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6pi8q6
Why do cars have AC buttons when you have the ability to change the temperature?
There shouldn't be a difference between a hot 69°F and an AC 69°F?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkplr43" ], "text": [ "The temp knob controls the mix of cold air and hot air. Hot air is generated by waste heat from the engine. With the A/C off, cold air is from the outside. So the coldest it can get is the ambient outside temp. With the A/C on, cold air is from the A/C system, which can...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6pilof
Why do phone screens, with high pixel density and resolution, look far less impressive and crisp as a Monitor or TV with the same ~4k resolution?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkpqkic" ], "text": [ "For the most part, I think phone screens are generally only at 2k resolution right now. There are rumors of 4k screens coming soon, but that is one large difference. Some of it may also depend on what kind of phone screen it is (AMOLED, LCD, IPS) as well as your brightn...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6pipha
How do people find out about complex or hidden game easter eggs? Do players stumble on them naturally, or do they get leaked?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkpln18" ], "text": [ "Any and all of the above. Some Easter eggs are run into accidentally. Some are leaked by the devs for fun to capture the community for karma points. Others are found by users digging around in the binary code or other assets in the program." ], "score": [ 5 ],...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6pizen
Why did Adobe let Flash deteriorate, become hated, and die slowly? It was used everywhere and the primary player for online video, was there not enough value in that to be worth updating and maintaining it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkppzq4", "dkppfv2", "dkpo0mz", "dkpnx6f", "dkpo0e4", "dkpq84s", "dkppevp" ], "text": [ "A Flash applet is like a program. It can run it's own code and be used to write information to your computer. While modern up to date computers try and prevent this from happening,...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6pizgf
How do live visualization websites work?
I've seen many websites where data is updated real time and creates amazing visualizations that vary second by second e.g. Norse Live Cyberattack website ( URL_0 )
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkpx1rs" ], "text": [ "Here's one way to do it. You need 3 things: HTML, Javascript and a backend. The HTML describes how the parts of the webpage are organized. For your example, the large map is one part, the logo at the top is another part, the text at the bottom is yet another part. The b...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6pjaaw
How does one create "incentive" for an artificial intelligence? What "motivates" them to fulfil their role?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkpqgqh", "dkpr7fm" ], "text": [ "To start with, \"artificial intelligence\" is just another term for \"programs that solve complex problems\". We don't have artificial *general* intelligence yet (and it's debatable if we ever will) - that's the stuff that you see in science fiction that'...
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6pkdx5
How do game developers of hard games make sure their game isn't impossible to complete?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkpzgyh" ], "text": [ "They do a lot of beta testing. Simply put, they have people play the game and direct them to do different things in order to assess the difficulty. The goal is to make a game people will want to keep playing so TBH I think the testing is more to prevent a situation of t...
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6pkfj1
What are the rings of shadow that move across fluorescent tube lights?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkpzybx" ], "text": [ "It means the tube is too old and needs to be replaced. Fluorescent tubes work by having filaments at the end shooting electrons into a gas. The gas absorbs the high energy electron and when it kicks it off it emits UV. The UV reacts with a phosphor that covers the insid...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6pku2f
Whats so great about USB-C and why are people saying it is the "connector of the future"?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkq3o6f", "dkq7e9q", "dkq5ii3", "dkq3zof", "dkq3fj0", "dkq631k", "dkq7e2f", "dkq49lf" ], "text": [ "Ya know how USB ports suck because you can never get them in right? USB C is the solution to the Heisenberg uncertainty port! There is no right way or wrong way, the...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6pl18m
How Do Wireless Chargers Give Power
I bought a wireless charger recently and i have no clue how it charges my phone
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkq5h0g" ], "text": [ "Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [[ELI5] How does Wireless Charging work? ]( URL_1 ) 1. [ELI5: How does wireless charging work? ]( URL_2 ) 1. [ELI5:How do wireless chargers work? ]( URL_3 ) 1. [ELI5 how does wireless charging work? ]( URL_5...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6pleyv
What are containerized applications?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkqbz8n" ], "text": [ "I think it's easier to understand when you hear another name for containers: **jails**. Containers are basically a way to wall off one application from another inside the same computer. Application A cannot talk to application B without explicit permission. This has a n...
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[ "url" ]
6pltxq
How can I tell if I'm being throttled or being capped by my ISP.
Also, a better on explanation on the difference between the two. Recently I've noticed my ping has gone up by 20 MS and it's not just on one server it's multiple servers leading me to believe that it's my internet connection. I just want to make sure I'm being throttled before I contact my ISP about it.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkqcjzu" ], "text": [ "Depends on what you're using the bandwidth for. Your ping only rates the response time, not the amount of data transferred, and that's what they will usually use to throttle you. If you just sit in an empty chat room with nothing but text, not much data is even being tr...
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[ "url" ]
6plvcq
Why does airplane mode exist?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkqcl7e" ], "text": [ "Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELI5: Why do airlines ask you to turn off/airplane mode your phone during a flight when? Does it actually affect the flight? ]( URL_6 ) 1. [ELI5: Why does the Airplane Mode exist, if I am told not to use it...
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[ "url" ]
6plzsg
For shows with 'cold openings', how does Netflix know when to display the 'skip into' button after the scene?
This occurred to me while watching Gilmore girls, which begins with a difference cold opening scene for each episode. Was someone at Netflix paid to work or the timings episode by episode? Or is there a way to code for the beginning of the 'opening credits'/theme tune, ect?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkqdjq3" ], "text": [ "> Was someone at Netflix paid to work or the timings episode by episode? This is almost certainly the explanation. Either that or the production company that supplied the TV show to Netflix provided the timings." ], "score": [ 8 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] ...
[ "url" ]
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6poptg
If captchas look at your mouse movements to tell if you're a bot, how does it work on mobile devices?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkr87xn", "dkr2rt3", "dkrb0om", "dkrgb5c", "dkrakx8", "dkrkl9j", "dkrmgdc", "dkrh2sb", "dkrseow" ], "text": [ "They actually don't always have to measure anything to do with your mouse movement or click. They can look for a cookie, or a collection of cookies th...
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[ "url" ]
6pq9e4
How does a hard drive hold information even after being disconnected from a power source?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkrbd5n" ], "text": [ "Tiny sections of the disk are magnetized. By assigning 1 or 0 to a given polarity, binary data can be encoded onto the disk by magnetizing or not magnetizing given sections. Since this magnetization persists after it is performed it does not require an active power sour...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6pqh3z
In the sea of invisible data, how does a wifi receiver "know" which data is the requested, filtering it from the garble of other signals?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkrdydm", "dkre67s" ], "text": [ "The information is encapsulated in an IP packet containing the MAC address of the machine \"requesting\" the data. The wifi access point has a MAC address table mapping which IP address is associated with that MAC address.", "Specific frequencies, cha...
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[ "url" ]
6pr54b
If video takes up so much memory how does the U.K. store all of their CCTV footage?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkriyss", "dkrkxnb" ], "text": [ "You seem to underestimate how much space the gov't can get for storage. I work for a private company and our lone office server has 500TB worth on it, that doesn't include the network connection to corporate. We have a warehouse that is all server banks."...
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6prg28
How is the 'defrost' setting on a microwave different from all the other options?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkrli7b", "dkrmsvm", "dkrtv5q" ], "text": [ "It sets your microwave to release short bursts of energy with long pauses in between, so that the heat has time to spread throughout the cold food without just cooking the outer surface.", "It \"pulses\", so it's on for a few seconds, o...
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6psg16
How do some software updates improve or worsen battery life if the battery is hardware?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkrtv0q", "dkrwuos" ], "text": [ "assuming you mean on smart phones. there are different ways, one of the major ways is changing the way apps run in the background. on the newest version of Android they limit how long your GPS can run when the screen is not on and the GPS uses a lot of ba...
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6pssy9
How does the mouse know where to stop on a computer screen?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkrwqz1", "dksfqka" ], "text": [ "The arrow on the screen is just an animation drawn by software on the computer. The mouse tells what motion your hand made, but it's up to the software to actually decide what to do about it. The computer knows how wide the screen is, so if you keep movin...
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6ptebo
Why does opening an executable in Notepad and saving it again as an executable fail to work?
Opening an executable in Notepad only displays weird symbols, but why does saving the text using Notepad as another .exe causes the executable to be corrupted?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dks1wva" ], "text": [ "Notepad is a program that is designed to display human readable ASCII charcters. As it reads a binary file or executable it will map the byte values of computer code and data into ASCII characters, or maybe Unicode characters that it understands according to < a whole b...
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[ "url" ]
6pux2g
why are ad videos shown without problem on my phone but when the video starts the internet becomes slow?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkse9zm" ], "text": [ "Because ads are cached, because they are smaller and loaded more frequently than videos. Moreover, they doesn't come from the targeted site but from an API that is [probably geographically closer to you than the site server]( URL_0 )." ], "score": [ 8 ], "te...
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6pvt9i
How do web filters and anti-virus software perform a MITM attack without causing certificate warnings on a computer?
I know how certificates for HTTPS websites work. What I'm trying to find out is how various antivirus and filtering software works. At the heart, I know they intercept the traffic using the legit certificate then use their own certificate so you still see a HTTPS page that looks legit. But how do they do that without c...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dksih1v" ], "text": [ "Because, as part of installing the antivirus software that does this, you install a root certificate on your computer that's accepted as just as trustworthy as any other certificate-issuing group. Yes, you can spy on HTTPS traffic by inserting yourself between the clien...
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6pvvpn
How hard is it to create a successful, new mobile operating system?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dksj89f" ], "text": [ "Quick answer: **very** hard. Longer answer: Simply making a mobile operating system is difficult but not incredibly hard for a dedicated software company. What's difficult is building up the critical mass of hardware, owners and developers that are necessary for the eco...
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6pw4sg
Can anyone explain awful dubbing on TV ads?
I've noticed that here in the UK some adverts have English actors doing the voice work, but the dubbing is terrible!
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dksmf2h" ], "text": [ "It's cheaper to poorly dub a foreign ad than to remake it from scratch. If you're talking about ads where it's clear they're speaking English but it's still dubbed, that's because they try have more local accents. It's easier to sell a product to a Brit if it's a Brit t...
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6pxjlo
why is cybercrime so hard to stop?
Recently my family has been a victim of cybercrime in the case of stolen identity. We have literally tried everything from contacting the server who claim not to host the website to shutting down each bank they use just for them to open another one. It seems like no one can do anything about it. Why is it so hard?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dksyttf" ], "text": [ "Because nobody really cares about cybersecurity except for nerds like me who see the face of normal people glaze over whenever we start evangelizing. Because we're all pretty much using a bunch of technology in ways nobody ever intended, for a bunch of *ridiculously* se...
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6pyvit
Why do pens not work on certain surfaces, but after scribbling on another surface and getting the pen to write, it works on the original surface?
Example: I had a single sheet of paper on top of metal and my pen wouldn't work. I scribbled on my notebook until my pen started working. I turn to write on the original sheet on top of the metal and this time, it worked
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkt8qay" ], "text": [ "The ball at the tip of most pens is self lubricating with the ink. If left uncapped long enough, the ink will dry out and the ball is effectively glued in place. If the ball can't rotate, fresh new ink can't get by. On a thin paper on a hard surface, or a smooth surface...
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6pyvjv
What is the purpose of spam email that entices a reply with no personal information? For example, I have a spam email that just says, "if you don't want to talk to me, just say it." In what way are spam senders benefitting?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkt9mzu", "dkt8ook", "dkt8wy8" ], "text": [ "By replying, you're giving the spammers three pieces of valuable information. First, you're verifying that the email address they sent is a valid email address that is being checked. That has value to other spammers, making your email somet...
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6q203o
How does a hacker leave a "trace" while hacking?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dktyc5q", "dku3hq1", "dkuji6x", "dkuee6i" ], "text": [ "Can be multiple things depending on what the \"hack\" was. Most often you're looking at things like an IP address that was logged somewhere when they tried to access something, or logs of account activity or commands run by t...
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6q4esq
What is actually happening when we turn up the volume on a stereo, TV, or computer?
This may sound pretty simple, but I got into some jazz cabbage last night, and could not fully wrap my head around an explanation as to what is happening to make the volume louder. Please ELI5!
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkufru5", "dkv1zuh" ], "text": [ "The basic answer is that more power is being provided to the amplifier circuit. An amplifier with no volume control would be at top volume all the time. The volume control limits the amount of power that is sent to the amplifier. It does this by sticking ...
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6q4t8k
Why can you only tune FM radios to odd numbers?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkuisg4" ], "text": [ "In America, FM radio stations are given 200 kilohertz of spectrum on which to broadcast. So, the frequencies were always going to end in either an odd or even number. It was completely arbitrary that they decided to end them on odd numbers instead of even." ], "scor...
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6q5ujq
.rar .zip .7z etc why are there so many ways to compress files? Is there a meaningful difference between them from the end users perspective?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkuwku7", "dkutbq7", "dkurj5e", "dkutmz5", "dkuu9gd", "dkvbfsj", "dkvnqs3", "dkvtf3d" ], "text": [ "Most it is due to the history of data compression on the PC. The first data compression programs appeared in the late 1980s, and through the 1990s there a number of ...
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6q6gay
How is it possible to get Doom to run on so many devices that are not even purpose built as home computers, like the GPS console on someone's car for instance?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkuwzny" ], "text": [ "Doom is an old game. It was designed to run on the very limited hardware of the time. Even a very limited computer by today's standards can be powerful enough to run Doom. Source code for Doom was made public in 1999, which made it possible for people to port the game t...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6q7727
how encryption works
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkv41gv" ], "text": [ "Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELI5:How does encryption and decryption work ]( URL_3 ) 1. [ELI5 Can Someone please explain how encryption works ]( URL_1 ) 1. [ELI5: How does encryption work? ]( URL_5 ) 1. [ELI5: How does public-private k...
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6q779g
How far away are we from achieving a breakthrough in data compression like Pied Piper's compression algorithm from Silicon Valley?
I am aware that SV is not totally true but man do they make it sound real! I think data compression is incredible and I would like to hear about complex concepts currently being used and how they can be improved upon.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkv409l", "dkv3bkv" ], "text": [ "We already have data compression that often comes within 10% of the theoretical limit -- the place where mathematically there is nothing left to compress out.", "We already have really really good compression, you're just underwhelmed because you use ...
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[ "url" ]
6q79yd
Why is it that upgrading a phone or a computer to a newer operating system typically results in the device performing worse or slower?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkv3fk6", "dkv42ww" ], "text": [ "Because phone companies use planned-obsolescence to slow down older devices artificially in order to push newer devices. OR Because newer software is more taxing on the hardware than older versions was. Both of these have some truth in them, I recall seve...
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[ "url" ]
6qabuh
How do we track launched missiles yet lose passenger planes?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkvriq3", "dkvrlo8" ], "text": [ "When a missile is launched there is lots of attention on it but with thousands of planes in the air at any given time you can't have multiple satellite pointed at all of them all the time. If you had a dedicated satellite array that focuses on one plane y...
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6qbr6b
How networking at home works.
I'm puzzled by alot of terms used, and have quite a few questions. So in case future people want to view this as a guide, can some kind soul please just explain everything? Like what does what, what connects to what, what not to do, setting up certain stuff, etc.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkw2i87" ], "text": [ "I'm assuming you mean IT networking. Some basic terms: Modem: Turns the signal from your Internet connection into an Ethernet signal so your router can understand it. Router: Connects networks together, usually connects a private home or business network to the internet...
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6qc35z
Why do intercoms on trains, airports, in stores, etc. usually have such bad sound quality and are hard to make out? Surely there would be better, more easily understandable alternatives?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkw6gn9", "dkwb3j8" ], "text": [ "Well, simply, it's cheap, and upgrading the speaker doesn't really increase the company's profits, so, they don't bother. A more naïve and less \"companies-only-want-money\" way to answer this, is that in a large room, if many speakers at different parts ...
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6qe9e3
Blue light is suddenly an issue, hurting our sleep, but generations before us watched TV before bedtime, bathed in so much blue light. What's the difference?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkwl95d" ], "text": [ "The issue is we have much brighter technology and have actually studied the effects. Previous generations also had black and white televisions or much smaller screens to look at, plus no cell phones so the amount of blue light they viewed was greatly reduced." ], "s...
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6qetyr
Why is is so hard for goverments/groups to shut down The Pirate Bay completely while they managed to shutdown KickAssTorrents in 1 hit completely?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkwzet4", "dkwzzlt", "dkwzpqe", "dkx0nto", "dkx187b", "dkwzqii" ], "text": [ "Many people kept mirroring the content of pirates Bay site to keep it alive, not so much with kickasstorrents. On a global scale, pirates Bay is more known and popular than other torrent sites", ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qezsd
How do sewing machines work?
There is a thread through the needle and the thread in the bobbin, but how do they create any hold? How does the needle pick up the thread from the bobbin and not just puncture the material with no outcome?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkwslw7" ], "text": [ "They work by the thread going into the cloth and then going back up and on the other side of the cloth there is another thread that is interlaced with the top thread. Here is a gif. URL_0" ], "score": [ 8 ], "text_urls": [ [ "https://materialmama.f...
[ "url" ]
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6qf056
How galaxies can be hundreds of light years away, and yet we can still photograph them from earth?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkwsq53", "dkwr53o", "dkwrwfy", "dkws08l" ], "text": [ "First, it is important to level set on the distance. The closest galaxy to the Milky Way is the Andromeda galaxy. It is around 2.5 million light years away. A light year is the distance that light travels in a year. Since lig...
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[ "url" ]
6qfe5m
How do cooling mattresses/mattress pads work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkwv89j" ], "text": [ "They contain pieces of a gel material which has a very high heat capacity. That means if they've been sitting around at room temperature for a while, they have significant ability to absorb heat from you (your body is warmer) before they reach your temperature." ], ...
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[ "url" ]
6qftoy
Why private companies like Facebook need their own satellites in orbit.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkwydmx" ], "text": [ "Most of the communications satellites in orbit are privately operated. If your company needs satellite links and doesn't own a satellite you have to pay a company that does own a satellite to use their equipment. If you use a lot of satellite bandwidth, or you need spec...
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[ "url" ]
6qfzw7
How do emails detect "spam" and send it straight to the "junk folder" but allow some emails come through to your main inbox?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkx111g" ], "text": [ "There are numerous ways to identify spam (bulk, unsolicited email). A lot of spam is identified before it is even accepted by the mail server. A mail server always knows the IP address of the server that's trying to send email to you. The first line of defense (and the ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qgvtn
How come storage devices like USB drives and memory cards etc don't need batteries?
Like SD/MMC cards for example don't have batteries.. I don't understand!
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkx69lg", "dkx68rc" ], "text": [ "Interesting question! USB drives and SD cards are examples of flash memory, which is based on something named \"floating-gate transistor technology\". A flash memory is made of several cells, each of which is similar to (one or more) transistor. Transisto...
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[ "url" ]
6qi1nf
How can tineye find a single picture amongst billions in a second but a 5000 row VLOOKUP in Excel takes much longer?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkxiz1f", "dkxf2zd" ], "text": [ "Hash indexes. They have a formula that converts an image to a number that uniquely represents that image ( eg: 565356773367447 ) and then they divide that number into the size of the index, which gives a smaller number, and that smaller number is the *add...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qi6bb
When Amazon Video offers to show me a 1968 movie in HD for $1 more, is there actually any difference in quality?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkxftz0", "dkxg632" ], "text": [ "Sure. Film in good condition is actually very high quality, better than HD. Quality was lost when SD media was made from it in the 1990s, so going back and making an HD version will result in a higher quality video.", "Yes. In fact, most movies from 1...
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[ "url" ]
6qj64r
What is the difference between free software and open source software?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkxo0an", "dkxo7cz" ], "text": [ "Open Source usually has some sort of license attached to it. So even though they \"freely\" show you the source code, there may be limitations or restrictions what you can do with it, as specified by the license. Truly \"free\" software in the Stallman se...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qjy9t
How does touch screen work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkxttbq", "dkxv6yg" ], "text": [ "Whether it's resistive or capacitive, the concept is the same... There are sensors running across and up/down the display. When you touch the screen, you're either (resistive) pressing two thin sheets of material together, or (capacitive) disrupting the e...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qkitj
Why is internet Explorer hated so much
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkxz0br", "dkxz66n", "dky05a0", "dkxyqat", "dkxyg8f" ], "text": [ "The hate mostly comes from Internet Explorer 6 which was a decent browser for its time. But Microsoft had crushed Netscape in the Browser Wars and saw little need to continue to innovate on the product and so t...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6ql09e
Why is it that in many cartoon shows ranging from things like Family Guy and Futurama to Avatar: The Last Airbender and Invader Zim, during the early 2000's, CGI was so often used for some things although the shows were all 2D animated?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dky8qlb", "dky6nut" ], "text": [ "I'll go into more detail. Let's say I'm working on Avatar. And I have a scene I wanna do where our heroes defend Ba Sing Se. So I want a massive army attacking the wall, and I want like thousands of soldiers. And critically, I want the camera to fly over ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qm4pl
Why some microphones able to record sound as long as it is loud enough, while some microphones only record sound when it is close to the source such as front of your mouth?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkyhmkf" ], "text": [ "There are a few types of microphones, which use different methods to change physical vibration into electricity, but I'll stick to the two you're most likely to see. First is the Dynamic Mic: it has a small, stiff diaphragm. A diaphragm in a mic is basically like a litt...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qmgpr
Why does the download speed increase towards the end?
Whenever I download stuff via torrents, it begins slow, attains maximum rate and towards the end the rate shoots up. This happens just about when it reaches 95%. Is there a reason behind this?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkykgg8" ], "text": [ "Torrent downloads begin slow because of three reasons: - You don't know as many peers in the beginning. For instance, when you just start the download, you know none, and the first packets that are being sent are just so that you can find peers that have the same file. ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qmjtb
why can't we reverse MD5 to generate the original file?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkyfk2f", "dkyfjn9" ], "text": [ "For one, a file's MD5 is much smaller than the file itself. For any given MD5 there are an infinite number of files that could result in that MD5 hash - actually *finding* them is extremely hard, but we know by the *pigeonhole principle* that they exist. ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qoln7
Why is it that analog broadcasts get snow/static the further you are away from the transmitter, but real-life sounds such as voices only get quieter without distortion the further you get away?
I can elaborate since this was worded poorly in my opinion, but it would probably come tomorrow as I'm going to be away from my phone and laptop all day.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkyrr9d", "dkyrq0x" ], "text": [ "Because when the device isn't picking up a signal, it starts to pick up the signal of other things. Noise. It picks up electricity emitted by nearby objects, and electromagnetic radiation from other sources at random. Since this noise is being transmitted...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qrdfe
If a hacker is able to intercept an encrypted file, what prevents him from intercepting the key as well? It needs to be sent too so it can be decrypted, right?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkzelja", "dkzeexm" ], "text": [ "> It needs to be sent too so it can be decrypted, right? Actually no, it doesn't. That's one of the great developments in cryptography. Public key encryption. The way it works is complicated but there is a simple analogy which can explain how someone can ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qtdax
What makes 70mm film screenings different? (i.e. Dunkirk)
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dkzxcxg", "dkzxcnz" ], "text": [ "For one, it's not a digital projection. Most movies you go see in a theater are projected digitally, but if you had gone 15 or so years ago, they would have all been projected with film. There is an ongoing debate about which is better. Digital tends to s...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qu23o
How does digital compression work?
I know how physical compression works. If you compress say a gas, the atoms basically get squished closer together... but how is this achieved in a digital environment? And more importantly how is to achieved without any data being lost? To clarify, I'm not talking about things such as video or audio compression, I'm a...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl00zuv", "dl00ipp", "dl00hfy" ], "text": [ "Imagine a tool box or a sewing kit, any of those need little storage devices with cubbies and drawers and little fold-out shelves. How much space to they take up? When they are stored away, they take up very little space. You open them up a...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qu6nr
Why can't GIFs be stored/compressed in the same way videos can?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl02jbw", "dl02rqn", "dl01tr1" ], "text": [ "Because then they wouldn't be GIFs. A GIF is a specific image format that uses a specific set of techniques to compress an image and represent multiple frames. Those techniques are very cheap to decompress and thus was very good for the ear...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qwdjq
The differences between WiFi, cellular data, and Bluetooth on a technical level?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl0gj2k", "dl0j8ih", "dl0pr4b" ], "text": [ "They're all ways to communicate by radio transmission. Really the difference at base level is what frequency and what protocols they use. At the physical level, they're all the same as your car radio.", "Different frequencies, different...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qwta9
Which is better, a 2.4 GHz single core processor or 1.6 GHz dual core processor?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl0jymk", "dl0mqy7", "dl0jnlr", "dl0kn85", "dl0p7jg", "dl0px6k" ], "text": [ "Impossible to answer. Clock speed itself doesn't determine how \"fast\" a processor is. A 2.4Ghz Pentium 4 isn't the same as say, a 2.4Ghz i3 even if we pretended the Pentium 4 had two cores like...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6qz1bd
How did the police catch speeders before radar?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl12c4i", "dl129oq" ], "text": [ "Have you ever been driving down the road and seen white patches on the road? Those patches are an equal distance apart. The police would time how long it took a car to get from one patch to the next. Multiply that out and you've got how fast they were goi...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6r12mb
How are cable standards such as USB and HDMI created, and is the party responsible receiving royalties?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl1jj9w" ], "text": [ "The USB Implementers forum manages USB. Currently there are licensing fees if you want to get your chip certified for USB or use the USB logo on your devices but they're relatively cheap and you can buy other people's USB chips super cheap. USB was created when Compaq, ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6r1pka
Why did most televisions, and screens in general, have 60hz refresh speeds when the standard for movies and TV shows was 24 frames per second?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl1ry37" ], "text": [ "The 60hz Television signal was chosen in the US because AC electricity in the US runs at 60hz. In the early days of electronics there weren't any inexpensive ways of keeping a consistent frequency, so many electronics relied on the AC power frequency to keep time. This ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6r3phk
How come airlines are able to stream live satellite TV to their entertainment systems, but have trouble providing stable on-board internet access/Wifi?
I'm on a Delta Airlines domestic flight at the moment, watching live TV. Wifi however, is terrible. Doesn't beaming TV to the airplane require much more bandwidth than beaming stable internet traffic?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl22d3r", "dl22exl" ], "text": [ "Beaming TV to the plane is a one way connection. WiFi and Internet require asking for data and waiting for the requested data to arrive, then asking for more. Satellite TV is just a constant stream of data, just show what you get. Missed a packet? Too bad...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6r3wo4
Is there a reason why phones record the time you've spent during a phone call?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl22tsp", "dl22t9l" ], "text": [ "Back when cell phones were very knew you were charged a set amount of money and you got a set amount of minutes with your plan. And so by knowing your whole time you knew how much you would use during the month. And if you had gone over and used more phon...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6r4owf
How do people create viruses without constantly fucking up their own computer?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl2ags3", "dl29f6p", "dl2nbad", "dl38rnn", "dl2guoh" ], "text": [ "In the early days of hacking, viruses were created on test computers. A machine that has all the basic components of a computer, but doesn't have anything but an OS installed. It's just a dummy. Later, we creat...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6r617c
Why does Pandora think Louis Armstrong is related to Led Zeppelin?
Luis Armstrong and Ray Charles come up constantly. Nothing against them, but if I'm in the mood for Zeppelin tunes, I'm thinking CCR, not "What A Wonderful World". How does even a computer make this kind of connection?!
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl2oajt" ], "text": [ "Zeppelin got sued years ago and had to give publishing credit to Willie Dixon. Pandora's algorithm sees his name and associates it with Armstrong." ], "score": [ 13 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6r63qp
Why do we have fancy unhackable standardized lotto machines but when it comes to voting we're still in the 1980s?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl2m0pw", "dl2nr95", "dl2l8gx", "dl2qzdi", "dl2n5ua", "dl2pmdp", "dl2q3xa", "dl2pk3g", "dl2taz4", "dl2uaie" ], "text": [ "The major difference is the voting system cannot provide the voter with proof of their vote. That would make it possible to buy votes. ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6r6cur
Why is the USA so slow in adapting technology but many, if not most of technology breakthrough comes from this country.
I heard some of the reason being political. The huge land may also be a factor. However I feel like there is more about it. There isn't much of a "request" from the public. People seems to be fine with one of the worst subway system in the world. And they are still using ancient magnetic stripe card which probably no o...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl2mzc8", "dl2oqa5", "dl2u54b" ], "text": [ "> People seems to be fine with one of the worst subway system in the world There isn't a US subway system, there are a bunch, but they're under city or state control. > When I came to the States more than 10 years ago, the high school was u...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6r7ugd
How is a phone able to be charging and using the battery at the same time?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl31ux2", "dl30jov" ], "text": [ "The current required by the phone in order to run is less than the current supplied via the charging cable. You are not actually using the battery and charging it at the same time, the phone takes the power it needs to run from the mains and uses the rest...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6rb0at
The difference between a router and a smartphone's hot-spot.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl3on1s" ], "text": [ "From the perspective of the computer connecting to them, there is no difference. The differences lie in the capabilities of the router for providing \"extra\" features, like configurable IP address assignment and NAT - but the actual *WiFi* portion of what they do is th...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6rf5nk
How do games with special anti-piracy features know who pirated the game?
A bunch of games have special features that get introduced to the game if a pirated copy is detected. Serious Sam 3 has an invincible pink scorpion, Mirror's Edge stops you from gaining momentum, and The Witcher 3 inserts slavic grandmothers into all the sex scenes. How do the devs tell if a copy of the game has been p...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl5v2ik", "dl4knfg" ], "text": [ "While the checksum-method /u/Snackys mentioned is most likely one of the more common ones, there are also some other methods: For example, the developers of the game \"Game Dev Tycoon\" released a \"cracked\" version themselves as a Torrent which had some...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6roiri
What is GPU path tracing exactly?
Google searches have not really explained it well enough to me were I even understand it. Unless I'm over complicating it, but what I gather is that everything is rendered over and over so it's realistic as to already being there and things interacting with it? But, I'm confused as to isn't this already happening most ...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl6zn6u" ], "text": [ "Normally a GPU is used to \"rasterize\" an image. In this way, it projects 3d shapes into 2d space with affine transforms. Shaders can be applied to the projected shapes to simulate the effects of lighting on each pixel. Multiple passes layer effects ontop of each other...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6rpga3
How award shows have footage of a live event that hasn't happened yet
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl6siba" ], "text": [ "They rehearse for live shows before they do them. Most of those clips are from those rehearsals, or previous events that the artists performed in." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6rpl6v
Would a cell phone work in space?
I understand that temperatures in space would most likely never be ideal for phone use, they are too extreme on either end of the spectrum. I also understand that a phone would never get reception in space. However, if space did happen to be an ideal temperature, could a phone be used to take pictures and perform other...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl6tusz", "dl6uerh", "dl73b3d" ], "text": [ "The main problem would be heat. Cell phones passively cool themselves via the air, but there's a distinct lack of air in space, so despite the near 0C temperatures in space, without a way to get rid of heat (apart from blackbody radiation),...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6rq1k6
why do the effects in older movies (some not even 10 years old yet) seem so cheesy now yet back when the movie was released it seem so real!
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl6xhp5", "dl71c21", "dl761f7", "dl6y31b", "dl6zv6v" ], "text": [ "When we haven't experienced something that much, we pay less attention to the details. If we ate bacon for the first time, we'd get blown away by the taste no matter how it was cooked or where it's from - it's ...
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[ "url" ]
6rrwiz
Why do we call them drones and not "fancy RC helicoptors"?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl79es9", "dl79e5k", "dl7cids", "dl7auf4" ], "text": [ "Some drones today have semiautonomous features that can help them fly back to the point of departure in the event of signal loss or a low battery state. RC copters have a tail rotor, and no autonomous features, and are genera...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6rwfuk
How does nightvision work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl8aqfm" ], "text": [ "Night vision goggles? They pick up infrared and convert it to visible light." ], "score": [ 6 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6rxgbw
How does using my car's airconditioning or other features affect my fuel consumption?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl8gs3y", "dl8jz4p" ], "text": [ "Your air conditioning is generally powered directly from the engine using a auxiliary belt/serpentine. When the air con pump is active it will put an extra load on the engine causing both a drop in engine power(relative to the wheels) and an increase in f...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6ry89e
Regarding Bitcoin, what is the importance of a computer solving equations?
I understand that there are people with very powerful computers solving equations for Bitcoin and that they get money for this. 1. Why do these equations need to be solved? Does it secure the entire currency from being hacked? 2. From what I understand, you don't get money for every equation solved, but you will only r...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl8li2i", "dl95cyc" ], "text": [ "Bitcoin has a proof-of-work system that involves running the SHA-256 algorithm over and over until you get a result with the desired number of leading zeroes. This is done as a way to limit the generation of new blocks. In previous times most currency was...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6ryku7
Balancing characters in a fighting video game.
I know nothing about programming or game theory, but I sure as hell love to play fighting games. (*cough-cough* MORTAL KOMBAAAT!) I understand that balancing means making the fight fair for all characters, but what goes into that when each character has their own styles, special moves, etc?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl8oy1h", "dl8yuch" ], "text": [ "*One* way to do it is to balance the average DPS (damage per second) across all their moves for every character. Some characters might have stronger kicks or faster punches, but if you take all their moves and take the average DPS and make sure it's the s...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6rzr5d
How is it that NASA can stay in contact with ships that are hundreds of millions of miles away, but phone companies have such limited ranges of coverage?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl963t0", "dl8xcug", "dl8zgvz", "dl8y5rb", "dl969ie", "dl94a23" ], "text": [ "1. Communication with these spacecraft is done through the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN). It consists of three facilities around the world to give complete antenna coverage in all directions. The...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s1022
what happens to the dashboard when airbags deploy
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl97hfs" ], "text": [ "Watch [this video]( URL_0 ) of an airbag deploying in slow motion There are panels over the airbag which have seams to split apart on. When the airbag starts to go, it pushes against these panels which break on the seams and push out of the way so the airbag can deploy....
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s2bme
Why do Facebook pages use videos of still images instead of just a picture?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl9i6q1" ], "text": [ "I believe it is because videos get more visibility when shared versus text & pic updates. It is all dependent upon Facebook's algorithm which favors more towards videos." ], "score": [ 10 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s2prp
How do streaming sites put up high quality episodes before Game of Thrones is even aired?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl9leks", "dl9m7wu" ], "text": [ "It's been widely reported that Episode 4 leaked a few days ago, it's all over the internet.", "For usual episodes (this one's different) they record the very first airing, encode that, and upload. With an up to date GPU the encoding can be done in rea...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s2wnx
How do our passwords stay protected even though many websites/companies know our login information?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl9n8s9", "dl9shwp" ], "text": [ "Most sites don't store your password, they store a hash of your password A hash is specifically designed to be a one way function so it's easy to take the password and generate the hash and check it against the database, but it is hard to take the hash an...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s2wwj
What is the difference between programs and algorithms?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl9nj2r", "dl9nb7b", "dl9rflu", "dl9vckg" ], "text": [ "An algorithm is just a collection of instructions to do something. But that's pretty abstract, it's not tied to the specific way its done. For example there's a maze solving algorithm that goes like this: \"Whenever you reach...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s36vz
why does FaceTime audio have better quality compared to normal voice call?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl9q28p" ], "text": [ "Old school phones only use a small range of frequencies that humans can hear. This was originally a technology limitation of traditional phone lines. The range of frequencies was chosen so that you could still make out the words the other person was saying even if it di...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s3g2h
What are the most important specs to look for when purchasing a new TV?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl9umeg" ], "text": [ "In my opinion, here is the specs in list of importance: - Reliability. So only get the good brands, don't get some weird unknown brand, or Chinese brand. So, Samsung, LG, Vizio, and i've heard Sony are great (never had an HD Sony TV.) - Resolution. 720p is outdated, and...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s3lsc
How can autonomous cars work without fail if there are still human drivers on the road?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl9sqsz", "dl9sny0", "dl9spsm" ], "text": [ "They can detect and react to human drivers faster and more accurately than a human driver could. They can't work *without fail* ever, since sometimes things happen that simply couldn't be avoided, such as if you're following all the normal ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s3xq2
How do long exposure photos of space yield such an amazing image?
What exactly is happening during a long exposure of the night sky? Why does it make things and colors you can't really see appear over just a 5 minute long exposure time?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl9x86h" ], "text": [ "Let's say I draw an X on a piece of paper right in front of you. But to do such takes time, and I do it point by point. So I draw a dot. Then another, then another. Every 5 seconds I draw a dot. Now after a minute you may have something that kinda looks like an X on tha...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s44e5
Why do some banks force users to create bad passwords?
For example, one popular bank where I'm from (not mine, thankfully) requires passwords to be exactly 8 characters, no special characters, not case sensitive. Shouldn't banks allow (or force) better passwords than that? Is there an actual reason for this other than bad programming?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dl9wz51", "dl9x8u6" ], "text": [ "I'd be extraordinarily suspicious of that bank. Believe it or not, the Bank's password security might WORSE than you think. The likely reason is that the passwords are being stored in regular sized chunks. So if you have a space 64 characters long, you wo...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s66b2
How does turning the knob on my radio let me hear different things?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dlaawxi" ], "text": [ "Radio works by superimposing a signal onto a carrier wave. These days, that's usually done using _frequency modulation_, or FM. In other words, the encoding process alters the frequency of the carrier wave in order to store information. Before FM, there was AM, amplitud...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s6f7s
How did Pixar create such amazing CGI (i.e. Toy Story, A Bug's Life) with early 90's technology?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dlaebms", "dlae29r", "dladsmv", "dlaiuf7", "dlao9zd" ], "text": [ "Much of the software required had to be made from very elementary work into 3D modelling things that we now take for granted, like polygons and UV coordinates (systems for applying 2d textures to 3d objects). I...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s9io7
How are sleep tracking devices (smartwatches or wristbands) able to analyze your sleep data so accurately?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dlb2q6c" ], "text": [ "If they weren't accurate, how would you know?" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
6s9nwo
Why is hotel internet/cell service always so terrible.
I travel a lot for work and end up in hotels pretty frequently. But no matter what kind of hotel I end up, 9/10 times the internet is just awful, and not just slow but it will just DROP every few minutes. If I’m on my phone and not on wifi, that’s usually degraded to 3G/4G and not LTE. I just did a speed test on my pho...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "dlb6wen" ], "text": [ "Lots of people concentrated in a small area all trying to use the same resources at the same time. Want fast hotel internet? Try it at 10 am on a weekday (if there are no conferences going on). Some hotels also now cap basic service and want you to pay for faster access...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]