q_id stringlengths 6 6 | title stringlengths 4 294 | selftext stringlengths 0 2.48k | category stringclasses 1
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9dgow5 | How camera facial recognition works | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"It's simplified to something the camera program can understand like this: \"Look for an oval spot of roughly same color with different color spots inside where eyes and mouth would be.\""
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9dj6jj | What is really in the online terms and conditions? | I assume it's mostly legal jargon. Do companies have to disclose everything that their software does to your computer, such as permission that you'd need to allow? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Ideally, Terms and Conditions should describe the product or service, describe how it is meant to be used, how it is not meant to be used, what steps a provider can take to discriminate against misuse, what sort of accountability the user has in regards to what they do ... | [
"url"
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9djkyx | Why do computers freeze? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"When you send a command to your computer (Like pressing on a button, clicking on your mouse or even moving it and so on) it enters a queue and your computer knows to read all of them according to the order they were sent. The... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9dk9mx | How does my gps know about traffic conditions miles up the road? | For context, I use the Maps app on my iPhone. It’s pretty accurate when it comes to reading traffic conditions. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Your GPS does not. The maps app does. How? Because countless other people are using the app and apple is using data from their travel to determine traffic conditions in real time.",
"The app works by analyzing the GPS-determined locations transmitted ... | [
"url"
] | [
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9dkock | Why/How is planned obsolescence not illegal? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"It's hard to prove that you *meant* to make the device break down in two years. And cutting production costs is not illegal.",
"First off, it's not an explicit choice to design something for \"planned obsolescence.\" And virtually nothi... | [
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] | [
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9dkpx3 | How do wireless chargers work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"they use an electro magnetic field to “send” electricity over a small gap when electricity flows through a coil it creates a temporary magnetic field. when another coil enters this field, current will start flowing through it allowing a device to be charged wirelessly. ... | [
"url"
] | [
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9dld6t | How do the lasers on modern computer mice track the movement of the mouse? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"e5iblty"
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"text": [
"The laser and LED based optical mice work in a similar way. The laser illluminates the surface at an angle, and there's a sensor that looks straight down on the point that's illuminated. What that does is highlight the imperfections in the surface to make movement clear... | [
"url"
] | [
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9dqcl1 | How do we know a computer is "learning" in a neural network and not just keeping track of certain, very specific inputs to be repeated the same way every time? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Smart question. The latter case is called *overfitting the data* or *overlearning,* and you can test for it by seeing how the computer responds to new test inputs. I... | [
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9dqfg7 | Why do some programs stop working properly and need to be reloaded after the computer has been idle for quite some time? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Think of running a program like building a shed. You use the blueprint of a shed to build the structure. The shed gets wear and tear over the years, and stops being useful. Eventually you tear it down and build a new shed. Programs work the same way. Your... | [
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9dqj5h | How exactly do data packets work? | What exactly are data packets and how do they work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"That's a tough question to answer since there are many types of packets that all work a little differently. But fundamentally they work like a letter. They contain destination info, source info, and an actual message that all the various routers, switches, and devices o... | [
"url"
] | [
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9drdvt | How do shopping carts know when to lock up when taken out of the store or when it passes a painted line? | They are mechanical devices so how does a cart known when they have been taken out of bounds, such as when it crosses a painted line? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"I may have found yer answer, matey. Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [How do self locking shopping carts work? ]( URL_4 ) ^(_1 comment_) 1. [How exactly do shopping carts lock once they reach a certain area? ]( URL_6 ) ^(_._) 1. [ELI5: How ... | [
"url"
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9dtn4b | Why is it generally a bad idea to use your computer while it’s charging? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"That is a myth. There is no reason to not use your computer while it’s charging. I can post link after link to show this is the case.",
"The problem were the batteries. The old ones we used to have could not handle the stress of being charged halfway ... | [
"url"
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9dtnur | How is a phone or portable charger or other device designed so that it knows how much it’s charged? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"It doesn't know, it gives an estimate. There's several methods to ddetermine this estimate but most common is coulomb counting, which is very ELI5 in itself. It is literally counting the number of electrons that flow in the battery (charging) and then count the electron... | [
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9dujx1 | When someone is photoshopped out of a picture how do they place a background behind them where they were? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"There are 2 ways to do this: Use the clone tool in Photoshop to select the area right next to the person and replace them with that part of the background. Take a picture, wait for the person to move, then take another picture. Layer the pi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9dvgrg | how to mobile map apps get live traffic updates even down to each specific intersection during busier traffic times? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"You have a mobile map open. You are driving 55 mph. The company running the app knows you are driving 55 mph. You stop. The app knows you stopped. Over a period of 30 minutes, 100 cars are driving down a street with the map software running. Every single car slows to 10... | [
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9dy9bw | How emails work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Emails, just like real mail, have an address on the front. When you hit send on an email, your email provider navigates to the web address listed (everything after the @ sign) and tells that server \"hey, I have an email here for \\[everything before the ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9e1bzu | how the Bluetooth, Infrared(remote control), and WiFi works. How do we transmit data over these three? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"You know your friend over the road? Maybe even you can't play at night you make a simple code flashing your bedroom light or a torch/flashlight off and on, and can have a simple conversation. It's slow and clumsy, but you might use a flash for \"can you p... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9e1ku7 | How do MRIs work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"If my memory from years back serves me right, basically every subatomic particle has something called a spin. In case of MRI, we we observe protons, which constantly moving in a certain pattern. This movement is affected by it's general env... | [
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] | [
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9e4h4l | Why do some offices have a PC connected to a virtual machine? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"For my firm, working from a virtual server means that updates are significantly easier. Having to update a program individually on 600+ computers would be an IT nightmare (for obvious security reasons, workers ... | [
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9e5k5e | How comes that you can connect a smart bracelet and a pair of headphones by bluetooth to a phone but not two separate headphones? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"e5ma9m3"
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"text": [
"This is because the phones aren't designed to send audio to two different headsets. Just because it's technically possible doesn't mean the software has an option to let you do it. The vast majority of phone users only ever want to to connect one set of headphones so th... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9e5ybd | what's preventing me from randomly guessing someone else's software product key, especially for physical copies of stuff? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"You're grossly underestimating the difficulty of guessing a key. Let's go with your 37^15 probably, since that's a fair approximation. Now let's assume that we can knock out all the \"most common\" keys that are \"too easy\". That gets rid ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9e6xq1 | Why do computer screens (or TV screens) flicker when filming them with cameras | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"The flicker is caused by two things: 1. A difference in the scanning frequency between the TV and the camera. 2. A difference in the way the phosphor dots are perceivedbetween the human eye and the camera's image sensor. Found this in an article a long ti... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9e91rm | how do closed captions on TV work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"If the program is live, then it is likely that a real human is involved in giving you your captions. Some programs have a stenographer who types things out, while others use text to voice programs. For some broadcasts the BBC has a single person read back... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9e9dib | Why can two video files, both 1080p and 24 seconds long, have vastly different file sizes (64MB vs 250MB)? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Video codecs(how the video is stored) use compression. For example if you have two videos and one can be described using 50 different colors but the other needs 250 one of the files will be larger. Similar with audio. The more complex the audio the bigger the file."
]... | [
"url"
] | [
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9e9prj | Why do video games look differently from tv? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Basically, you need to create the information to tell your TV, and while using cameras to just copy reality is easy, video games can't do that since they're making it all up. So you need computer artists to create life-like images, and gett... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9ed07c | why couldn't VR headsets correct for prescription glasses when rendering images so you wouldn't need to wear them with a headset. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"e5nxaaq"
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"text": [
"They can. But you need modified lenses, basically same strength as your regular prescription. I read that Oculus Go will offer this. Won't be cheap, I bet. If you wonder why the image can't be altered by the headset to be \"in focus,\" it doesn't work that way. You need... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9edvke | How do the tick boxes that confirm you are not a robot work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Tracks your behaivour before clicking it. Open tabs, history, IP, computer stats and running programs. It is a lot more complex and demanding method than the original distorted text photo captcha but is much more convenient f... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ee3bt | Why are solar panels blue instead of black if black reflects less light and can absorb more energy? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5o4rur"
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"text": [
"The blue colour is largely due to an anti-reflective coating that helps improve the absorbing capacity and efficiency of the solar panels. Silicon is used in solar panels partly due to its ability to absorb most wavelengths of light and produce an electric charge, and p... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ef4x6 | what is the difference between a microscope and a telescope? I know micro is for small and tele is for far but what is the difference with magnification? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"The difference isn’t (just) magnification. If you look at magnification numbers, you’ll see that microscopes and telescopes overlap. The biggest difference, functionally, is something called focal distance. Focal distance is the distance fr... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9efa1f | In early ancient history how did they tell whether diamonds (and other gemstones) were real? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"e5og8jr",
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"text": [
"first up, weight. diamonds are very dense, so they should weigh more then glass. second up, volume. lets say you make a fake crown, filled with iron and not pure gold. the crown weighs exactly 1 kg. 1kg of gold has a certain volume, iron has another volum... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9egq9f | Why is compiled code impossible to access unless the uncompiled source code is available. Can’t game devs get a retail ROM and decompile the code from that? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"It's not that easy. Once it's been compiled, you can't decompile it. Think of the code like the recipe for a cookie. If you have that recipe, you can make that cookie any time you want. But if th... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9eibm3 | When developers update software (such as Mac OS or IOS etc), how do they implement the code? Do they have to start fresh or do they comb through the code adding in modifications where needed? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5p8wj7",
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"text": [
"You always have a code tree that you're working with. As you fix bugs/add features, you just add on to that code base. Once you're happy with your lack of bugs/plethora of features, you take a snapshot of that code and call that your release. You don't ha... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9eitx6 | How can Straight Talk use the same towers as Verizon and other top tier providers? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Mobile phone companies own a lot of spectrum and towers, generally more than they can use (for now, things are growing). They sell their excess capacity to other providers, such as Straight Talk to use unused p... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9eivmf | How can my iPhone tell the difference between a lightning charging cable and a lightning earbud cable? Both of the plugs seem to have the exact same shape and pins. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"There's a very small IC inside the lightning connector that identifies the cable/cord/whatever. You can only get them if you're part of the \"Made for iPhone/iPod\" hardware developer program. That's why you'll get messages like \"This cable isn't certifi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9emptt | Why does 24fps look appropriate for film but is too slow/choppy for any other form of media? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5pyjn7"
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"text": [
"When a real camera capture a frame, it capture 1/48th of a second worth of information. Moving objects will appear blurry, so a single frame will still give some sense of movement. Video games (for examples) don't do that. They simulate the world frame per frame. The wo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9enbuk | Why are there no electric guitars with built in speakers or amplifiers | if there is, then why are they not that much common | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"It's doable and they exist just not practical. There's only so much space on or in a guitar for hardware and electronics. Between stuff like the bridge and the pickups like the bridge and just wouldn't be able ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9enoqp | When you call 999 or 911 how does it know to connect you to the correct local operator? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5q5m4p"
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"text": [
"From a landline - the origin of the call is known down to the address. So it's programmed to route correctly. From a cell phone - things are less certain. It goes by cell tower. However, cell towers can cover huge areas. If you're near a city boundary, your phone could ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9eoss0 | Why in videos (documentaries, training videos, etc) where someone is talking to the camera, they never look directly at or into the camera? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"During interviews a person next to the camera is asking questions so that’s who they answer to, even not in interviews they are usually directing they’re speech to a person near the camera, not only does it help to make them speak and feel ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9eqgd0 | How does task manager close out your window so fast when no other method of closing out a window works? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5qqk12",
"e5qy6mq",
"e5qqk0a"
],
"text": [
"Usually, the responsibility for drawing, resizing the application's window (and everything in it) is the job of the application. Usually, its good operating system behaviour to tell each application to close and let the application take car... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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9er744 | What does resampling an image in a computer mean? How different is to simply resize it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5qwl48"
],
"text": [
"Resizing does not affect the amount of pixels - it just tells other applications how large the image is supposed to be (such as printing). It has no effect until you print the image. Resampling changes the amount of pixels in the image, therefore affecting the image qua... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9erjws | Why do screens do a weird colour thing when you push hard enough | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5r3e3p"
],
"text": [
"These are \"LCD\" screens, which stands for liquid crystal display. Light waves come from a source behind the screen and go through a layer of liquid: when exposed to electricity, the liquid changes how the light waves wave (\"polarization\"). The light then goes throug... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ew8ty | What exactly is "hacking" and is it like how it is in the movies? | I'm talking about those scenes in movies where people are "hacking" into websites and accounts within a matter of seconds. Is it really like that in real life? Can you even get to a point where you're so good at "hacking" that you're able to easily access accounts or is it just Hollywood nonsense. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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9ex942 | All the steps a washing machine uses to wash clothes | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5s6446"
],
"text": [
"Let's not get carried away with the different rotations, even though they are chosen to agitate the clothes depending on their durability and wear profiles. Most cycles vary the heat applied. This matters. The temperature is usually governed by either drawing already he... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9exkjt | Why will a perfectly good ballpoint pen not work when signing a receipt on a hard surface but if you put just one piece of paper under it, the pen writes just fine? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5s7hzu",
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],
"text": [
"The ball has to be able to roll in order to transfer ink to the paper. If it just slides across the hard surface without turning the little bit of ink already on the outside rubs off and that's all you'll get. Adding a scrap of paper under whatever you're... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ey3qq | Why do hatchbacks come with rear wipers as standard equipment while sedans generally don't have them as an option? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5scgo2"
],
"text": [
"When you’re driving there is sort of a swirling area of low pressure air that will pull dirt and road grime up towards the back of the car. This has a tendency to coat the back of the vehicle and obscure a hatchbacks rear windows. On a sedan that has a trunk, the rear w... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ezp68 | Why does a 2 hour long video on YouTube loads up a lot faster than any other movie streaming websites? | I am trying to watch a 2 hour long movie and it buffers every 2 seconds. My internet is fine, and when I click a 2 hour long video on youtube I can skip it freely without having to buffer. Is there a reason to this, or is YouTube just a lot faster than other streaming websites? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5sp8d7"
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"text": [
"The length of the movie has nothing to do with it really; it's about caching. YouTube/Google have caching servers all over the world, so when you select the video to watch, YouTube transfers the entire movie over a very fast dedicated network to a server that's physical... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9f19c3 | When sending an email or other types of digital communication what speed does the data travel at? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5t1vrp"
],
"text": [
"The speed of light in the fiber optic cables, or the speed of the transfer rate of electrons in the electrical wire. Most long distance communications (such as between servers or overseas are over fiber optics, because it’s faster and cheaper. Short distance communicati... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9f3dzl | 32 bit processor vs 64 bit processor | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"e5tk6b2",
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"e5ttnrn",
"e5txplt",
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"text": [
"When we talk about number of bits in a piece of computer hardware, it's like the number of digits for the base-10 numbers we're used to. A computer uses numbers for doing 2 main things - for holding values and ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9f4lrt | What do people learn as computer science majors? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5tsocp"
],
"text": [
"Mainly they learn about programming. It may include topics such as: * Use and comparisons between various programming languages * Use and comparisons between various computing platforms * Study of algorithms to make programs more efficient in terms of speed, memory, pow... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9f5m8v | Why can't we store renewable energy in batteries? | Everyone says the biggest problem with renewable energy is there's no way to store it, but the battery has been invented already? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"We can but batteries are 1) expensive to produce but have good efficiency 2) cheap to produce but have poor efficiency 3) take up a lot of space that you need to store and maintain. 4) wear out over time and require replacing Ideally you on... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9f6cgx | What is smooth motion capture on TV? | [ URL_0 ]( URL_0 ) There is recent petition by top directors to remove smooth motion capture on TV. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5u3pc2",
"e5u3iu0"
],
"text": [
"i thought smooth motion capture worked to eliminate motion blur as well as depth of field.",
"Footage that were shot for TV are usually 30 FPS (not sure, but I think it is?) and movies are usually 24 fps. It will look slightly stuttered to human eyes ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9f6kmj | What is the difference between NVMe, M.2, SATA 3 and PCI-Express? | I thought that M.2 and SATA 3 were mutually exclusive until I came across a video that said an SSD was both and now I am confused and another video seemed to say that PCI-Express applies to any SSD and another video did not. What are the relation of these terms to each other? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5u6pzp"
],
"text": [
"PCI Express is a way of connecting various different devices to a computer. It is usually used for devices inside the computer, and USB is usually used for devices outside the computer. SATA is a way to connect storage devices to a computer. It is usually used for inter... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9f8n2n | Why do LED lights interfere with radio waves/signals and cause other types of electrical interference? | I changed the light bulbs in my garage door opener to LED bulbs and right away my range went to about 5ft and my ability to open the door was incredibly limited. The radio in my garage stopped picking up local radio stations until I put non LED bulbs back in. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5ur4y6"
],
"text": [
"The actual light-emitting elements of an LED bulb run off about 5 volts. Your household wiring is about 120 volts (in the US). Each LED bulb has a circuit that switches the house power on and off very rapidly as a first step in converting to lower voltage. If this circu... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9f9yjg | what makes tiny speakers like Bose's so much louder than tiny speakers from 20 years ago | Nowadays speakers have an incredibly better sound than before ... explain me what technology breakthrough happened in the recent years please | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5uv07f",
"e5v5t26"
],
"text": [
"Speakers like those, and the ones on your mobile phone, use feed forward techniques to amplify the sound at the cost of distortion. If you've ever used a megaphone or shouted into a cone, they make your voice perceptively louder. Same concept here. We jus... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9fafd5 | How do they fit 6.9 billion transistors on a 7 nanometer chip? Additionally, how do they connect them up correctly? | Edit: I think Apple means 7 nanometers apart? Either way, can someone please ELI5? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5uz23g",
"e5uzenf",
"e5v0pv2"
],
"text": [
"7 nanometer technology refers to the smallest feature they can make. As for how they can be made they are produced through a process called lithography. Individual layers are made and projected onto the material with light, interacting with... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9fasae | How does the Phone Number cloning tech used by scammers work? Can it be prevented? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5v1l98"
],
"text": [
"Changing your phone number is a feature of the phone system, and any phone can do it. This is useful, for example, if a company has an outgoing block of numbers, but they want to present a unified callback number. There is no way to fix the problem without getting the p... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fd1vh | What difference does the depth of water have on water resistant smartphones? | So Apple announced it's new set of iPhones today and one thing I saw about the 3 different models got me thinking... On Apples website they claim the iPhone XS & XS Max both to be water resistant to a depth of 2 meters for up to 30 minutes. However, the iPhone XR is only water resistant to a depth of 1 meter for up to ... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5vk0ie",
"e5vzoy8"
],
"text": [
"Well.... water has weight. So more water is heavier than less water. I hope you can see where this is going. More water above you, as in= as you go deeper, means the water will apply more pressure. Thus, it tries harder to get where water isn't. Therefore... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9fddeu | Utility locators - why do you put paint and flags on everybody’s lawn in an area and not just in the area where the actual work is being done? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5vn2qs",
"e5vn4fn"
],
"text": [
"Yes, clear up to your meter. The city owns and maintains water lines up to the meter. The meter itself is (should be) within the street right of way, ie. city property. When they replace the service line they will replace up to the meter. When they design... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fdghk | What positive effects could the amendment that "bans memes" just passed by the EU have? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5vq95r",
"e5vow69",
"e5vqpgt",
"e5vti1g"
],
"text": [
"There is literally no potential upside, for anybody involved. Not users, not websites, not even copyright holders. Everybody suffers as a result of this.",
"People who create content for a living can post it on a website ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fffcb | How do movies or high budget tv series get their cinematic look? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5w3dtg",
"e5w3myk",
"e5w4i8j"
],
"text": [
"One of the major differences between soap operas and more cinematic productions is lighting. Soaps tend to have more flat, even lighting that makes the entire scene well lit at the cost of dramatic shadows. This is by design because it allo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ffky1 | Devs/software engineers, etc. What are you exactly looking for when searching for bugs? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5w3yi0"
],
"text": [
"Generally, you only look for bugs in the code *after* you've witnessed something break in the program while it's running. From there, you try to isolate the place where the code does the stuff that could make the program break. Sometimes you can do this by following the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fh8na | What happens when you uninstall a program from your computer? | I'm especially interested why it can take so long. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5wdlf7",
"e5wdr2i"
],
"text": [
"The uninstaller program runs to delete files that the program created during installation. When it's done, it deletes itself.",
"It erases all files it initially installed. Usually on a computer when you install and application, it stores all the requ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9fj3iv | How does a polarizing filter works? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5wsjet"
],
"text": [
"Well. Let's say you have horizontal legos and vertical legos, and some giant space monster is throwing them at you constantly. The vertical legos are good, but the horizontal legos are bad. So you want to block them. How would you go about that? Well, one way is to put ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fj3qm | Why do apps like Netflix need a permission to record audio from our phones whenever or info like are we walking or stationary? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5wtjxr",
"e5wu53b",
"e5wsu61"
],
"text": [
"The walking or stationary one means they need access to your phone's orientation to orient the video. The audio permission is probably for voice search.",
"A lot of permissions are lumped together by the peripheral. For example flashlig... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fjlsl | Article 13 and why it's such a big deal right now | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5wxc8d"
],
"text": [
"So it basically says that social media companies need to have a filter for copyrighted material. This mean that on websites like Reddit, twitter, facebook...etc. If you tried to post a popular meme for example and this meme uses copyrighted material then it would automa... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9flzbk | Why do electronics need to turn themselves off and back on to update? | Just got an update on my PS4 and it turned itself off and back on. I've always just taken as read that that step needs to occur but I don't really know why. & #x200B; Edit: A lot of similar answers basically saying it doesn't have to turn off and on but it's easier and cheaper if it does. This was my guess. Edit 2: Eve... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5xgpx1",
"e5xuiga",
"e5xizgv",
"e5xipy3",
"e5xgnbw"
],
"text": [
"I'm not a gamer, but in the \"big systems\" (IBM) world I work in, there are two types of storage... working storage/memory; and permanent storage/memory. Updates are written to permanent memory, but the copy i... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9fndcl | How do beer koozies work and are they actually efficient in keeping beer cold? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5xrysi",
"e5xs3gs",
"e5xtq22"
],
"text": [
"Beer koozies act like a barrier between a can/bottle and the outside temperature. It keeps the cold in and the warm out. It depends on what the koozie is made of, but yes, they are efficient",
"Your can is cold, the metal of the can is ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fptf1 | What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS and how do they work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5ybuq6",
"e5ydw76"
],
"text": [
"In most ways they are the same. HTTP is a clear text system, anyone can see what is being sent and received. The S stands for secure. The security is done by way of encryption. When your browsers first connects it setups encryption and so you get privacy.... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fpwba | What are balanced and unbalanced connections in audio? | I heard there are no balanced cables, just balanced connections which just means it all depends on the electronic equipment and not cables. & #x200B; In other words, I can use any cables XLR, RCA, 1/4 inch, and they still can function as "balanced" if the equipments allow them? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5ycaao"
],
"text": [
"I've searched tha seven seas fer an answer. Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELI5 Balanced vs. unbalanced audio signals ]( URL_1 ) ^(_5 comments_) 1. [ELI5: What's the difference between a \"balanced\" and \"unbalanced\" XLR cable? ]( URL_... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9fq4jf | How noise cancelling headphones work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5ydwct",
"e5ydqtk"
],
"text": [
"there are actually 2 types of noise-cancelling headphones. Passive noise-cancelling headphones don't require their own power source, and simply have insulation, or extra padding, in the ear cups. Active noise-cancelling headphones require external power. ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fq77u | Why do submarines have to surface at all? Can't they just operate underwater for the entire length of the mission, especially if they are nuclear-powered? | I have heard that diesel engines cannot remain submerged for a long time, so they have to surface very frequently. But what is it they actually do by surfacing? Also, I understand that nuclear submarines can stay underwater for a long time, but even they do surface once in a while. My question is - why? Why do they hav... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5yed6e",
"e5yeayc",
"e5ysdgp",
"e5yl062",
"e5yeby2",
"e5yebkm",
"e5yq03x",
"e5yzj3z",
"e5yup27",
"e5yhlqy",
"e5yu5vp",
"e5yr94y",
"e5yueks",
"e5ysvl9",
"e5zip45",
"e5ytsyk",
"e5ypzyq",
"e5yr8hw",
"e5zdry1",
"e5zcmya",
"e... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9fvubv | How can the remaining battery percentage on a smartphone be displayed, where voltage and current are constant until the battery dies? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5zltho",
"e5zq9j6"
],
"text": [
"found this article and it seems to explain what you are asking...... The battery meter in the corner of a phone’s screen might make you think that you’re seeing a perfect, standardized measurement, but the reality is sometimes a little closer to the guess... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fww3n | why does green power overload power grids? | I read about California producing so much power with wind and solar that they have to sell it to keep from overloading the grid. Can’t they just “unplug” the windmills and let them keep spinning? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e5ztnwz"
],
"text": [
"They don't in general. It is theoretically possible for a storm to cause a wind turbine to generate more power than it is intended to handle, but such a storm is likely to destroy the turbines. I have never read of green energy overloading the grid and cannot find any a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9fyxro | Why do electronic devices (phones, laptops etc) have to be switched off during landing and take off when in an aircraft? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e60bnwg",
"e609clt"
],
"text": [
"It has nothing to do with the electronics, that’s the myth that just won’t die. It’s done so because of emergency procedures. The most likely part of a flight to have an issue is takeoff and landing. They don’t want you fiddling with electronics in case o... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fyy8q | How does smartphones use negligible amount of electricity despite having such advanced features (i.e. multiple sensors)? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e60cbxu",
"e60egb8",
"e60a3it"
],
"text": [
"Mobile communications engineer here. The two most important factors are advances in manufacturing and that we turn off as much as possible when it’s not in use. No need to turn on the cameras when they are not in use. No need to read the br... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9fzpw6 | when we record a tv/pc monitor with a video recorder we can see strokes/static/waves passing over the monitor when we view the recorded video. However when we look at it with not eyes we see a clear screen. Why is this? | Why do the static strokes or whatever only become visible on video? Why is everything else we record true to what our eyes see, yet this is different? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e60f0h2"
],
"text": [
"It's called persistence of vision, and it's a limitation of our ability to see very fast objects that we can exploit in order to trick the mind into thinking it's seeing one object moving, instead of many fast objects being strobed. Our eyes kind of summarize hundreds o... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9fzxe4 | How do certain websites prevent you from backing out of them to the previous page no matter how many times you click on the back button | for example [this]( URL_0 ) when you get to it through google. which I ended up in because I was looking for the exact phrasing for the warning they put on ads for 4 hours or more for a joke I was sending to my friends...I swear...but that's besides the point.... To quote a special person: "I guarantee you there's no p... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e60fetf",
"e60pdvu",
"e60hl3w",
"e60fhre",
"e61p6m6",
"e60ul6k",
"e60itj7",
"e6261k3",
"e60fmrf"
],
"text": [
"there's a landing page that automatically redirects you to the page you see. so when you click back your browser is momentarily at the landing page ag... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9g19u0 | What is big data analytics? And decision science ? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e60q2wf",
"e60q971"
],
"text": [
"Imagine data as a bunch of stuff logged by technology that is impossible or difficult to read by humans because of its size. Big data is much more data. Computers can process and organize that big data into information, which is understandable and usable ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9g2d3m | In video games, what causes the game to register that i performed an action but the server says that i didn't? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e60wjp7",
"e60zn2o"
],
"text": [
"An error in communication between your device and the server. It could be any number of things from latency (lag), a temporary outage, or a malformed data packet or something.",
"Both your computer and the server keep track of where everything is in t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9g3fa8 | How is sea-level height measured when taking into account the curvature of the earth? | I always see mountains and buildings that are completely landlocked yet have their height measured as being above sea level, but the earth itself is round, making this very difficult to measure. How is it done? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e615a84"
],
"text": [
"What you're looking for is the shape known as the *[geoid]( URL_0 ),* the shape the earth's oceans would take under the influence of gravity and rotation alone. Recent advances in satellite *geodesy,* or the measurement of Earth's fundamental properties, allow us to mod... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9g3kyg | What is nondestructive testing? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e616ktz",
"e6187k7"
],
"text": [
"Exactly what it sounds like: a test that doesn't destroy the test sample. A 0-100-0 test on a car. Conductivity test on a metal sample. This is in contrast to \"destructive\" testing like a vehicle crash test or a chemical sample thermal decomposition ana... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9g4s51 | What is the difference between Ray Tracing and Path Tracing? | So I've been really interested in learning about computer graphics recently with the whole conversation about NVIDIA's new RTX cards, but I just can't wrap my head around path tracing and whether or not it's possible in media like video games, or if it can be done now or in the near future on consumer hardware. Some pl... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e61k8p8",
"e62dacz"
],
"text": [
"Ray tracing is when rays that are going to the camera (or view) hot an object, and then multiple rays are projected out from that point of Orgin, to the various light sources, those rays either intersect with other objects, or reach their light source, de... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9g5r90 | How does audio recording work? How is sound digitized? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e61oplu"
],
"text": [
"There's a couple of principles that you need to understand for this. The first is how sound works. Sound is basically air being squeezed. It's sort of like a slinky. If you hold the slinky stretched out between your hands and then really quickly move one hand in and the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9g7o3m | If computers only read 1s and 0s, then isn't downloading anything online just creating instructions? Like isn't everything a computer can do already inside of it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e62359j",
"e623az8"
],
"text": [
"Yes you are downloading instructions. Extremely complex instructions. Mind bogglingly complex instructions.",
"Your computer can play you a movie by lighting up each pixel on the screen at just the right moment and with just the right color. The \"mov... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9g7up8 | How come newer phones only have hybrid SIM (SIM+SIM or SIM+SD card) when old phpnes were able to have 2 sim slots AND a micro sd slot? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e624ti7"
],
"text": [
"Space is at an ultra premium in newer generations of phones, the less they have to deal with for stuff like this, the better they can design the phone. Adding more slots and sizes and places a user needs to interact with the external portion of a phone drastically alter... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ga8di | How do car production lines maintain efficiency but also offer optional features? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e62kpin",
"e62k7al",
"e62vm4f"
],
"text": [
"Most of that efficiency is maintained because there are other assembly lines that deliver what’s needed. For example, the guy or robot that puts the seats in your Toyota, all he does is grab the seat that’s delivered to his work area and in... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9gaenj | How do applications like Timehop show what texts I've sent years ago, even if I've changed phone? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e62nabg",
"e62rcvn"
],
"text": [
"The app is remembering, rather than the phone. They likely store all of your messages on a big server somewhere.",
"As another person said, all of your messages are stored on a central server, along with everything else you do through those apps. This... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9gcfv1 | why do phones/laptops etc have so many different size screws in them? Why not just use one size? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e633h8y"
],
"text": [
"First off, let’s only talk about assembly related screws. If they are screws on different components, and the components are made by different companies, it makes sense that there’s no common ground between those right? Next there’s standard following screws that must b... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9gdjw2 | Why was Half Life 2 considered such a milestone in gaming? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e63cs1c",
"e63bais",
"e63dtbo",
"e63g469",
"e63er30",
"e63esnw",
"e63evz8",
"e63eoc2",
"e63fp8e",
"e63g4dk",
"e63fnsv"
],
"text": [
"It had amazing graphics and physics at the time, just compare [it's character animations]( URL_2 ) with a similar game a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9gf3u7 | Why is the quality of telephone hold music so terrible? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e63qbmr"
],
"text": [
"Two reasons: The telephone line is optimized for human voices, which have a very limited range. most music falls outside of this range, so a lot of the higher and lower frequencies get distorted or cut off. In some cases it could also just be that the audio file itself ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9gfimy | - If I’m on a call and my phone is on speaker, why doesn’t the microphone pick up on its own audio? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e63srt9",
"e64av8t"
],
"text": [
"It does. There is a special circuit in the phone to provide echo cancellation or that audio would result in feedback through the call. The phone can do this because it knows what sort of sound it is outputting and recognize that when it is picked up.",
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9gfji9 | If a website/server is hosted in the cloud, how can increased traffic cause the site to crash? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e63t0od",
"e63taxa"
],
"text": [
"> Why wouldn't the cloud allow it to just scale up? \"The cloud\" is just a word meaning \"someone else's computers\" and if their computers aren't able to handle the load they may crash as well. Scaling up capacity might not be fully automatic and takes ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9gh90r | Why did the number of websites double from 2011-2012 and 2016-2017? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e646yfl"
],
"text": [
"If I were to guess those were years when venture capitalists were more open to dumping money into startups. 2011 was about the time of Uber and the buzz was \"disrupting the x business\" If I were to guess now it's about machine learning VC goes in waves and follows the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ghir4 | - Why do they use seemingly out-dated scales when doing the weigh ins for boxing/MMA fights? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e649os1",
"e648q60"
],
"text": [
"Nope. Surprisingly those mechanical scales are more accurate. Also digital scales are easier to be manipulated without anyone knowing.",
"It's all a big show for entertainment when they do the weigh in. How much fun is stepping on a scale and getting ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9ghpg4 | Why do pictures taken of computer screens from a phone look so weird? | They have weird curves and lines on it when I'm zooming in, or rotating the picture. The effect looks somewhat like looking at a wire mesh through another wire mesh. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e64e76m",
"e64eg6k",
"e64lu56",
"e64aq4q",
"e65q1jm",
"e64sfd3"
],
"text": [
"> The effect looks somewhat like looking at a wire mesh through another wire mesh. Because you're basically doing the same thing. The pixels in the computer screen are arranged in a grid. The pix... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9ghqkf | - How do computers even work? | I’ve never really understood the internal workings of a computer. I know that there’s the hardware (which is like all the physical parts of the computer) and then the software (don’t have a good explanation for this yet other than it’s the stuff that’s not physical). Can someone please explain a) how these two structur... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e64de52",
"e64aifc",
"e64h8sz"
],
"text": [
"Imagine I am building a machine that prints patterns of blue and green dots on some fabric. In order to define the pattern, I use a piece of paper. I’ll punch holes in the paper when I want the dot to be blue, and no hole, when I want it to... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9gisj5 | - How do YouTube to MP3 Converters work? | Hello world! I want to understand how these converters retrieve the necessary data and then convert this to MP3 or any format for that matter? Where does it get the video link data from and such? I just thought it would be a interesting topic to understand. I do understand some basic coding and API knowledge. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e64m6o3"
],
"text": [
"At the low level, a Youtube video is a file stored on Youtube's CDN, which is fed out to the client. If you can discover the direct URI to a Youtube video ([pretty simple to do with a program like VLC]( URL_0 )), you can download it yourself. That's essentially what the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9gjxno | What is quadratic voting in simple terms? What are the advantages and disadvantages? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e64rpk1"
],
"text": [
"For this week's family council, you get 4 \"vote credits\". There are 4 decisions to make: * A: What should we have for dessert, ice cream or fruit? * B: Should we get a puppy, yes or no? * C: Should we buy a cheap new TV or keep using the old and save for a better one?... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
9gjy1m | why does a computer need to "warm up"? | Warm up not in the sense of a car's engine but rather in the software/OS sense. You start up your computer and in the first few minutes of logging in everything is choppy/laggy, emails take an extra few seconds to load etc. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e64nceh",
"e64q71y"
],
"text": [
"Because (especially in the case of Windows), the operating system loads and runs just enough components to allow you to log in, and show the desktop, while literally hundreds of drivers and services continue to be loaded and run \"in the background\" . Ol... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9gk3x9 | Why is a PIN number considered safe with 4 numbers while a password needs 8 chars with numbers and capitals? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e64otfo",
"e64q25b",
"e64oje2",
"e6519be"
],
"text": [
"Because anyone on the internet can have a go and guessing my username and password, often an unrestricted number of times. Only people with access to my PC or my credit card can guess my PIN, and usually only 3 to 5 times.",
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
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