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
8ii4gv	Is there any reason broken pieces of technology start working again after you stop using them for a while?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dysc1cp", "dyrwzl7" ], "text": [ "Bad solder joints. They don't connect completely. As humidity/temperature/etc change, the solder expands or contracts and the connection returns. A good whack can often have the same effect.", "If the reason a device stopped working was due to a therm...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ijfc0	what causes rewinding a VHS to create visual distortions on the screen instead of playing normally in reverse?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dys9ir2" ], "text": [ "I'm going to assume you're talking about \"scanning\" backwards during playback, since \"rewinding\" means stopping playback to rewind the tape to the beginning. It actually has to do with how the signal is recorded onto the magnetic tape. It's referred to as helical sc...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ijl0x	Why do HD pictures and videos sometimes look more HD than in real life?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dys9889", "dysa57w", "dysdi6f" ], "text": [ "I'm assuming you may be referring to this post: URL_0 In this case the answer is 8K HDR in a scene that's well lit.", "HDR (high-dynamic range) and being more than 30FPS (which gives it is smoother appearance).", "I think there's al...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8imhbb	Why can't you use a headphone splitter to send 2 sources to one pair of headphones?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dysx2lu" ], "text": [ "When you run one source to two sets of headphones, they're both passive devices that simply absorb the power. If you electrically connect two sources together, you introduce the very real possibility of the more powerful source simply shutting down the weaker source's a...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8imi6s	What happens to a battery when it reaches 100% charge and stays charging?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyswsm0", "dysw7jc", "dyswbk2", "dysw47z" ], "text": [ "Dumb old batteries like lead acid and nickel cadmium can handle trickle charging indefinitely; excess charge will just turn into heat. Trickle charging generally means a rate that will take at least ten hours to fully recharg...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8inhi1	Why are almost all LCD displays (calculators, kitchen appliances, digital watches) at a slight angle?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyt9d17" ], "text": [ "The LC (liquid crystals) re-orient themselves to block the passage of light or allow it. Like a piece of paper that will block your view if it's facing you, and not block your view if it's egdewise. So if the LCD display is back-lit, like a computer screen that has LED ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8invsp	How do wireless chargers work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyt5zze" ], "text": [ "By induction. Basically there's a coil of wire in the charger that creates an alternating magnetic field, and there's another coil of wire in your phone that creates electricity when it's inside an alternating magnetic field." ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls":...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8iogz2	Why does water on my phones touchscreen render the screen seemingly useless until it dries/is wiped off?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dytb7id" ], "text": [ "Modern touch screens work by measuring changes in the electric capacitance of the screen. They detect when a conductive object touches the screen. Water is conductive, this means that moisture (and droplets) will register as touches. Depending on the condition this can ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ipzc4	What is bruteforcing?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyto4af", "dytobhg", "dytq9a9" ], "text": [ "Trying every single possible combination until you get it right. It's why websites are now forcing you to use special characters, numbers, AND caps in passwords. It makes that many more possible combinations so bruteforcing is harder.", ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8isujs	What's the point of the Icognito tab on Chrome when they collect all of our data anyway?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyubzqe", "dyuc7fj" ], "text": [ "I believe it’s more for keeping other people who may use your computer from seeing what you’ve searched for. Nothing is saved locally.", "The only time I use incognito is when I want to view a newspaper website that only allows a certain number of vie...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8iu83j	How do lofi hip hop channels on youtube stream 24/7?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyunqx1" ], "text": [ "They have a large list of songs in a playlist and they are usually played in random order. Being one of their frequent listeners (rip studying girl from Wolf Children), I’ll can confirm that the songs will be repeated eventually. You can also check the description for t...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ivc6z	How do Movies and TV Shows get transported to the Cinemas and TV Stations?	Like Blu Rays? Hard Disk? Internet? Today i found a Blu Ray 4k Release which is over 80 Gbs. How to handle a complete Season?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyuulcr" ], "text": [ "Nowadays, hard disks are delivered to cinemas and every time they wish to play the movie, they send a request to the main server. The server sends in an decryption key which enables the cinema to play the movie, on the projector." ], "score": [ 10 ], "text_u...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ivxp6	why are keyboards arranged in a slanted grid instead of a standard grid?	why are they arranged [like this]( URL_0 ) instead of a standard grid that crosses perpendicularly?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyuztlr", "dyuyzvk", "dyv2l9v", "dyuz5m7" ], "text": [ "It is a holdover form mechanical typewriters. If you look at the keys you might notice, that the center of each key is fixed so that no two keys have their center in the same horizontal position. This is important because mec...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ixg6o	I know that 'error 505' is a connection issue when loading a webpage, but why 505? Are there other ones out there that I haven't seen?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyvb8i8", "dyvbjxn" ], "text": [ "Those are HTTP status codes: URL_0 HTTP and HTTPS are the communication protocols between your web browser and most websites. Those numbers indicate the basic result of each request. The codes are grouped into hundreds: * 1xx codes are informational and u...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8j1emv	Is there a reason why most horizontal screen resolutions are multiples of 360?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyw95u5" ], "text": [ "To be honest, for super duper long time, the standard was 1024x768. Now to answer you.... Technically, When the screens are made in industry, to make the physical set up easier, the panels are split into equal parts, so the smallest number divided up into horizontal and...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8j2bhl	How do image captcha questions know whether you selected all the right photos?	It says "select all the vehicles" and I clicked one out of a few images. the program knows I didn't choose it all as it insists "please select all matching images". But sometimes I didn't click every single image and it lets it slide. Are the captcha quizzes predetermined if it knows the right answers?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyweo6s" ], "text": [ "In the original CAPTCHA questions, the program asking you what the text said knew because it created the image. They'd start with known text and distort it. Later iterations, like early Re-CAPTCHA, worked because they knew one of the two images and just used the 2nd ima...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8j455c	Why can’t there be one universal computer language for everything by utilising frameworks or modules to cater to specific purposes		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dywrqnu" ], "text": [ "The same reason we don't have just one universal car. Different languages serve different purposes, just like we have trucks, busses and family cars. Some languages are better for writing large systems, others are for websites and others are better for small scripts. Al...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8j46w7	How do ultrasounds work - more specifically on pregnant women	Just went for an ultrasound with my wife, I was amazed at its technology. I tried asking the nurse how it really works - she couldn’t really give me an answer. “Hey bud, I just know how to use it” attitude. Haha	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dywvgy6" ], "text": [ "The wand has little transducers, like speakers, that make a sound too high for your ears to see. When you make a sound, it bounces back off things that it hits. This works, even under water, when the sound hits something that's denser than water. The wand makes a pulse ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8j5xh5	Where do files go when you empty recycling bin?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyx5o6z", "dyx616y" ], "text": [ "Nowhere. The sector that the file was at is just marked by the system as available to write. All that is deleted is the index that says a particular sector is occupied.", "Technically, nothing happens to the file, it is still on your hard drive. Howev...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8j6h83	How does ring re-sizing work? How is it possible to do it without breaking or warping the metal?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyxcl2j", "dyxo1uh", "dyxdcum" ], "text": [ "Goldsmith here, not from de US so ill try my best to explain it but im not really used to explaining this in english. There are different ways to resize a ring. If its a weddingband without stones or ornaments etc you can just stretch it on...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8j8qil	Why Are Drones Classed Differently to Remote Control Aircraft?	They are the exact same thing, they are both "remote" controlled. So why do they fall under different categories?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyxtn81", "dyxtk4h" ], "text": [ "The fact that they're quadcopters is irrelevant. Traditional R/C aircraft were limited to manual control within the operator's line of sight. If you couldn't see the plane, you were probably going to lose it. Drones, between their cameras and computers au...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8j992p	Why does poking my amp cable against my guitar and myself (and presumably other stuff) play a radio station through my amp?	So I was sitting around messing with my guitar and I took the amp cable out of it. I started poking the metal part of the cable to the metal parts of my guitar, just to get that awful feedback noise and I noticed if I mute the strings I could actually hear the radio from my amp. I messed around with this a bit, and dis...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyxxa2m", "dyyjyvd" ], "text": [ "A radio antenna is basically just a big piece of conductive metal that gets in the way of radio waves. Your amp cord is also a big long piece of conductive metal, and your body is 75ish kilograms of mostly conductive water. Cord + you makes a good enough ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8japlw	How do headphone jacks work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyy80pf", "dyykbaf" ], "text": [ "A picture is worth a thousand words they say, so here is what happens when you plug it in: URL_0 Once you plug it in the two contacts you can see at the top are separated, this is then registered by the device and sound is redirected to the headphones.", ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jb9bj	How do store shoplifting detectors know you are stealing an item that you haven't already paid for?	I am referring to the devices you walk through upon leaving a store like the ones in Target, Walmart, Walgreens and the like.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyyb4tm", "dyyeh06", "dyyb1sp" ], "text": [ "Magnetic strip in the bottom of big items that's usually built into the cardboard, when you take it to the register and they push it over the scanner the magnetic strip is deactivated thus no longer tripping an alarm. Occasionally the strip...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jbwvq	How can be sound turned into digital?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyyfuo1" ], "text": [ "Through a process called \"sampling\". In this, the position of the microphone membrane (amplitude) is measured at a regular time interval and stored as a number. When reproducing the sound, these numbers are then converted into a voltage applied to the speaker - which ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jc3no	How does phone number spoofing work? How can two phones communicate without knowing each other's real numbers?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyyhmnw", "dyyhe28", "dyykmxw" ], "text": [ "The telephone system is both very old & very centralized (while also being decentralized). You could wire up a phone from 100 years ago to a wall jack and it would work (at least receiving calls). The phone doesn't even need to know there's...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jhu05	Why are nuclear weapons so hard to develop if the technology for them has existed for 70 years?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dyzy6k8", "dyztoh6", "dyzuqf1", "dyzs2j2", "dyzu0t2", "dz01j9j" ], "text": [ "The hard part is getting enough weapons-grade uranium or plutonium, which is actually quite labor intensive and expensive to do, unless you have nuclear reactors - which many countries don't. Jap...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jji00	How does identity theft work? Is it common, how can i avoid it and protect myself?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz04wpj" ], "text": [ "It’s basically someone getting hold of enough info to open lines of credit in your name. Social security number, birthday, mother’s maiden name, etc etc, all that info can be used to open a credit card in your name, which they then can use, leaving the debt collectors l...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jl8yo	how does artificial hearts work?	How does artificial hearts really function and more specifically deal with the various heart relates that go along with daily life and exercise?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz0j0rr" ], "text": [ "[Artificial Hearts]( URL_0 ) are just pumps. They have motors to pump the blood and have batteries. If you're imagining that a person can get an artificial heart and then lead a normal life, that's not currently the case. For two reasons: * The body's immune system has ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jn7u0	Why do credit card scanners have to ask "credit or debit" instead of figuring it out automatically from your card?	I guess a follow up question is: why do some machines ask you, and other machines don't ask you?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz0y8ug", "dz16q5l", "dz0xp1i", "dz0xptw" ], "text": [ "It's a network routing thing. If you're using a debit card (tied to a checking account) and select \"Credit\", it routes through Visa/Mastercard/Whatever and ask for a preauthorization from the issuing band or credit union th...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jnaw6	How do they make old(er) movies in 1080p/4k?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz0xsti" ], "text": [ "Generally speaking, many of those older movies were shot on film rather than being captured digitally (in fact, most movies are still shot on film then transferred to digital mediums in post production). Film has a _very_ high resolution - much higher than 4k. All they ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jnp5n	Why do schools buy macs but install windows on them?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz10lgu" ], "text": [ "I genuinely have never experienced this, but probably because windows is a more familiar platform for the general public, and all the school programs are probably windows formatted. Something along those lines, i’m explaining like you’re 10 and not 5, sorry." ], "sc...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jqv2c	Why do more and more websites seem to be eschewing the standard "confirm password" format on account creation?	I've noticed on several websites that I have created new accounts on that they ask for Username, Password, Email, and whatever else they need. I am not being asked to confirm my password, however. In the past I assumed that the reason for this is so that I am sure I know what I set my password as, but what reason is th...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz1rcqh" ], "text": [ "If you forget your password they can always reset the password by sending it to your email address. This is why you may only see one field for the password but two for the email as it is more critical that you get that right. Removing any unnecessary aspects of the acco...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jrf4p	Why hasnt the technology in news rooms been able to figure out how to get rid of the delay between studio and field anchor communication; shouldn’t that be easy to solve in 2018?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz1w46q", "dz1vvol", "dz1w60r" ], "text": [ "Alot of it has to due with latency ( the time it takes for the data to get from one point to another). That's why when the news has someone on satellite phone there is a second or 2 delay. The Satellites that we use for TV are in geosynchro...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jtylj	What makes some game consoles easier to emulate than others?	Zelda Breath of the wild can be played on the PC using CEMU, and has been for some time now. It was emulated far quicker than any Xbox or Playstation game. Why?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz2jv4p", "dz2krst" ], "text": [ "Usually the cause is the hardware used in the console. Newer consoles use the so called X86 Architecture for their CPUs, that's also the one used in your Computer, so those are often easier to emulate. The PS3 for example used a Cell processor if I rememb...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jummj	It takes about 45 minutes to charge my phone to 90%. Then it takes another 45 minutes to charge to 100%. Why?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz2jq89" ], "text": [ "Pour a glass of water right to the top. How fast did you fill it at the bottom, and how fast did you fill it at the top? It probably took you just as long to fill the first 85% of it as the remaining 15%, because you were very careful at the top. Essentially, the batter...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8juq9v	Court stenographer machines can capture entire conversations in real time but no one uses them as computer keyboards? Why? Are they harder to use?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz2ke5m", "dz2l0vv" ], "text": [ "[A stenotype machine]( URL_1 ) isn't just a quick way of typing, it's also a form of [shorthand]( URL_2 ). It's not a 100% accurate way of recording things, it's just a really good way to capture things quickly. You have to do some work after the fact to ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jwdie	Why do F1 cars and other true race cars generally have relatively thick profile tires with a small diameter rim while almost any sports car you can buy has low profile tires?	Why is this? This occurred to me when I was admiring and old school sports car with thicker profile tires. I like that look and thought, wait a sec, F1 cars have tires just like that! I’d love to know the reason. Looks aside, low profile tires would seem to make more logical sense in racing to me.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz2xzp2", "dz38ga8" ], "text": [ "The biggest problem with race tires is actually heat buildup. By having more surface area in the sidewalls .the tire dissipates heat more efficiently. Passenger cars don’t really have the same problem.", "F1 mandates 13 inch rims. That's the reason th...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jww6m	How do slot machines work, and are they truly random?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz32ykd", "dz33xz4" ], "text": [ "Past ones had a physical mechanism that would spin the reels by you pulling the lever. Modern electronic ones work the same as any other computer, with a random number generator (which is technically pseudo-random, but for all intents and purposes is esse...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8jy73x	Why do HD movies go blurry when paused?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz3eiyw", "dz3fxps" ], "text": [ "They don't always go blurry when paused. It depends on what that specific frame looks like. Often when movies are filmed they have blurry frames because that's what naturally happens when something on-screen is moving or when the camera is moving.", "...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8k4bob	Why do tinted windows almost look like a grid when you wear sunglasses?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz4ofxr", "dz50bl3", "dz5ulkj", "dz60a1w" ], "text": [ "Polarization. Simply put: Sunglasses with polarized lenses align the light in one direction. The tint is an imperfect film that has certain polarizing effects on light as well. When you have the shades on, you’re able to see ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8k4ogh	What is a GPON SFP?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz4u4kz" ], "text": [ "A GPON SFP is a gigabit passive optical network small form-factor pluggable transceiver. It is the adapter to connect to your internet connection and it is unlikely to belong to your roommate, as it is probably owned by either your internet service provider or your land...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8k7yw7	How do photocopiers actually work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz5ko9c" ], "text": [ "Printers work by translating digital images into a set of instructions for a printer head to move across a piece of paper, depositing ink where appropriate. Photocopiers often use a different technique, called xerography, where the light/image from the original being co...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8k9ccr	When rock climbers use the hardware to climb and they nail them into the side of the mountain, are they retrievable or lost after use?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz5vini", "dz5vyh7", "dz5vqas", "dz5xtel", "dz5yote", "dz5ye0r", "dz5ycbc", "dz5zqxe", "dz624xo", "dz61l6k", "dz5zkca", "dz60r2i" ], "text": [ "There are three main types of hardware used. Pitons are hammered in, and left there. You can't re-use...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ka0iz	Why does satellite radio work fine in storms but satellite tv always has issues?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz64k0n" ], "text": [ "Redundancy in the signal and the frequency of the signal Satellit tv is design to work fixed receivers with line of sight to the satellite. . The use signals in the Ku band frequencies (12–18 GHz) that work fine for a small dish with clear sight the to the satellite Sat...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kachu	Why is a number 2 non-mechanical pencil required for standardized tests?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz64fwd", "dz65jhr" ], "text": [ "The #2 pencil is a mid-range softness for pencils, about an HB hardness, it is a pencil that can leave a dark mark and maintain a semi-sharp point. On the HB scale the higher the H number the harder the lead, the higher the B number the darker the lead, F...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kay1d	With all the advances in computing, why are email servers still so limited on file attachemnt size?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz68q5x", "dz6s20l" ], "text": [ "They're not. Your service provider or company imposes it's own limitations to conserve network bandwidth.", "It is not a limitation, it is a decision. One of the truest maxims in IT is that users are idiot. If you allow a certain size of an email atta...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kbux4	Why do computers/processors get faster while their speed (GHz) stays the same?	Hey wo i was wondering because the intel core 2 duo quad processors already got speeds up to 3 ghz per core. And I. The last 10 years it looked like the numbers stayed the same between 3-4 ghz per core. So how did computers got faster while the number of processing cores and speed(Ghz) stayed relatively the same?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz6gjy9", "dz6gfdc", "dz6errn", "dz6liyp", "dz6g85z", "dz6h91m", "dz6ypkl" ], "text": [ "There's not only clockspeeds. The biggest improvements besides more cores are the numbers of instructions processed. This is called the IPC (instructions per cycle). Think of it li...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kf5by	How did AutoCAD become the industry standard for drafting when it is horrendously buggy and prone to crashing?	I’ve used a lot of post-2010 versions of AutoCAD over the years in a variety of offices and at home. It’s the buggiest program I’ve ever used by far. Even sometimes something simple like editing a text box makes the whole program crash to desktop. Looking around on the Autodesk website and other forums shows me this is...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz75ofj", "dz76fqm", "dz779gt", "dz78q8c", "dz75m68", "dz74yod", "dz7f7bc" ], "text": [ "I used the Autocad 13 version in the early 2000s at school. It does not matter how buggy it is if it is the only program available, or the program that managed to get into the scho...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kfvk4	Why is it that we have 4k TV and VR technology, yet for half of the shows and movies I watch, I have to constantly change the volume and/or bass and treble settings throughout the whole thing? (Quiet talking, ear piercing music and action)		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz7y0jq", "dz82a7m", "dz82r72", "dz7cnmy", "dz86rba", "dz7y5ii", "dz7zpt2", "dz7rpr8", "dz85oei", "dz864j4", "dz80f6v", "dz85hap", "dz86wc3", "dz84ven" ], "text": [ "I disagree with a lot of the posts here. It's not because someone did a bad...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kgtuz	When Trying to Delete a File, Why Can't Your PC Tell You What Programs It's Open In?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz7jruk", "dz7te5f" ], "text": [ "Because nobody designed the file management interface to do that. Seriously; it should be dead simple to do. When you attempt to delete a file, the OS checks to see if the locked bit is set. However, the OS also keeps track of what files each open applica...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kgzh2	how are tv shows on cable converted into digital files that are uploaded online?	I am curious as to the technical aspects that are used to convert a TV program that is from a cable box into a digital file like .mkv and .mp4 that is the format I generally find online?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz7m1om" ], "text": [ "Typically by using a capture card ( & playing the entire video from the cable box/etc), but sometimes people are able to get a digital copy from the source (e.g. they work for a content provider & leak the source files)." ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls": [ ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kh8wz	I understand binary is made up of 1 & 0 numbers but how does it work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz7n59k", "dz7paax", "dz7oazg", "dz7uvbq" ], "text": [ "Inside a computer, a 1 or a 0 is represented by a voltage. You can think of voltages for electricity like you think of height for water. There are little tiny storage devices (capacitors are very common elements that do this ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8khjk4	Why do clocks gradually become a minute or two off?	I've noticed this phenomenon whenever I sync my bedside clock with the clock on my phone. My phone's clock is synced to the Internet, but my bedside clock isn't, and over time—about a month or so—my bedside clock will end up a minute or two faster or slower than my phone's clock, even without me touching it. Why is tha...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz7piqd", "dz7ssh2", "dz7wxjw" ], "text": [ "Many clocks set their time with an internal vibrating bit of quartz. It's supposed to vibrate a certain number of times per second. But the manufacturers allow a tiny percentage of error in that.", "Your phone's clock is set using the i...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kiwf2	Why airplanes only record audio during flights and not video? Wouldn’t video be more valuable for the NTSB in case something bad happens?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz81ryx", "dz86c66", "dz888px" ], "text": [ "Video recording requires more sophisticated equipment and storage space, and it would have limited field of view, so chances are, it wouldn't see everything that goes on. This made it impractical in the past. As technology advances, having ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kltu7	Why does the same type of GPU take 8 pins when another one of another brand takes 16 or 18	Like take the 1070 Gigabyte Turbo. It only takes 8pin but the MSI 1070 gaming takes 16 pins I believe. Why is that?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz8mg23", "dz8qi39" ], "text": [ "More power hungry fans, rgb, better pcb power delivery for OC, or a combination of any or all 3", "You're talking about the extra power connections correct? They're likely expecting to draw different amounts of power. I'd suspect the MSI model with 16...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kluzh	What physically changes with every iteration of CPUs and GPUs that cause them to be faster than one another?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz8n4su", "dz8nljn", "dz8oi0z", "dz8nibi" ], "text": [ "Short answer, sometimes little changes, sometimes a lot. Long answer it depends on a lot of factors, those HW designs have several architects working on several parts, each architect had a big team working on improvements ove...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8klycv	How do Wikipedia pages stay in sync? I was looking at Meghan Markle's, and it said she is married to Harry, sixth in line to the throne. But he's only been sixth for a couple of months. Does someone have to go changing every Wikipedia page he's on from fifth to sixth?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz8nhuh" ], "text": [ "Information is crowd sourced. Anyone in the world can edit and update the page and does so when information changes. So, yes, every page is changed every time." ], "score": [ 9 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kmtou	How did Google manage to get 3d models of every building on Google earth?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz8xa5y", "dz8xh4x", "dz93650", "dz8vfl9", "dz9388z", "dz8xajd", "dz978mz", "dz97ugj", "dz9cmuu", "dz91ylu" ], "text": [ "[Here's a video]( URL_0 ) about the topic, related part starts around the 2-minute mark. They mostly use planes and helicopters to get ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8knc6q	How come in most medias Apple products can used but the OS cant be used?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz8z6cb" ], "text": [ "What I mean is when I watch a show like 13 Reasons Why they are shown using iPhones and MacBooks but they dont use any iOS on these phones when they use them" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kr5qs	Why do all modern phones have stripes on the bottom? (Picture in text)	[Like this]( URL_0 )	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz9vv9r", "dz9vva6" ], "text": [ "If your talking about the thin lines that run all along the phone, them it's separation for the antennas in the phone. Your phone has different antennas for cellular/LTE connections, Bluetooth, wifi..... Those lines are either where the antennas are run o...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8kr95f	why sometimes a Browsee doesn't recognize the file size of a download	Why are some downloads marked as 'unknown file size', while others are known beforehand?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dz9wn6w", "dza2tw4" ], "text": [ "The download starts with some headers which tell your browser about the file - things like what type of file it is and whether it has been compressed. The headers can include the file size, but they don't have to. The server may not even know the file siz...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ks1cb	Why did it take so long for TV's to adopt the 16:9 format?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dza4no2", "dza3e3q" ], "text": [ "TLDR: (1) There's no reason to own a 16:9 TV if there is no 16:9 content available to watch on it. (2) Only a small minority actually care about widescreen. The first 16:9 TVs were made in the early 90s, but very few were sold, because (1) they were i...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ks3ir	why are songs that are edited to sound as if they’re ‘playing in another room’ more enjoyable to listen to?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dza22w6", "dzaiiz1" ], "text": [ "I've never seen this before and it just sounds muffled to me. Definitely not as enjoyable as just listening to the original song imo.", "This effect is running the sound through what we call a low-pass filter. Any sound can be decomposed into many dif...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ksw2h	how do silencers on guns work?	Another question i have but isnt really eli5 related, do the silencers in movies sound anything like real ones?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dza823w", "dza860p", "dza8r3l" ], "text": [ "The bullet is launched out of the gun by an explosion that superheats the air and produces a loud BAM sound. The gas/air that carries that sound wave doesn't have anywhere to go except out with the bullet. A silencer basically extends the b...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8l1k2k	What are Events per Second on a CPU and what is their relationship with OS speed (in Mb/s)?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzc3ia8" ], "text": [ "What definition of the speed of a OS in Mb/s have you found? \"Events per Second\" is what is say. How man events happen each second or what is the max numer of events that can be handled each second. What a event is depend on the context. So you are likely asking a pro...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8l1sl8	Is it harmful to keep my laptop plugged in?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzc58a8" ], "text": [ "No, just the opposite. It saves wear and tear on the battery. Don't worry about overcharging; the charging logic in your laptop knows how to take care of the battery properly." ], "score": [ 8 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8l25o1	Why don’t airplane oxygen masks inflate?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzc8wkw" ], "text": [ "They will inflate only if the pressure of the oxygen line flowing to the mask is greater than the cabin air pressure. This will happen if there if there is a decompression at cruising altitude. At lower altitudes, the outside air pressure is higher, and the bag on the m...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8l305c	How are weather balloons deployed so that they do not pose a risk to commercial air traffic?	Given the fact that weather balloons are frequently deployed to obtain critical measurements for making more accurate weather forecasts, how do pertinent governmental agencies ensure that they do not pose a risk to commercial air traffic where there is a likelihood that a collision/impact with these balloons may take p...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzcfaei", "dzchi3h", "dzcgkct" ], "text": [ "There is a suggestion that the local air traffic controllers be notified of the intended launch of a high altitude balloon so its presence is known, but the more relevant regulations regard the content of the payload. There are limits on th...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8l363l	How do live sports channels always catch the right camera to broadcast from several camera angles?	I primarily watch Cricket, or sometimes soccer, and the video always lands on the right cameraman and camera angle without making a mistake, irrespective of how fast the ball is. How is it so?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzcg6r4", "dzchiz7", "dzcnpyq", "dzcg4z0", "dzckmr1", "dzcljo3", "dzci6h3" ], "text": [ "Multiple cameras and the direction team watches all at the same time. If another camera has a better view they change to that camera. I'd say they are experienced enough to predict...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8l666g	What happens when game servers are under maintenance and why is it needed?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzd54y9" ], "text": [ "A server is just a computer. Sometimes computers need to be updated, or restarted or just generally other things that are not conducive to them running your games 24/7. If there is something significant that needs to be done that will affect all or most of those compute...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8l8i1w	why can taking pictures of certain things cause it damage?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzdlxku" ], "text": [ "Usually it's flash photography that is the problem. The intense light can damage certain items." ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8l9nhg	in the show Silicon Valley on HBO they create a decentralized internet. What is that and in reality how would it work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzdtm91", "dzeth2j", "dzehz2z", "dzegadb" ], "text": [ "In a way it's already happened with the likes of torrents and blockchain for example. It's the concept of data and routing being hosted by individual nodes opposed to sitting on a single server or server farm.", "Alright,...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lbnv1	Using multiple TV screens to display a single image.	I'm not exactly tech-illiterate, but these have baffled me for as long as I've been seeing them. For example, 9 TVs set up in a 3x3 grid, working together to display one large image. Why aren't they all just displaying the same image? How do they know to display only one part of the image? How do they know which part t...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzead7h" ], "text": [ "Source: ~8 years doing various digital signage stuff, including video walls (although not my primary focus) > For example, 9 TVs set up in a 3x3 grid, working together to display one large image. In this case they wouldn't be TVs so much as monitors, typically purpose-b...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lbnzj	Why do external batteries indicate they are fully charged but seem to continue charging when unplugged and replugged right away?	As the title says, after replugging a supposedly fully charged external battery, it continues charging for a bit longer. I bought some bluetooth earphones and the reliability of them aside, I want to maximise the battery life but I'm getting this issue. After complaining, my sister told me her power bank does the same ...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzea3bb" ], "text": [ "As batteries get closer to full charge, they have a mechanism bullt in that will lower the amount of current they are taking in. Its not unusual to have a device plugged in and for the battery to lose 5-10% energy, and then go back up to full. Modern devices are designe...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ldyb9	How do touch screens work? How does my phone know to respond to the touch of my finger but not to objects, such as the end of a pen?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzesnag" ], "text": [ "Depends what type of touch screen. Some, mostly older ones have pressure sensors, allowing both fingers and pens to work. Others go by electrical conductivity. So it will register your finger but not a random pen. But specially made stylus will work because it has the c...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8linff	Why do video games rely on mega high resolution textures to appear more realistic, when a DVD movie can look far more realistic with a resolution of only 720x480?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzftvoh", "dzftc0i", "dzfyg9t", "dzfsn5i", "dzg1jwn", "dzfwvhz", "dzg1iab", "dzg1h9c", "dzg6n4p", "dzg1rqn", "dzfxq1w", "dzft5hn", "dzg1tdf", "dzg1wi6", "dzg1r4i" ], "text": [ "Professional video game environment artist here 1.) Movi...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ljjq1	Why does different USB cables, connected to the same power source, charge my phone faster or slower?	Is it the difference in lenght or structure? What decides how energy is distributed and therefore how fast my phone is being charged? What's the difference between USB cables?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzfznxp", "dzg1z2t" ], "text": [ "The resistance of the cable affects how fast electricity flows through it. Longer cables, and cables with thinner wires have higher resistance. [Here's an article that goes really in depth on the subject.]( URL_1 ) In a lot of ways, [electricity moves lik...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8ljkwz	What makes one browser faster than another?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzgdzrv", "dzg0oq0" ], "text": [ "It's mostly due to the design/architecture. Just because two browsers display the same site the same way doesn't mean they work the same. It's like with cars. What makes one car faster than the other? They use different engines, they're designed different...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lk7ic	Why can movies run at 24 frames per second and look relatively smooth, but if video games run at 24 FPS they seem very choppy?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzg53cs" ], "text": [ "When a real camera capture a frame, it capture ~~1/24th~~ 1/48th of a second worth of information (see below). Moving objects will appear blurry, so a single frame will still give a some sense of movement. Video games don't do that. They simulate the world frame per fra...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lmh4b	How can a video that was edited to become a shorter length be so much larger in size/MB?	I have 2 versions of a video. One is a completely unedited gaming video and the other is one that was clipped a little bit to shorten the length of the video along with a few cross\-fade transitions and nothing more. The original one is 658 MB, the edited, shorter one is 1.33 GB. How is this possible?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzgpmji", "dzgoxn6" ], "text": [ "The issue is related to file format/encoding, most likely. Some sources like video games, Youtube and phone cameras compress the frames using very space\\-saving algorithms. This means using parts of one frame \\(the keyframe\\) of video for the next and ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lqa09	How building access cards work?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzhlqcd", "dzir8c7" ], "text": [ "Typically they contain a unique ID which is transmitted by short-range radio (RFID) and the reader then sends it to a computer to ask \"am I allowed to open this lock for this ID number?\"", "This is actually what I do for my career! I’m a Technical S...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lu3g2	How do LED lights work and how are they different from fluorescent and incandescent lights?	Asking for a project	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzihcwx" ], "text": [ "Incandescent lights work by heating up a strip of metal until it's hot enough to glow. This uses a lot of electricity and produces a lot of heat, both of which are bad things. Fluorescent lights work by adding energy to mercury gas. The mercury stays high-energy for a l...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8luwxq	What's the difference between normal gas and diesel?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzikxx7", "dzikw38" ], "text": [ "Ahoy, matey! Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [What's the difference between diesel, premium gas & regular gas? ]( URL_1 ) ^(_2 comments_) 1. [Whats the difference between diesel and unleaded gas/petrol? ]( URL_5 ) ^(_4 comme...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lv0x1	Why and how is Microsoft Excel so versatile and powerful? How is it that spreadsheet software can be used as a crude game engine?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzimuig", "dzinp8a", "dzim9r2", "dzj3259" ], "text": [ "It does a lot of the basic things you'd want from a regular programming language. Basically, take data from one or more locations (cells), apply math or logic to them, and output a result elsewhere. It handles a lot of detail...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lvegb	What is swarm intelligence and how should we use it?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dziyfb2" ], "text": [ "1000 stupid things can accomplish smart things, just like computers, they are just millions of switches" ], "score": [ 4 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lyaj5	How does the google's "I am not a robot" reCAPTCHA work? How are they able to differentiate between a physical click and a programmatic click.		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzjtlfe", "dzjgfrr", "dzjx364", "dzjd8ar", "dzjkcud", "dzjqxp1", "dzjsrkq", "dzjhsa6", "dzjnjgg", "dzjtjdn", "dzjpvbp", "dzjpgiu", "dzjgdcx", "dzjw1iz" ], "text": [ "So a lot of people are talking about the image recognition and not the tick...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lyikc	Nintendo Switch system requirements are a max of 32g for SD card. Why wouldn’t a 128g be compatible?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzjf22f", "dzjfd73", "dzjv617" ], "text": [ "32gb is the largest size allowed in the SDHC standard, so it may be possible the Switch doesn't support SDXC cards and the ExFAT file system. Edit: the Switch did not support SDXC cards upon release, but a later system update added support ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8lywy4	what is actually stopping us from exploring the bottom of the ocean?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzjiorl", "dzjj150", "dzjjki4" ], "text": [ "It's very expensive to explore there. We have already sent submersible craft to different parts of the ocean floor, but it's just very expensive to do. So unless there is some specific reason that you are searching for something, there need...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m05zr	Why can't people make screenshots vector images?	Not sure "vector images" is a proper terminology here. I can only describe that as something like fonts, which are defined by mathematical formulas. Imagine how handy would it be if screenshots were scalable to any size. What's more, the size would be much less compared to an image and the text could be selectable.	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzjt42c", "dzjs4fn" ], "text": [ "Computer scientist with a visual arts master's thesis on generative typography here. As you suggested most* fonts, as well as other vector images, are defined by their mathematical abstractions. So each time the operating system needs to display one of th...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m0xq8	How do software distribution platforms (such as Steam or Play Store) verify the security of the software they offer?	Do they manually read the code or do they have some tools to help them test it for malicious code?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzjyepx" ], "text": [ "Well steam has no quality assurance at all, you can purchase games with actual money which do no even contain .exe files. Malware HAS been sold in the platform before." ], "score": [ 13 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m13n8	Data storage. How are drives becoming much smaller but the storage capacity becoming much greater...		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzjy379" ], "text": [ "Your teacher tells you the final is 1page open notes. First start making your notes using normal pencil and 8.5x11. You run out of room, so you decide to redo the notes using sharper mechanical pencil with regular 0.5mm lead and you write smaller letters. You run out of...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m1crq	why is lithium hard to recycle?	So I was listening to NPR and they said contrary to popular belief, the environmental problems with lithium are not the mining but the recycling. They said lithium is notoriously hard to recycle which is why we send our tech waste to Africa. Why is lithium harder than aluminum or steel for the purposes of recycling? Wh...	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzk0k7k", "dzjzhov" ], "text": [ "Lithium reacts different than many other elements, and because it's so light (atomic number 3, just below hydrogen) if it catches fire, it flies away. Currently millions of dollars are being driven into finding a good way to do it using either chemical re...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m5yb3	Why do car alarms have that one sound?	Is there any reason behind that weird consecutive combination of sounds car alarms make? Does it symbolise or mean anything or is it just because of the simplicity of devices that create it?	Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzl20v2", "dzl2qkv", "dzlddfc" ], "text": [ "It's a collection of all the alarm sounds that were available for various things before that. What it tells me is that someone got an aftermarket alarm for their car that isn't particularly well designed/managed, and that I'm extremely un...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m626x	Why are all these companies updating their terms and services right now?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzl2r5w", "dzl2sj7" ], "text": [ "New Data protection rules came into force in Europe today ( 25/05/18 ) So any company that serves people in Europe have to adhere to the rules, so are changing policies globally to become compliant.", "URL_0 It's a result of the General Data Protectio...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m7zv3	. Why does some media from the 60's and 70's look horribly grainy and other media crystal clear?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzllle7", "dzljfhl", "dzljr71" ], "text": [ "There are several factors, including: * whether it was shot on film for theatrical release, or videotape for TV broadcast * the quality of the equipment and film stock used when shooting on film * how well looked-after the original was, and...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m8wob	How were photographs edited prior to advances in editing software? i.e. those old photographs of Stalin where people were phased out		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzlqwi4", "dzlqekk" ], "text": [ "For that kind of thing, they literally used an actual airbrush -- which is why photo editing software has \"airbrush\" tools, and why we use the word \"airbrushing\" to mean both retouching of photos and the practice of excluding people or events from the...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m9av1	What are the moving vertical lines that appear on my TV when I'm taking a photo or video?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzlrnor" ], "text": [ "Your TV draws images on the screen in stripes. Left to right, top to bottom. The lines are drawn so quickly that our eyes can't see them being drawn and it looks like smooth motion -- in much the same way that we don't see cartoons as individual drawings or cells. When ...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m9mbv	if black is the absence of light how do phone screens produce it.		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzltn0x" ], "text": [ "They don't produce it. They simply turn off all pixels in the area. They can't go any darker. But it seems darker because adjacent pixels are lit." ], "score": [ 6 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]
8m9p0c	Why does every software support team send me a new terms of service? And what do they mean for me as a user?		Technology	explainlikeimfive	{ "a_id": [ "dzluogr", "dzlusti" ], "text": [ "EU's new data protection law (called GDPR) came into effect the 25th of may. It says that basically all (user) data collection should be disclosed and opt-in. This means that every service that ever collected data has to update its EULA in order to do bus...	[ "url" ]	[ "url" ]

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