Split (1)

train · 14k rows

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
5xzfjd	What is AWS (Amazon Web Server) and what are the basic things one should know to understand how it functions?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dem1xop", "dem2cmp" ], "text": [ "AWS stands for Amazon Web Services to contrast their shipping services. It is a collection of services that Amazon provides online. These are things like storage, backup, DNS, database, load balancing and maybe the most popular, virtual machine hosting. T...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5xzmsq	How are cell towers able to transmit different information to every cellphone as opposed to broadcasting everyone the same information when listening to the radio?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "demb7no", "dem38nu", "demks3o", "demok3r" ], "text": [ "Excellent question. A bunch of people want to communicate at the same time. Since other people make a lot of noise, you have to speak louder. Everyone else speaks louder too and eventually you are shouting as hard as you can ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y0uu9	Why do servers need to be locked?	My server has a lock on it that can only be unlocked with a key, It locks the case and drive caddy. It also has an intrusion switch that stops it from running if someone opens it. Why? I thought that if you work at a company with impotent servers, You'll have common sense and no open it up while it was running.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dembh4x", "dembdqb" ], "text": [ "Controlling physical access is the single most important aspect of computer security. Give me the most hardened Linux server on Earth, and so long as I've got physical access I'll own in under 5 minutes. I can just boot it to single-user mode, change the ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y189s	What's the point of making AI robots (I.e like ones ee see in films) other than proving that we can do it, what are the real world benefits?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "demju7t" ], "text": [ "because AI is vastly useful. when computers became popular, it allowed a multitude of mundane tasks to be accomplished extremely quickly (think math, accounting, email, encryption, etc) but computers are still \"dumb\" machines. that is to say, they follow a discreet se...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y18we	How does a wifi router knows that you have entered a correct password in order to use it?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deme5z0" ], "text": [ "WiFi security (the kind where a pass is required to connect, not the \"coffee shop wifi\" where you connect then need to go to a webpage) is based on encryption. Everything is hopelessly scrambled beyond recognition, but your computer has the formula to descramble it! E...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y1h4l	How can Wikileaks be a trusted source without confirmed sources and unverifiable documents?	With the recent events from wiki leaks, I cant help but ask, Why should the people trust them?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "demgq1q", "demiksx", "demkpxv", "demwuji", "den0rlp", "demx4uo", "demkuxs" ], "text": [ "They leak mostly emails. Emails contain a mechanism called DKIM which basically inserts code into the email when it is first sent. With this code you can 100 percent verify if they...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y1x7o	Why should I worry about a hacker getting passwords from a website, if the passwords a supposed to be hashed anyway?	I'm a web dev and when I build a authentication system passwords are hashed so they can't be read from the database. How would a hacker obtaining passwords help them with this limitation?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deml3xa", "demj4wg", "demivrw", "demra9d", "demje7z" ], "text": [ "Three reasons, really. First, as the end user, you don't actually know that the passwords were hashed at all. All too often we find out that a site was storing passwords as cleartext only after an intrusion g...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y27k6	What is the Tesla Gigafactory and why is it so important?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "demlzqs" ], "text": [ "Tesla's goal is make conventional vehicles extinct and replace them all with electric vehicles (part of their overall goal of getting rid of dependence on fossil fuels). To do that they need to dramatically reduce the price of all the components of their vehicles, the m...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y3ee7	Why are there many free art software, but no free music making software?	1) I know music is art, I mean visual art 2) I know there is LMMS, but it is pretty much an unfinished software 3) By music making software I mean a full fledged one with piano roll, effects, drum sequencer, etc, not just a software to handle several recordings	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "demuj90" ], "text": [ "It's a fair question, although Sunvox exists. I think part of the cost is most music creation software depends on samples. Unless you're digitally creating the effect totally from scratch, those drumrolls and piano notes were probably lifted from the real thing and clea...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y4g3t	Why in this digital age do we still use fax machines that use landlines and take longer to transmit than downloading movies and music?	and why do we still use them at all?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "den4jje" ], "text": [ "Although it's certainly true that fax is technically inferior compared to e-mail or web transfers, say, it has advantages as well. For example, developing a standards-conforming website to which people can upload private medical information is pretty expensive and has w...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y54uc	why are there so few games developed for current generation consoles compared to in the days of PlayStation 2?	Back when I was a kid there were thousands of PlayStation games, now there are dozens/ hundreds for newer consoles like xb1/ xb360 respectively. Is it to do with the shift to mobile / PC gaming? Higher development costs? Licensing?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dena52k", "den9miz", "denb8u0" ], "text": [ "A large number of factors * It costs a whole lot more to develop a \"major\" game on the PS4 than the PS2 If you want to make a PS2-level game with those sorts of graphics and features it won't cost all that much, but the smaller developers...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y5k72	Do actors really eat/drink during a scene that involves food?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dencvus", "dend508" ], "text": [ "Yes, though they often have people standing by to allow them to spit out the food in the event of multiple takes. Some actors do prefer to swallow though, for effect. Chris Pratt for example eats everything.", "Depends on the situation. If a scene is ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y5meo	Why does music from the 60's-80's play at a noticeably lower volume than modern music?	My job has become a lot less social over the past year, so I've been listening to music a lot more than I had been and I notice whenever Queen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, or any other artist from that era comes on I have to turn up the volume on my phone two or three notches so the song is at the same volume as all my o...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dendonc", "dendlcf" ], "text": [ "Tweaking the volume usually means adding dynamic compression (not to be confused with mathematical compression). This is useful for making music easier to hear on weaker, lower quality amps, such as found in phones and other small devices, but distorts th...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y5rjo	Why is 3D printing products usually cheaper than the normal way of making the product?	At least that is my impression which is probably untrue in some cases.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "denf7ip", "denf9cp", "denezbs" ], "text": [ "For mass production, it's usually not. For a small, plastic object, mass production would be done using something like injection molding. They make a metal mold, then inject molten plastic into it. Depending on the size and complexity, you ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y5ubb	what is a stack overflow	when I google this, I get an answer that I cannot understand. In plain, simple english, what is a stack overflow?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "denhnqw", "denii44", "denfbck", "dengir2" ], "text": [ "A stack overflow is when a program runs out of memory in a stack. A stack is a way of organizing memory such that the program sets one piece of data above the previous one, the next above that, etc. It normally refers to a sp...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5y7zz3	Why do phone have a standard charging port but laptops don't?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "denu1m6" ], "text": [ "It is worth noting that until fairly recently, phone's tended to have proprietary charging ports that were specific to the phone. The reason is that there wasn't a compelling reason to. Until USB-C, there wasn't a universal standard that could provide the power that a l...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ya3je	What does the numbering system mean with PC application versions? Why is it likely to see a sequence like 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 2.0, rather than 1, 2, 3, 4?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deocow2", "deoccbv", "deodnpw" ], "text": [ "A little analog: When you have your first place to live (house, apartment and so on) that would be version 1.0. If you were to make changes to it, like renewing the kitchen, then you get 1.1. So after a few years, after much work of making ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yaauu	What happens to toilet paper and cosmetic cotton pads after flushing it down the toilet? Where does their journey end and how does it end?	Recently I've been wondering what would be more ecological - after removing my makeup or just cleaning my face with cotton pads, do o just throw it into trash or do I flush it? I know that trash is being burned nearby in a "power plant" to create some electricity but it's still burning, which is p eco unfriendly. If I ...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deoo8ny" ], "text": [ "Toilet paper is designed to break apart pretty easily. Try taking a piece and getting it moist like you were wiping down a table- it'll start to crumble very easily. There are standards for how much agitation before they break apart. As far as \"flushable wipes\", femin...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ybraz	Why do storage devices have capacities that are multiples of 8?	Strictly speaking about gigabytes (8GB, 16GB, 32GB etc.)	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deot0ck", "deosl4x", "deoufcb" ], "text": [ "storage is a collection of 1's and 0's (bits) and 8 bits form a byte. all the information about your files, programs and anything else is stored in this binary form. lets just call this the data. however just storing the data isn't enough. ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ydnjj	Why, when it comes to YouTube videos and editing videos, higher frame rates are better (30, 60, 120 etc.), but movies are generally 24fps? Why is it beneficial? And how does it look so much better?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dep71iz" ], "text": [ "It's like with LP records or black and white films. When movies came out the film equipment operated at 24. So people got used to 24. So other than 24 doesn't look right. Today, 24 is literally called cinematic quality. In comparison, video rates (30/60/120) look to smo...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ye7ta	Why are application installers called Wizards?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depaxlg" ], "text": [ "Wizards came into existence way back, probably in the 1990s. There are many situations in software where you want to do a task, and there are lots of options. Before wizards, you'd be presented with a huge dialog box on which you could set all of the options. But as sof...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ye7xj	How do loop stations with pedals produce music?	I've been toying with the idea of putting some electronic/experimental/ambient tracks together. I want to purchase some sort of set up, but I want to fundamentally understand how they are used and why they work. Can any instrument be input? Do they record? I only ever plugged my guitar into an amp, please ELI5.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depau59" ], "text": [ "When a loop station is in \"record\" mode, it takes the input (guitar, bass, microphone, synthesiser, anything that has the right jack and volume level) and records it to its internal memory. Then when you stomp on it again, it'll go into playback mode, where it'll just...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yeha7	if silicon is neither a conductor nor an insulator, how do you get it to behave like one or the other?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depdglw" ], "text": [ "Silicon is made into an insulator by oxidizing it. It becomes more conductive when doped with very small amounts of other elements. Silicon has four valence electrons in the outer shell. If you mix in a little boron or aluminum which have three valence electrons, you cr...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yei92	Why do everyday electronics usually require more than one battery to be inserted to work where others, such as cars and phones, only require one?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depcilv", "depq5ly", "depo6nq" ], "text": [ "Every day batteries are a standard size - 1.5V or occasionally 9V. Never seen something need multiple 9V batteries so we'll stick to 1.5V. Using multiple gives you whatever voltage you need. 2 gives 3V. 4 gives 6V. Bigger batteries give you...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yet5h	If smartphones are basically small computers, why can't we easily boot up android on lumia?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depev0v" ], "text": [ "The problem is the drivers for the hardware. A driver is a piece of software, that tells the OS how to talk to the components (e.g. camera, wifi-chip, modem, graphics chip, processor, etc.). On the computer you got standards for most stuff, so it is possible, to get bas...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yetef	How satellites on Direct TV and Dish Network maintain their signal as the Earth rotates without skipping/dropping your program?	Their are only a few in the sky, and everyone is connected to them at once anyway. As the Earth rotates, and the satellite switches between access points, how does it not drop service?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depece6", "depeugk", "depn1b2", "depg1jh" ], "text": [ "They are in a geostationary orbit. That means that the satellite is rotating with the earth, and remain directly overhead.", "The satellites are in geostationary orbit, a circular orbit above the equator at a height that ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yev0e	How does a hacker or internal employee download such large amounts of classified documents from CIA or NSA which are highly secured or are world's top intelligence agencies.		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depg932", "depj3lg", "depg64q", "depiq7e", "depkgko", "depkqj1", "depl4t5", "depjbqb", "depgk9p", "depkha4", "depky13" ], "text": [ "\"“Our whole system is based on personal trust,” an exasperated Clapper said, adding that there were no “mousetraps” in ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yexin	US Cellphone Carriers (Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile...). What difference, if any, is there between them all?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depjbp9", "depjp3s", "depjptw" ], "text": [ "There are two radio transmission standards in the U.S: Sprint, Verizon and U.S. Cellular use CDMA, while AT & T and T-Mobile use GSM. GSM is also the standard used in most of the rest of the world, so an unlocked AT & T or T-Mobile phone ca...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yfgkd	How do computer chips work on the smallest scale? What system allows it to store and access information quickly and run programs?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depktda", "depjf0r" ], "text": [ "So we need to talk about what semiconductor devices are, what they're made of, and how they work. A semiconductor device is built from two metals in what is called a junction. This can be as simple as two metal foils compressed together, but in modern ele...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yfj3d	How is it that iphone storage is full but it's still possible to stream songs over Spotify	My spotify tells me that my storage is full so I can't download any more songs, my iOS camera tells me the same. How is it that I can still stream songs from spotify, shouldn't the cache memory used be too much?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depk2qc", "depjuuh" ], "text": [ "Your phone has a hunk of memory dedicated to long-term storage, and another hunk saved for short-term storage. When you download songs, you put them onto long-term storage. Streaming uses short-term storage, adding and deleting whatever it deems necessary...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yfmoh	Do supercomputers have similar parameters like ram or hdd size or something entirely different?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depl2o5", "deplgpq", "depl4ye", "depxcmx", "deprknb", "deqc870", "deq0cte" ], "text": [ "They use the same general architecture as typical PCs, just in much greater quantities, and higher quality components. Their RAM almost certainly is of the ECC variety, which is ba...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yfzm3	If wikileaks is a threat to corruption/collusion in developed countries, how is it still up or not constantly attacked?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depp5my", "depr090", "deprwys", "depudno", "depvmxu", "depw7uf" ], "text": [ "A DDOS attack works by bombarding a website with so many commands that it has to shut itself down. It's effective if you have enough computers to do it, but the bigger the site, the more computer...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yg2qz	How exactly are files transfered via Wi-Fi and what dictates the transferspeed.	Is it just sending information what Data the destination Drive needs to write? If so, is the bottleneck how fast the source can give out the information or is it the writing speed of the destination? Or does it work totally different?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deppwm8" ], "text": [ "Yes. Essentially, the data transferred is just a stream of 1s and 0s for the destination drive to write (it's probably encrypted, and it has some extra stuff around it to make sure that the data reaches the destination computer intact). The bottleneck depends on a) the ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yg4la	Why do camera resolutions drop when framerates go up?	Like the Slow no guys always have super slow footage but with crappy resolution, why?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depph3t", "depph96" ], "text": [ "It's usually due to the amount of data the camera can move from its sensor into its memory. Imagine a basketball hoop: you can only fit through a single basket ball at the time, but but you would be able to push through a lot of tennis balls, because they...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yg8p3	How much storage does Disney/Pixar need for a typical movie?	Since we're always hearing about the absurd render times of Disney/Pixar films, that got me thinking - How much storage space does Disney/Pixar need to hold all of the assets (models, textures, audio, etc.) for an average movie?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "depqful" ], "text": [ "[citing a article from a Google search]( URL_0 ), the range is in the order of dozens of terabytes for a older Pixar movie, or hundreds or more for recent productions." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [ "http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/computer-a...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ygd0p	Why does the internet get slower when my laptop is further away from the router? Isn't the data still traveling at the speed of light?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deprppf", "depvgw9", "deprngp" ], "text": [ "The waves travel at the same speed, but as you move further away from the router, the strength of the signal decreases, and becomes more prone to interference from other sources. When this happens, it becomes harder for your computer to det...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yh0p7	Why is it so difficult to make "perfect" software?	Operating systems and apps are generally far more reliable and stable than they were when I first started playing with computers decades ago...but why aren't then virtually bug free by now? What I'm saying is, they keep adding features to computer and mobile OS's that most people don't use. Why has no one thought to ju...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deq1o2x" ], "text": [ "Software developer here, > but why aren't then virtually bug free by now? We haven't been working on the same programs this whole time. Every time you change an existing code base, you no longer have the same program. Business people assume software is more malleable th...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yhzk7	why can't we just colonise the moon instead of mars?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deq6g3x" ], "text": [ "We could certainly put a base on the Moon, and it could even potentially have significant use, such as a place from which to launch further exploration without having to fight against earth's gravity. but it's a more hostile environment, and some questions we have, such...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yiubp	Why people use BSD	Windows = target: easy to use, amateur users Linux = target: programmers, servers MAC OS = target: artists, designers, musicians BSD = target: ??? Who uses BSD? Why people use it? What kind of people ( generally ) uses it? What are the main differences between its main distributions ( such as DragonflyBSD and FreeBSD )...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deqeix1" ], "text": [ "Usually a major motivator in BSD is licensing. It's a unix environment that performs comparably well to Linux (better in a few regards) but doesn't have some of the rules with the GNU license. Basically, you can tweak it and don't have to release the source code. Big co...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yjbv2	How does your browser know what server to connect to when you type out a url? Where is this information stored?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deqitt7" ], "text": [ "Your browser doesn't know! For the second question: Your browser sends the request to your proxy, which is maintained by your Internet Service Provider (they're the people you pay money to for your internet). Your proxy knows of the existence of a Domain Name System Ser...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ykxc1	Is there a reason why train horns have to be ridiculously loud?	I live a few blocks away from a train station and they wake me up most nights so it better be a good reason.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deqvgkv", "deqxxw0", "deqvgz9" ], "text": [ "Trains are difficult to stop. The horns are really loud to bring awareness to their presence. It's easier for a car or a pedestrian to move out of the way than it would be for the train to make an emergency stop.", "Many years ago, I wo...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yl25f	Why do camera lenses have to focus if they're capturing in 2D?	As I understand it our eyes need to focus because they're pairing two flat images to make it one 3D image with depth. Camera lenses, however, need to focus even though they're capturing in 2D, so I imagine there must be some different mechanism in there. What exactly is going on?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deqwjqu" ], "text": [ "Our eyes need to focus separately for the same reason a camera does, and not because we see in 3d. Here's a simple experiment: close one eye and hold a finger right in front of the other eye. See how you focus on the finger and the background becomes blurry? Alternative...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ylcx3	Edward Snowden is fairly active on Twitter, participates in video conferences around the world and is most probably connected to the internet all day, why can't the CIA, NSA or the FBI trace his location? Last time I checked he was still living in an undisclosed location in Moscow.		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deqy70i", "deqy98p", "deqyb69", "der1ops" ], "text": [ "Who said they don't know where he is? They just can't touch him.", "What are they going to do, send a SEAL team into a government building in the middle of Moscow? The diplomatic repecussions would be enormous, and I woul...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ylrto	what the difference is between a video format and a video codec.	For example, if I export something from editing software as a Quicktime .mov, I can change the extension to .mp4, but what have I actually changed? Is there a difference between MPEG-4 and a h.264?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "der19ol" ], "text": [ "With video files there are 3 different format types to consider: * The video codec. This is how it transforms the video frames in the file into something you can actually see on screen. H264 is a video codec, its a method of compressing and decompressing video data. * T...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ylyt2	The dark web and how it works		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "der2myc", "dercegf", "derawjy", "derlfu4", "der64n3" ], "text": [ "We consider dark web like beeing a part of the internet who required an encrypted connection where users are anonymized. You can navigate on dark nets (dark web is the name for all the dark networks) by using s...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ymigv	what do these gauges on pens mean ?	These things here URL_0	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "der7ad7" ], "text": [ "Not gauges, baffles. [Capillary action]( URL_0 ) keeps the ink within the 'loading area' as I call it in the same way wax stays within a candle's wick. The majority of the ink in the pen is free-flowing in the tank, but the loading area keeps it more or less locked in t...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ymjj6	Why do phone chargers break much more frequently than those for other electronic devices?	In six years my laptop charger never once faltered on me despite not handling it with the best care, and I don't think I've ever had an HDMI cord or microUSB cable stop working. So why does my phone charger (even official ones) break so easily then?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "der6wxi", "der6ubo", "der7ddq" ], "text": [ "Well there's a few ideas.. Your moving your phone around more when it's being charged so the charger is having to bend much more often. Your phone chargers is also going to be less bulky because the charging port is smaller. No ones going t...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ymwaj	How do some music recognition apps detect humming or singing?	I know how the technology behind matching songs for original tracks works. But some apps like Soundhound can detect humming and whistling too?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "derdny8" ], "text": [ "Essentially it works the same way. [Here's]( URL_2 ) a paper by the people behind Shazam where they detail a part of their method. By taking small snippets of waveforms and frequencies, they can compare them to every song in their database with similar waveforms and fre...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yoie4	there are more than 300 undersea cables covering more than 550,000 miles. Since the continents are moving, how do the don't break apart?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dero4zo", "derqbk4", "dero68l" ], "text": [ "Continents move *INCREDIBLY* slow. Like 2 to 5 centimeters a year. there's more than enough give and wiggle to the cables that this is a nonissue.", "If you move your desk an inch, would anything become unplugged or break? Probably ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yorqs	Why is isn't easy for a game to utilize all the cores on a CPU?	Ryzen related	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "derrbmd" ], "text": [ "This isn't easy to explain to people that don't know anything about programming, but the short version is this: Because a lot of things in a software program or game need to happen sequential, something you can't be sure to happen when using multiple cores. If you are o...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ypicb	the Ethernet 5-4-3 rule vs Ethernet Way	Okay I kind of understand the 5-4-3 rule, but not very well. And what is the ethernet way? I cannot find much information about it online.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "derx04d" ], "text": [ "It's a blast from the past! In the olden days, before switched Ethernet, all devices were connected to a single coax cable. The Ethernet specs say that the maximum length is X meters and the signal needs to arrive on all stations within N microseconds. Everything which ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yqnee	Why do airplanes use two-pronged headphones?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "des7bo4" ], "text": [ "So you won't take the headphones with you when you leave. It's an anti-theft measure. Headphones are cheap, but some people would still steal them." ], "score": [ 12 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yqtpd	How do flashbangs work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "des86mg" ], "text": [ "A flashbang is an explosive device used to blind and disorient those it is utilized against. Typically, a flashbang will be tossed into a room as it is breached, and the non lethal explosion will disorient those inside to allow the attackers the element of surprise. The...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yqtur	What's the difference between 23.976 fps and 24 fps, and why is 23.976 used?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "des95ex", "des9q1l", "desa6r2", "desbxs3", "des99ji" ], "text": [ "There is a good explanation from a [previous ELI5 thread]( URL_0 ). > Film standard is actually 24.0 frames per second. The 23.976 is the framerate in digital cinema cameras. The reason it isn't pure 24 is pret...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yqwmc	The difference between overdrive and distortion		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "des8v4h" ], "text": [ "Hard to exactly say without audio examples (which I do not have). Distortion can create a range of tones, depending on specific pedals, or effects used. Distortion is more \"crunchy\" and \"loud\" sounding, a sound common in punk rock, heavy metal, alternative...any kin...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yrtn1	How does noise canceling headphones work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "desfrvl" ], "text": [ "Hmm...since it's ELI5: There are two types of noise-cancelling headphones: (1) headphones with over-ear ear cups that are closed and therefore cancel both sound coming in and sound leaving. (2) headphones with technological noise canceling. These basically analyze the s...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ystzc	How are touch screens made?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dessylz" ], "text": [ "There's different kind of touch screens that work and are made, differently. Some are made with two layers that when pressed together, create a connection.. some work by needing a conductor (like your finger, or metallic things) to touch it and interfere with its electr...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yt8fm	How do surveillance agencies like the NSA and CIA parse through so much information to narrow out terrorists?	Do they have computers looking for key word strings? How would they know the difference between a person saying: "I'd kill for that job" vs. an actual threat.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "desrfbw" ], "text": [ "That's not how it works. They have a target set that they're able to look at. They're not looking for random \"threats\" via your email or anything, and if you're American they can't look at your email unless a judge approves that you could have foreign intelligence/acc...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yveeo	how to learn a game controller		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "det861f", "det76tv", "detjce6" ], "text": [ "It's all practice, practice, practice. There are tutorials that exist but they mostly train you what buttons perform what actions. To really know what you are doing you can't be thinking about the controller at all. With practice you'll get...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yvh3n	How do download and upload speeds actually work,(I.e how do they limit the speed of download through your cables)		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "det7kif", "detl6jv" ], "text": [ "They limit the speed of the download by limiting how many bits per second are allowed to transfer through the wire to you. Someone, somewhere tracks all the bits that go into your house, and counts those bits. Every second, that count \"refreshes,\" but i...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yvyc6	What process does someone go through to create a coding language like Python or Ruby on Rails?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "detcxsn" ], "text": [ "A quick nit pick. \"Ruby on Rails\" is not a programming language. Ruby is a programming language. Rails is a framework written in Ruby for writing web applications. First we need to establish what a \"program\" is. When you write a program, you are writing out a bunch ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yw3pd	Why can programs such as Skype and Snapchat perform international communications for free, but calls and text require additional fees?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "detc6dh", "detirw5", "detr796" ], "text": [ "They're not free though are they. Both users regardless of location require an internet connection. Even if you both used free wifi the wifi is free to entice business and is still being paid for. The fact that it appears free is down to it...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yxfe1	How are Ethernet cables rated for different speeds actually... different?	So say between Cat4 and Cat5 standards, Cat5 has faster speeds than Cat4, but the cables for both Cat4 and Cat5 appear to be the same, with all the same number of wires. So what is different between the two cables that prevents a Cat4 rated cable from reaching Cat5 speeds?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "detngk6" ], "text": [ "Different gages of wire, different metal compositions in the wire, different amounts of shielding on the wire, and lots of other small differences." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yxfnc	Why can we land a robot on an asteroid but cant design a vending machine to take a slightly crinkled dollar bill?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "detntop", "detqods", "detnglb", "detpfkf" ], "text": [ "If a vending machine was made to have some leeway with bill and coin shape/sizes, it would be easier to make them accept fake money.", "Technology in different fields does not improve at the same rate, for a variety of re...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yyyim	What is the difference between TVs that are the same size and quality? For example: A 720p 32 inch led tv from Hisense manufactured in 2011 vs a 720p 32 inch led tv from Samsung manufactured in 2016.		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "detyafw", "detz3kp", "deuqm3r", "deu3jjh", "deua0n5" ], "text": [ "Some parameters that might be different: * Brightness. A TV that's not bright enough will be difficult to watch in brightly lit environments, like a sunlit room. * Contrast. The difference between the brightest...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yz345	If nano-SIMs work perfectly fine and the material surrounding it previously wasn't a functional part, why were mini-SIMs and micro-SIMs ever used to begin with?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "detzapd" ], "text": [ "The actual chips of older sim cards were slightly bigger than the chips on today's nano sims. However, the contact points of nano sims were positioned in such an arrangement that they would also touch the pins of older, larger readers. A millimeter or so of the plastic ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yzjhz	If I keep my smartphone plugged in all the time, is that better for the battery life cycle than if I use it until it's 5% and then charge it back up? Will keeping it plugged in all the time extend the life of my smartphone?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deu3ams", "deu5kej", "deu82lr", "deuaj0a", "deu4avu", "deu6s83" ], "text": [ "That's true, deep discharges are most damaging to a lithium-ion battery. Repeatedly running it low to almost zero and then charging to full is the quickest way to wear it out. If it's convenient ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5yzrpq	Why do commercials sometimes only appear for a split second before being replaced by another one?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deu57if" ], "text": [ "You mean on TV, right? The times I've experienced this was because my TV service provider aired their own commercials instead of those the channel had been paid for/those the channel had made. There was a little delay, so some commercials were only shown for a split sec...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z00q2	How do they get recordings of all the words for electronic reading voices?	Does someone literally read the entire dictionary and then some, or how does it work?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deu8zl7" ], "text": [ "Yes, somebody literally reads a dictionary of words. But the dictionary is cut down to include only the ___ most common words and is tailored to the usage they expect you to need. For words that aren't in the main dictionary the voice actor records syllable sounds (phon...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z0979	How does cracking a videogame work and why is Denuvo so difficult?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deu9uxk" ], "text": [ "Cracking a game works like this: - There is a code in the game that checks if the copy is legitimate, for example it may send the CD key you have entered during installation to a server via the Internet for it to check for its legitimacy. - The cracker tries to find thi...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z0gn5	Why do game developers often say that it is much harder to make computer games for Mac than for Windows.?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deuauy3", "deucms9", "deufgaa" ], "text": [ "When developing a game engine, which is the 'core' of the game, developers will use a 3D graphics API which means they don't have to worry about a lot of the details of exactly how computer graphics work, or about the difference between dif...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z1is3	Why is it that when we see a screen through a camera, we see a grid on it, but through normal eyes you see whats on the screen seamlessly?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deuwndi" ], "text": [ "That sounds like a moire pattern. Both the screen and the camera sensor are made up of grids and it is next to impossible for them to line up perfectly and the resulting interference is the grid you see. Your eyes do not have a grid. URL_0" ], "score": [ 10 ],...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z1lzg	If WiFi is an electromagnetic wave travelling at the speed of light, and it's digital, why does it slow down at distances from the router?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deuk1gn" ], "text": [ "It doesn't. The radio waves are getting to you at the same speed they always are. However, they might not all be reaching you because there are obstacles in the way. Furthermore, the protocol that is transmitted over those radio waves is limited by many factors, inc...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z2vw4	How is it possible for the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to store copies of so many websites?	I know they have several datacenters, but as of 2014 they had stored copies of over 400 billion web pages. How can one organization store such a mind-boggling amount of data?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deuveex", "deuv2ph", "deuxqjw" ], "text": [ "The simple answer is, they don't store everything; When you go to a website a lot of things are happening and there is a lot of information and what not moving around behind the scenes, but what you see is frankly a relatively small amount ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z3ldm	Why do we sometimes feel our phone vibrate in our pocket, only to find out it never even vibrated?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dev0v1g", "devhujb", "devmpah" ], "text": [ "[Phantom Phone Syndrome Wikipedia]( URL_0 ) is what you're looking for", "The best guess we have at the time is that there's a process called \"hypothesis guided search.\" The easiest way to explain it is that our brains are always maki...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z40uc	How do search engines work? Where are they searching from?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dev43ey" ], "text": [ "So first you need an index. Pick a website, and make a note of all the terms on that website. Then follow links from that site to other sites, and repeat. Eventually you have a mapping from potential search terms to pages that contain those terms. But you can't just pul...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z5skh	How does Google Maps on my phone track my location even when set to airplane mode?	Noticed this today while walking about London, seeing the sights. My phone is set to airplane mode as I don't have cell service and my battery murders itself trying to find a signal that will never come. When I pulled out my phone to check for a WiFi signal, I noticed Maps was still open and it knew where we were, and ...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "devgtj0", "devyarb", "deviuju" ], "text": [ "GPS navigation doesn't transmit any data at all. All it does is listen for signals from GPS satellites, and use that information internally to triangulate its own position. A data connection is only needed for downloading map data. Contrary...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z60cq	SCORM packages		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "devm1rm" ], "text": [ "Oooo, SCORM! My daily job and life's torment is this. SCORM is a \"standard\" for defining the communication between an application running on a client computer (which is almost always something in a web browser that uses javascript) and a server. It's specific rules an...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z77f5	Why do some airplanes produce smoke trails and others don't?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "devt1a0" ], "text": [ "These are contrails and they have more to do with the weather conditions and the altitude than the type of airplane. Jet exhaust has water vapor, as well as some small impurities like sulfur. The impurities in the exhaust will form condensation sites for the water vapor...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z79ei	What causes 'bugs' in computer code over time?	I understand a little about computer programming, but this part has always made no sense to me. I get how if you introduce new programs or new code into an environment, you can get errors. But how come the same program, using the same code, can just 'go wrong' when it gets old? It's the same lines of code; how have thi...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "devtezw", "devtz6j", "devzc79", "devtkc5" ], "text": [ "Code doesn't \"wear out\", so bugs don't \"appear\" after a while. What happens is one of two things: * The bug was always there, but you didn't have enough data to make it apparent. * The bug is a resource leak and the progr...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z7p2m	Why does the picture of high frequency TV's look like a soap opera?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dew610p", "dewj2ok" ], "text": [ "You could read [this article about the soap opera effect]( URL_0 ) but I'm going to eli5 this, too. Newer HD tvs have a pretty remarkable ability to transform shows that are shot in fewer frames per second (that's most shows) into more frames per second b...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z7vyc	The internet of things		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "devyuwm" ], "text": [ "In short: the internet of things is about putting a tiny computer and internet connection into everyday objects. This lets you do cool things like program your coffee maker to start brewing coffee before you wake up, or having your bed record how well you sleep and send...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z90uq	There are only 24 satellites for the GPS system, how do they handle signals from millions if not billions of devises communicating with them?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dew88ze", "dewb39h", "dew87ps" ], "text": [ "GPS is only a one-way radio signal. The satellites broadcast radio signals out to GPS recievers but there's no communication back the other way. A GPS device can figure out where it is by passively listening to the signals from the satellit...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5z9qo6	How does the new graphics card driver optimize the card for the specific game that I'm playing? How is a graphics card customizable?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dewg8mx" ], "text": [ "Three things that I can think of. First, a graphics driver is very complicated and can do many things in several different ways. It tries to guess about the most efficient way to accomplish the things a game asks it for, and it's usually correct, but sometimes it may gu...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zast8	Why can't the realistic and bright graphics of films such as "Avatar" be replicated into video games?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dewnjdv", "dewnedj" ], "text": [ "Different needs, different means. When playing a video game, you have hardware ranging from a $300 console to a $2000+ computer rendering (usually) either 30 or 60 frames per second in real time. Games are designed around those limitations, so that the gr...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zatbl	Why do people get mad when their phones aren't getting the latest Android update? I assume most people just use their phone for web surfing and texting, and those functions feel pretty similar on every recent Android version.		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dewo7s6" ], "text": [ "Because an outdated OS version is a potential threat to security. If you're no longer receiving patches, you can be targeted by new exploits. People are essentially blackmailed to buy a new phone even when the old phone's hardware is fully functional. There's nothing ex...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zay04	how big or strong does a battery need to be before it can harm an average person if dropped in a tub of water with them? Could a cellphone or ipad hurt them if not plugged in?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dewog1x" ], "text": [ "The average phone battery is around 4 volts. You won't actually feel anything up to 40ish volts. That means you'll have to drop four or more car batteries in a bathtub with you to even begin to feel a shock. To put that into perspective. It's much easier to kill a perso...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zbpoc	With a low education ranking, how does the U.S. have the largest tech and finance sector?	Most rankings I see put the U.S. very far below most developed countries in education. Therefore, I'm curious how our tech and finance industries fare so well. Is it because college level education isn't factored into all these rankings? Here is an example ranking: URL_0	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dewvc9h", "dewtibp", "dewy6sc" ], "text": [ "The United States is enormous, so even if the average is not as good as other countries' we are still talking about millions of people at the upper edges. Secondly, most educational rankings are for 18 and under education. The US has an ext...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zc25y	If sites like facebook can see my browsing history for targeted advertising, what stops them from seeing my banking data?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dewwr77", "dewvia7" ], "text": [ "Remember, there are 2 sides to every web browsing session. There's your computer then there are the computers you are connecting to. Facebook IS tracking you, but they're not doing so from your computer they're doing it from the other side of the transact...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zc4i9	Why is it that even when I'm close to my router, i never have wifi speeds close to what I'm paying for on my internet plan?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dewwekf", "deww2eg", "dewwr5m", "dex1ajy", "dex1n6n" ], "text": [ "lets see 1) Megabit vs Megabyte, 1 megabyte is 8 megabit, so if you have 10Mbps from your telco, you probobly have 1.25MBps 2) Protocol overhead, the data dosnt go un a raw format, its usualy packaged in a prot...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ze33d	how do websites check if you have a valid email without you needing to press the submit button first		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dexcc8z" ], "text": [ "They check for an @ symbol and a domain extension such as .com or .edu It doesn't normally do any test to check if the address is reachable etc" ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zeeb8	Do scientists choose exactly where a rover will land or do they just land anywhere that was suitable?	For example, when we planned a moon landing, was a landing site identified before they left? Or did they land anywhere that was suitable/easiest?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dexeztq" ], "text": [ "They plan the landing sites well in advanced. It is determined by terrain (will it be a safe landing), different features (what looks interesting to study), and by past landings (they want to spread out so they can study as much ground as possible)" ], "score": [ ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zeexb	Why do people move fast in the videos recorded on old, black and white cameras?	Is it something to do with the cameras.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dexf9e6" ], "text": [ "Commercial movie cameras were literally hand-cranked affairs, and number of frames exposed per second depended on how steadily the camera operator could crank. Also, film was less sensitive to light than later on, so most cameras exposed fewer frames. Home cameras, when...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zemvl	Is there a difference between microwaves used for mobile networks and microwaves in microwave ovens?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dexi55s" ], "text": [ "To make this a lil easier to understand, let's use another more familar form of electromagnetic energy: visible light. Same basic principles apply! Using your cell phone and its towers to communicate via microwaves is like getting a message from someone who's flashing a...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zf3ri	If the human lifespan were somehow greatly extended, how would we deal with the ensuing increase in population?	I always hear futurists go on excitedly about "getting closer to immortality" but doesn't the world have too many people already?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dexl6w6", "dexr9mg" ], "text": [ "The world is certainly overpopulated for the resources we consume. If the average person were to significantly reduce their footprint, then the globe could handle the current population and much more (potentially). That being said, if we got close to immo...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zf7yf	how can my smoke detector not be set off by my cigarette or fireplace smoke, yet goes off the moment my toast starts burning.	Not sure this has been asked yet. If it has link me to post? Reddits search function is weird...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dexpa1b", "dexp6gp", "dexq6rk" ], "text": [ "Smoke detectors work by having a radioactive substance and a radiation detector inside. The detector keeps getting the emissions from the substance, and this keeps a circuit open. Whenever enough particles that can block the radiation get b...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zik62	Why does Moore's Law exist?	I can get from a quick google search that it's the number of transistors on processing chips doubling every year because of how small we can make them (meaning greater computer power but not necessarily doubling speed). I want to know why such a seemingly arbitrary law holds so true. Is the co-founder of Intel who crea...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deyd2u4" ], "text": [ "Calling it a law is a bit of a disservice. It was actually an observation made by Moore. The distinction is important. As for your question, AFAIK it is mostly due to the progress of manufacturing and production of chips, rather than any willingness to prevent progress....	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zikp5	What does audio mastering exactly do to make music sound better on every sound system?	How do they know which frequencies they need to boost or cut in order to get a well balanced result?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deyeozr" ], "text": [ "Audio is first recorded, processed and mixed. Once the audio mixer has done her/his job; they will give the mixed audio files to the mastering engineer. Well mastered audio should sound good on many different systems. So the one doing the mastering will listen on many d...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5ziruv	Why do certain TV shows use a different director for every episode?	Hi ELI5! I've noticed that in certain shows, they use a different director for every episode. Why would this be? Why not just use the same director for each episode? Examples: URL_1 URL_0	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deyermx" ], "text": [ "The director needs to plan an episode, get rewrites, shoot for 1-2 weeks, then supervise the edit and completion. It's a big job. It's too long for one person to do 13 episodes back to back, so shooting is split into episodes or two episode tranches." ], "score": [ ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
5zj2s8	Why is the "claimed" battery life of a product always significantly more that the actual battery life of a product?	I feel as though this is counter to the rest of marketing/consumerism. For example, a company might say "water resistant" instead of "water proof" to cover their butts. Or when a car's official towing capacity is 500lbs when in reality it is 3000lbs because the company is playing it safe. Why do companies claim 16 hour...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "deyg19b" ], "text": [ "The battery WILL last 16 hours in lab conditions i.e. with the product turned on and doing nothing. When you start to use the device, it requires more power to run the tasks you are doing so the battery is being used quicker than if it's sitting idle." ], "score": [...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]

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