included slitting the wire casing on the bottom so any water that got into the casing would drain out."
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fymt6m | how do people make those rewritten games? like club penguin and toon town. how do they get access to the files and stuff? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn0shv4"
],
"text": [
"Data scraping If you are accessing the game, you are usually processing almost all of the data on your computer - it's faster and cheaper for the companies to do it that way. You can just scrape that data. Sometimes the data is in unique formats but once yiu understand ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fysf9n | How do 360 camera views works in vehicles? | I don't understand how a vehicle shows a video of the top of your vehicle. Is it a satellite or some random camera? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn1l7m5"
],
"text": [
"The picture of the car in the middle is basically a stock photo of a car. Then there are multiple cameras (generally at least four) with very wide fields of view installed around the car (for instance, on the side they might be on the mirrors; on the rear they'll be tuc... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fysy6b | How did the bright colors of some World War II tank camouflages help conceal the vehicle? | I am a bit of a casual fan of historical armored fighting vehicles, and something that I've noticed from a lot of World War II camouflage patterns is that many of them include bright reds, bright yellow tan colorations, and even sometimes sky blue colors. For example, [this Tiger II MOC]( URL_1 ) and [this Matilda]( UR... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn1qcz2",
"fn1qvip"
],
"text": [
"This is what I was led to understand about why there is red in Germany’s WWII camouflage. Many of the tanks from Germany sported red camouflage because when they were built, the tanks were initially painted with a dark red metal primer. Later, near the en... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fytape | What exactly does the "closed" mean in closed captions? | I know it means it's "closed" to the viewer, but why is this necessary to mention? Are closed captions different from just "captions"? Thanks for any answers. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn1pjvl",
"fn2elyn"
],
"text": [
"Open Captions are ones that that always showing, and can't be turned off or on. Closed Captions indicate that you have the option of turning the captions on or off.",
"[Everything you never wanted to know about Closed Captions.]( URL_0 )"
],
"scor... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fyvnil | What are ELF antennas and what is their intended purpose? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn245ar"
],
"text": [
"ELF = Extremely Low Frequency, from 3 to 30Hz or 3Hz-30kHz depending on the area of study. These are used most often for communicating with submarines, as these frequencies can penetrate seawater well, and are also used for atmospheric science and studies because they a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fyvsa8 | What is sensor fusion in self driving cars? How do people who write algorithms for this?! | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn258md"
],
"text": [
"Sensor fusion is when you use multiple different sensors to get a more accurate observation. To understand how it works, you need to remember that all your sensors are observing the same phenomenon. As a result, you can look for correlations between the sensor data - ev... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fywlhe | How does subnetting work for IPv4 addresses? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn297nc"
],
"text": [
"Write the numbers of the IP address out in bits. 4 8 bit numbers. Like 192.168.20.17 = 11000000.10101000.00010100.00010001 . Then write the subnet mask out the same way. 255.255.0.0 = 11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000. Where do the 1’s stop and the zeroes start? In th... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fz29hl | How do Netflix servers output the same video files to a huge number of people without any delay? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn2u678",
"fn380ex",
"fn31juf"
],
"text": [
"There is a technology called CDN (content delivery network). The videos will be stored in each of network providers in your country and delivered through you. That's why the video won't lag while you watch them.",
"Let’s say you are in ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fz5673 | How do synthesizers work? Can computer software replace them? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn33uf7"
],
"text": [
"[Yes, of course.]( URL_0 ) A (modern) traditional synth is basically a little computer that can modify and mix sounds on demand, with a large musical keyboard as the input instead of a mouse+keyboard. Arguably, every PC is doing the same thing as a synth when its using ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fz6ql0 | Why do some credit card readers tell you to insert and remove your card as quickly as possible and others tell you to leave it in for several seconds? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn3bgy7"
],
"text": [
"The ones that want you to go fast are reading the swipe strip. The ones that want you to hold it are reading the chip. Chip is more secure and the rest of the world has been using it for years. America is currently catching up with the new tech, but there's a lot of POS... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fz7v5p | Why do selfies not capture what you look like in a mirror? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn3hku7"
],
"text": [
"Your brain is expecting the mirror/reverse image. It is what you think you look like, the photo shows you what you look like from a different perspective ( URL_0 )"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[
"https://www.distractify.com/fyi/2018/07/30/29Y... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fzaj2r | How does a computer know when it does the right thing when using learning algorithms? Why/how does it care about the reward system assigned? | I know that in computer learning algorithms, there is a reward function which somehow gives the computer a higher reward output the better it does, but how does the computer use that reward output to improve itself in future generations? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn3sd8u",
"fn3tnv9",
"fn3v9ih",
"fn3zquz",
"fn4182z"
],
"text": [
"A bigger number (higher reward) is better. So the computer will use elements from the times where it got the highest reward. That'll shape its behavior in the future.",
"[Here's the wikipedia article]( URL_... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fzc0nc | How do "speedrunners" discover intricate glitches that require you to do a lot of seemingly random pixel-perfect moves? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn3xfvi",
"fn3xuaf"
],
"text": [
"Constant repetition and intuition. When you play a single room in a game over and over and over again occasionally you do something unusual and analyze what just happened. Repeatable glitches get documented online and speed runners take advantage of numer... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fzc8ei | How to graphics card driver updates improve performance in certain games/programs? | Do the driver updates just correct errors or does the driver make the hardware do different things based on which game is running to "fix" poorly written game code? I thought a driver is just a way to access the hardware and should work the same for all games. Also why are graphics drivers huge (400MB+ file size for th... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn3xixx",
"fn44gxi"
],
"text": [
"Usually driver updates just patch errors and inefficient bits of code. Since running code takes time and energy, cleaning up inefficiencies can make games run better by making it take less time or resources to calculate a particular thing. As for why driv... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fzjt2y | Why do computers need restarting? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn4ieyc",
"fn4lk9d"
],
"text": [
"Software bugs (mistakes made by humans) put the computer into a bad state. Something is incorrect and since the computer can’t always fix itself, restarting (reloading the software) will put it into a less broken state.",
"The computer has lots of inv... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fzlqwt | Why do old movies have such quiet dialogue but loud sound effects? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn4yxi6",
"fn58tjn",
"fn5917u",
"fn5n6w6",
"fn5ok3x",
"fn5mgf2"
],
"text": [
"This is definitely the case for newer movies as well. The levels are mixed for movie theater systems where loud explosions and other effects can be exciting without scaring your pets or annoying ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fzmmzy | How did long pre-industrial ship voyages deal with drinking water? | It seems like the amount of fresh water you'd need for a crew of say 15 for months or even years would be massive. Food is more easily stocked but how did they deal with drinking water on long voyages? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn50q7t",
"fn51y35",
"fn51obe",
"fn50x4t",
"fn5j9ol",
"fn58mv2",
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"fn5a3lu",
"fn5hvx3",
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"fn5ixvn",
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"fn61vg2",
"fn5t258",
"fn643eb",
"fn6cik2",
"fn5h2c2",
"fn5zurd",
"fn6e80z",
"f... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fzphyb | What is RISC-V and how can it be different from the x86/64? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn5l1zt"
],
"text": [
"It's an instruction set architecture (ISA). A computer program works by sending a string of instructions to the cpu. The cpu will understand certain instructions and do something in response to that instruction. The instruction set architecture is a specification of wha... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fzq70o | Why do phones take up way lesser time to boot up than a pc? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn5k7uf"
],
"text": [
"There is a lot less to boot up, but it also depends on your PC. A good processor and a solid state drive without a bunch of autorun programs"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
fzs1sb | what's difference between ham and salami especially regarding meat content? | You can find in supermarket sliced hams proudly showing on package 96% meat content, while salami has written in small letters on back they used 140g of meat to produce 100g of salami without showing off. Is the difference in quality of meat in ham mostly unprocessed while in salami highly processed low quality meat? e... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn5tscw",
"fn5tzld"
],
"text": [
"There's a huge difference. So much that's hard to compare those two The 140g of meat to produce 100g of salami gives away that that meat was dehydrated a lot. That happens through a very very slow process. I don't know the technical terms, but the meat sp... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fztegs | in large battles where armies needed moving hundreds of miles (romans eg) where do they get food/drinks? | Surely you can’t carry all that water and food for thousands and thousands of men abouts to into battle? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn600d3",
"fn61c0p"
],
"text": [
"They either foraged off the land, camped near cities/villages and requisitioned the supplies, or had long baggage trains (mostly non-combatants hauling wagons) with enough supplies to last them the campaign season.",
"For battle they would drop off th... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fztfqd | what makes computers do what you program them to | Before you explain this to me I need to clarify: I’ve built a few computers alone in the past If you send me a picture of any inch of a pc interior I can identify it and tell you what it is. But what I don’t understand is how, for example, when you code something, why the fuck does it do what it’s coded to. Like what i... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn62mpp",
"fn636fj",
"fn65vha"
],
"text": [
"start with a light switch. then imagine two light switches that control one light. swap out the light and replace it with a switch flipping device, so now switches can control other switches. its possible for this mess of switches do to sim... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fzty97 | what makes a code language work | Like I get that scripting and code = working OS. But why does that jumbo of words and numbers and shit make a working system and how is that even recognized | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn63sqh",
"fn64u1c"
],
"text": [
"Computers store billions and billions of ones and zeros in specific order: ``` 1010 0101 0101 0001 1010 0000 1010 ``` We have made computers in such a way that we can give them simple instructions to change the values of these ones and zeros. These instru... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fzyq1t | How can multiple TVs connected to one aerial watch different channels | I know that the aerial resonates at the particular frequency it wants to receive. In the UK, we have multiplexes that carry multiple channels on one frequency. However, it's still possible for multiple TVs to tune in to different multiplexes at the same time using one aerial. How is this possible? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn6rq7o"
],
"text": [
"> I know that the aerial resonates at the particular frequency it wants to receive This isn't exactly true. The aerial resonates at a lot of frequencies at the same time, especially the ones that are used for television broadcasts (they're specifically designed for that... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fzzf9w | What is wifi? | i know how i interact with it, but i don’t understand the concept of “pockets of data” and how they’re transported? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn6w0l5",
"fn6v96l"
],
"text": [
"wifi is radio signals. the same type of thing that radio in your car gets from the radio station, on a different frequency. the data is broken up into chunks and formatted into differing waves and then broadcasted by the sender, hoping the receiver will h... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
fzzv7e | Why is online participation with a unique keycode (and in-person follow up for those who don't respond in time) considered reliable for the US Census but not for Voting? [see link] | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn6yc3s",
"fn76fnn",
"fn7azoc",
"fn7ar76"
],
"text": [
"There isn't all that much incentive to 'cheat' on the Census and correcting the results of such 'cheating' is fairly easy. While the Census is used for apportionment and funding, trying to add/subtract individuals from the Ce... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
g01c0e | how can a USB fiber optic cable charge something | I was reading about the USB Link cable for the Oculus quest and I might have misunderstood this but it appears to convert to a fiber optic cable and back. From what I understand fiber optic sends data with light pulses as compared to a regular wire that uses electricity. So how can it charge something at the other end,... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn77isl"
],
"text": [
"I have no direct info on the Oculus cable but if you look at other they have optical fiber for the data and copper wires for the power. Look at [this one]( URL_0 ). You use fiber for the data because is harder to transfer a high-frequency signal for a long-distance elec... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
g02oqh | How exactly do industrial potato chip manufacturers slice their potatoes into thin slices? | I’m struggling to get my head around how you can process thousands of pounds/kilograms of variably sized potatoes, feed them into a machine, and then magic out standardised, millimeter-thin wafers of potato pre-frying. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn7ej1l",
"fn7g142"
],
"text": [
"This is one of my favourite shows! They explain how things are made pretty well. URL_0",
"The same way we can cut wood into paper, or slabs if meat into deli meat. By using a stop block and running the incredibly thin remainder across a very sharp bla... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
g051vg | How do hashtags on twitter start trending? Who decides that everyone will start using the same exact hashtag at the same exact time? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn7s9d9"
],
"text": [
"They don’t unless an official group puts it out with notifications Else it’s seen and adopted"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
g05b42 | Why was a heavily compressed Zoom Video feed, much higher quality when viewed through my iPhone? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn7u9oh"
],
"text": [
"Find some pixel art drawings. If you look at it zoomed out, you can know what it is, if you put it on the full screen zoomed in. It's hard to know what it is"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
g05ofp | Why the US government still uses floppy disks? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn7wnus"
],
"text": [
"Don't listen to trolls. Many militaries use generally outdated equipment such as floppies, CDs and other old hardware for one simple reason - they are difficult to hack into. EDIT: I've also read articles of militaries using magnetic tapes."
],
"score": [
3
],... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
g0fnif | What is the difference between OLED, AMOLED, Super AMOLED, QLED and P-OLED? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn9g1zo"
],
"text": [
"Firstly, I want to say that this topic is very difficult to explain very simply. I do my best here and I'm happy to answer any further questions if something is hard to understand. OLED is a display technology where each tiny point on your display (pixel) has an organic... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
g0ij3o | Why does sometimes when you delete an app from your phone to open up space but when you try to download same thing you deleted it says “not enough space” | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fn9yazf",
"fn9s88b",
"fna4dbe",
"fna0vq8"
],
"text": [
"You know when a house gets built, how there are piles of lumber/materials in the yard, on the driveway, etc that get cleared up once house is built? Similar idea... maybe there’s room for the completed dwelling, but not all t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
g0jlbg | For automated processes, for example online banking, why do "business days" still exist? | Why is it not just 3 days to process, rather than 3 business days? And follow up, why does it still take 3 days? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fna8mml",
"fn9yfxk",
"fnagxty",
"fna97hi",
"fnad8k1",
"fn9z54p",
"fna6az2",
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"fnag9ye",
"fnaheoq",
"fnaixw2",
"fnaf9a8",
"fnagtty",
"fnae4si",
"fnbgt36",
"fnago8w",
"fnbmt25",
"fnan373"
],
"text": [
"The majority of... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
g0mgzt | how does sound get recorded digitally and played back perfectly? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fnaewx0"
],
"text": [
"It isn't actually \"recorded digitally\", it starts out as analog. The sound goes into a microphone (or guitar pickup or whatever) and creates a voltage waveform. That is sent to a special circuit/chip called an \"Analog to Digital Converter\" (ADC). The ADC measures (\... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
g0mwjl | Why can’t containers be recycled if they have even a little bit of food on them? How does a tiny bit of dried yogurt on a yogurt cup impede the recycling process? Thanks! | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"fnaiz3q",
"fnagt26",
"fnaj9kz"
],
"text": [
"I've not heard that any plastic recyclables have to be pristine in order for them to be recycled. And I think that's not the case. [This source]( URL_2 ) confirms that \"a quick rinse is fine--there's no need to make it clean enough to eat ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
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