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bqht4u | - what's the difference between 3G, 4G, and LTE when using mobile data? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"It is all based on Frequency or speed of the signal. 4G/LTE are at a high frequency/speed, which means more Data per second. This results in the faster speeds. It is more limited by range than 3G. Because 3G has a lower frequency, it can travel further distances albeit ... | [
"url"
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bqmxny | Can someone explain to me ping? The network term. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Think of it like a call and response. If I ask the server if it can hear me, how fast does it get back to me? That's what a ping is.",
"The term originally comes from the sonar used on submarines. They woul... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bqnoqe | How long exposure photography works. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eo65cog"
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"text": [
"Imagine you have a grid of buckets, covered by a retractable roof. If you retract the roof while it's raining, the buckets will fill up with water. Suppose it's only raining over a very small region. Only the buckets under the rain will fill up, while the other buckets ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bqrp45 | Why are Internet and phone companies so closely related? How has their relationship changed over the decades? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"eo7abf9"
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"text": [
"Over the last 30 years the internet has evolved from using the phone line system to connect homes (dialup), to being offered with cable TV services, to being offered exclusively over cable or fiber-optic. In the same span of time the phone system has gone from connectin... | [
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] | [
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bqscvb | What consequences will Huawei Users have now that Google had to revoke their android License? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"eo7dh8n"
],
"text": [
"\"Existing Huawei smartphone users will be able to update apps and push through security fixes, as well as update Google Play services. But when Google launches the next version of Android later this year, it may not be available on Huawei devices. Future Huawei devices... | [
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] | [
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bqw402 | Why do we use teabags but not coffeebags? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"eo8cjuu",
"eo8h0vc"
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"text": [
"Ground coffee loses its flavor when exposed to air, while tea does not. If you had a box of 'coffee bags' like you do tea bags, most of the box would taste terrible long before you reached the end. That's why the packaging for ground coffee is designed to... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
br22c9 | What is the 0 dB in digital Audio? | Why is it zero if you hear something? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"eo9lg4j",
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"text": [
"dB is a logarithmic scale. Every time you add 10 dB, you make the sound ten times as loud. Every time you subtract 10 dB, you make the sound one tenth as loud. Zero dB is like multiplying the sound by 1: it's just the original, unchanged sound, at it's or... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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br2aiy | Why is latency and bandwith separated? If latency is delay of data, and bandwith is data over time, shouldn't one affect another? If it takes 5s for a car to start, and 10s to reach it's destination, then the average speed would be spread out across the whole 15s. Should this not be the same? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"eo9hiro",
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"text": [
"Consider conventional mail (via a post office). This a high latency, high bandwidth type of communications. It takes a few days to get a shipment somewhere, but that shipment can contain almost unlimited amounts of data. Contrast this with SMS (text messa... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
br56e0 | How does audio translate into bits in a computer file? | How audio is so unique but when you open an audio file in a hex editor, the audio is comprised of bits. How is that possible? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoa6izq",
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],
"text": [
"If you think of a digital picture, you essentially have a bunch of tiny, single-color pixels which, when put together, make a pretty good recreation of whatever you take a picture of. The same is true for a digital audio file, it's essentially a ton of ti... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
br5khn | What is a bulletproof vest made of & how does that stop a massively fast bullet? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoaajqv"
],
"text": [
"To keep it as simple as possible, there are two main types of bulletproof vests; soft and hard. Soft vests are made of woven kevlar. These are tiny strands of extremely strong fabric. They're woven and layered up to create a relatively soft, flexible panel. This stops b... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
br6u1x | How does adding 's' to end of 'http' make it protected against hackers? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"eoajizw",
"eobfgoj",
"eoayujy"
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"text": [
"The S stands for \"secure\", specifically it means that the connection between your browser and the website is encrypted using the TLS protocol. The TLS protocol does two things: 1. When you connect to the server, the server ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
br8riy | Why do some video game and computer program graphical options have to be "applied" manually while others change the instant you change the setting? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"eob7mt8",
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"text": [
"That mostly depends on game engine's source code. Some are g... | [
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] | [
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br98dc | Why is barcode scanning so quick and accurare, but OCR even for digital text is kinda bad? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eobg3c6",
"eobb5ye",
"eobc601"
],
"text": [
"Given the previous answers I have to add the following. & #x200B; Barcodes and QR-codes have been Designed for computers. They have features in place that help with alingnment. Barcodes have built in error checking numbers and QR codes can ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
braulx | What exactly are robocalls? Why are they on a surge right now? And why isn’t anything being done to prevent them? | I have a foreign phone number, and live in another country so I don’t deal with it. I don’t understand why it’s such a huge problem in America all of a sudden. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eobu2mf",
"eobubf8"
],
"text": [
"Technology has made it inexpensive to build massive call centers in countries that made it difficult to stop with legal actions. The US telecoms are terrible. They have no incentive to provide a good customer experience, so they don't use technology that ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
brc25s | How does a network connect to other networks over WAN? | I mean in like how do we send a signal that could casted over to the other side of the world. Like do we send it to a satellite then send it back or do we send the signal on earth, I'm confused | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eocc80n",
"eocbvbg",
"eocge5l"
],
"text": [
"Intercontinental communications are typically done with undersea fiber optic cables. Satellites are used for this too, but have less bandwidth and reliability; So they're significantly less common, and mostly used for providing internet to ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
brcuzm | How does a radio prioritize two identical frequencies from two different stations? | Driving into work today, with high dense cloud cover, my preferred radio station was cut in by another radio station of the same frequency. I recognize the cloud cover acted as a dish, and I typically get static through that particular stretch of road, but what makes my radio decide what frequency is dominant of the tw... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoch6hp"
],
"text": [
"Cloud cover won't have any impact of note. If it was an AM radio station then the ionosphere, active and reflecting radio waves, was the culprit. If it was an FM radio station most likely there was an unexpected transmitter problem, reducing its power for some period of... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
brcyf6 | Why do Adblock softwares not work on streaming platforms (Hulu, Fox, TNT, etc.) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoci8ib",
"eocxdma",
"eocz36u"
],
"text": [
"the how: its a combination of adblock detecting scripts that then deny you the service, the ads built into the same content delivery system as the service - this makes it so you can't block the ads without blocking the service as well, and ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bre3co | Why does using a chip credit card at the pump take so much less time than using one in the store? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eocv6ep"
],
"text": [
"Transactions at self serve pumps are often offline, so the card will say this person is good for certain amount of money. After you've filled up, the transaction is sent to your bank and taken from your account. Transactions in the store are often online, so a request i... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
brgbhy | How do power lines work? | Recently I saw a power line with 2 wires (hold on). Only one AC power line and one ground wire on top. If I understand power correctly you need at least 2 wires to make a circuit and power stuff. Also another question, which wires on the power line do what? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoe972j"
],
"text": [
"Three or 4 wires power lines are 3 phase transmission lines. There is also a thick line that runs under the 3 ones that carry low voltage data like telephone or cable tv."
],
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bri5co | Why aren't foreign radio channels region-locked like their tv counterparts? | As we all know, legal live tv streaming services are usually blocked outside the national territory, with few exceptions. I'm guessing for copyright reasons and maybe public service fees in some cases. & #x200B; How come radio channels never get the same treatment? Surely they must be playing a lot of copyrighted music... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoe1bkj"
],
"text": [
"Just try to catch electromagnetic waves from crossing the border with a net. Technically with digital radio it could be possible, but overall it would be a huge, expensive hassle on both provider and consumer end (and likely easily bypassable anyway) just to block a 20-... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
brigfu | What makes the Video Player applications different? What is the difference between VLC, QuickTimePlayer and others | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoeb0s2",
"eoebppy"
],
"text": [
"Different interface which gives you different looks/locations of buttons. Different tools (one may give you hotkeys to skip forward/back 1,5,10,30 seconds, slow down the speed, etc.) There are multiple formats for videos, one may not play all of them. Som... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
brin65 | why do some electrical devices call themselves dust proof and what can dust do to non-dust proof devices? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoe5lgm"
],
"text": [
"Dust proof usually means sealed and enough volume inside the case to release heat. Dust in non dust proof devices can jam up fans causing them to overheat or jam up any moving parts."
],
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4
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brj4dy | How do all servers across the world ensure unique IP addresses? | I could be totally wrong here, but I’ve always been under the impression that IP addresses are unique in that for every address, there is one and only one server/computer, and viceversa. How do you accomplish this given all the different manufacturers, countries’ internet protocols, etc.? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoebs5c"
],
"text": [
"Others have done a good job covering the basics, so I'll go into more of the technical details. The right to use Public IPs is assigned to companies and groups by organizations like ARIN (North America) and RIPE (Europe). Qualifying organizations (Large companies and IS... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
brjp9q | what exactly is being “improved” when we see games graphically improving with time? | I understand that in a game world, we have different graphical features that come together to produce the visuals we see in a game, like lighting, textures, anti aliasing, etc. What I’m wondering is, when we see a company that comes out with the latest, visually mind blowing game in a series (lets take Uncharted as an ... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoehbhq",
"eoeii9g"
],
"text": [
"Generally speaking - increases in texture resolution, Instead of using a 100x100 pixel texture you use one thats 500x500 now your model is less blurry, has more detail - Increases in polygon count, more polygons allows more detailed features. go back to N... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
brkhqb | How do cameras capture nuclear tests so vividly without succumbing to damage from the blast? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoepnlm",
"eoeyq4o",
"eof6kfc",
"eof6pvl",
"eof9m2s",
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"text": [
"The camera sits in a bunker and is aimed at a periscope type setup with mirrors to film the test. [Special high speed cameras]( URL_0 ) use a fast moving mirror to capture incredibly high frame r... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
brn8jh | What's the digital process of lowering the quality of a photo or video? Also is the opposite process a thing or just movie things? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eof5h4o",
"eof60t9",
"eof9mg0"
],
"text": [
"Lossy compression. The opposite is largely just a movie thing. Only in the last few years has machine learning-based image interpolation become a practical thing, but it's just *interpolation*, basically an educated guess. It's reasonably g... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bro6tx | Why can some video games host 10s of players with no lag while others can't seem to host a lag-free 1-on-1? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eofaorr",
"eoffjay"
],
"text": [
"Without even trying to explain what causes lag, the short answer is that some programmers know what they are doing and some don’t.",
"There are too many variables at play here. So I can't give a solid \"This is why\" answer. It can depend on what kind... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
brornt | What causes glitch worlds/levels in video games? | The most famous example of this is the minus world, but I find most older games have this glitch. Where the hex byte(s) support warping to more levels that exist in the game, you can warp to glitchy levels. And there's also those games where if you are able to go out of bounds enough, you can be met with a scrambled me... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eofibud",
"eofet0o"
],
"text": [
"The following is *technically incorrect* but *conceptually correct* - simplified for ELI5 purposes. Level data in, for example, a Mario game, looks like this: AAAAAAAA AAAAAAEA AABBAABB AACCAACC AACCAACC DDDDDDDD Where A = empty space, B = top of a pipe, ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
brpawd | What is hyper threading and the ZombieLoad vulnerability? | I know hyper threading is used for high workload processes but I have no clue what it is. Should I, an average computer user, be worried? I’m reading that installing the patch could slow my Mac down by up to 40%? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eofkhla"
],
"text": [
"ZombieLoad is an attack that uses a vulnerability in the so called \"speculative execution\" of a different process running on the same core of the processor. Imagine that the processor running code is a car going down a street. Every once in a while, it comes to an int... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
brqi1n | Why do remote controls use infrared light instead of other wavelengths? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eofqlgi",
"eofqrcu",
"eofqpwr",
"eofqvb7",
"eofvirw"
],
"text": [
"Very low wavelength bands are already occupied by radios and microwaves and have a lot of noise. Visible light is visible of course. Ultraviolet is too energy intensive to generate, and you definitely don't wan... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
brr00x | How do scammers send you an email from your own account. | This has been happening for a little bit of time now. I receive an email from my own account and the message says I've been hacked. They also say they've made videos of me jerking off to weird porn and for a payment of several hundred in bitcoin they won't release the video. I just erase the emails because I know its c... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eofuz8a"
],
"text": [
"Think of receiving an email like getting a letter in the mail. It’s fairly trivial and there’s often nothing enforcing someone from writing whatever name they want as the sender on the envelope. Letters have envelopes, and you can write whatever you want on them. Emails... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
brr1re | how do radio signals (4G, WiFi etc.) manage to retain their information after passing through trees, buildings and other obstacles? And how are they not mixed up, intertwined? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eofwcqn",
"eofv3m0"
],
"text": [
"They are, the key is there are error correction and detection algorithms that work to counter the problem. In bad environments they don't always work. Also, many newer devices actually utilize the attenuation and reflections to improve signal quality. Tak... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
brr4ue | How come a foot or two of brick/plaster can stop a cell phone signal but (moderate) hills and densely packed buildings in urban areas do not? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eofv5ms",
"eofv7m2"
],
"text": [
"Hills and buildings in urban areas do block cell phone signals. A Lot. In cities cell companies put relays on the tops of buildings to spread coverage from the main towers and prevent dead zones. In areas with hills they will but relays or towers on said ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bruyez | Why the "black color" in TV screen are not black? | It so disappointing when you watch movie in the dark and you can see that the black color of your TV it's not the same black as the room that you are in, it's looks more like a dark grey. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eogpmkv",
"eogwtrv"
],
"text": [
"It's because instead of the tv turning off pixels to show black, they are just showing the minimum possible light. You should look into oled panels. They are pricey but should give you what you're looking for",
"One way to create television displays w... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bryegg | Why do phones and tablets power on and off with full 100 % brightness regardless of the scree brightness settings? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eohkit9"
],
"text": [
"There needs to be a program running to control the screen brightness for it to be set to some amount. In those situations, there is no process running for that, as it requires an operating system to run, which isn't running completely at that time. There are ways around... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bryftk | What is the difference between a library and a framework? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eohqvni"
],
"text": [
"A framework is a basic working model of a solution to some problem. For example, when you go out to eat, the basic framework for a meal is: drinks, appetizers, main course, and dessert. Now, you can modify this all you want. Maybe you want dessert wines at the end, or m... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bs0jjw | confusion on ssl certificates | I feel like I have a very flawed understanding on how ssl certificates work here so thought I would explain how I see it here so anyone can correct me. As far as I understand, Bob has a certificate issued by the certificate authority and encrypted with his private key to prove to Alice that she is indeed receiving a me... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eohzm37",
"eohy08j"
],
"text": [
"Slightly simplified, it works like this: An SSL certificate contains a public key and is signed with the CA’s private key. So it looks like: > Bob’s public key is ABCD. < CA signature > Bob sends that to Alice when she connects. Alice has the CA’s public ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bs3on8 | What are the main issues with Nuclear Power and why do the majority of people have a problem with it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoilf0i",
"eoima8b"
],
"text": [
"By far the biggest concern is nuclear waste. There are varying types of nuclear power, and some produce waste that is less dangerous than others, but all produce at least some dangerous waste, and that waste continues to be dangerous for thousands or even... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bs4d3j | Whatsapp video calls | ELI5 So when me and my friend video call each other then when we play music through our phone speakers then we can still hear each others voices but not the music | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoisxlv"
],
"text": [
"Most phones and devices that can carry sound have what is called \"echo cancellation\". Oversimplified the phone knows what sounds are being played trough the speaker, and can then try to ignore those sounds when the microphone picks them up. Audio is just waves, and yo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bs6jdj | How does Coast Guard monitor multiple radio channels? | We sometimes use a marine radio, and I know that the coast guard is monitoring channel 12, 16, 68, and 72 at minimum. How do they do it? Are there four employees for the four channels? One employee with four ears? A special device that listens to all four and transfers between them? Couldn’t find anything on a google s... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eojfa6v"
],
"text": [
"**Back in my day** we only monitored 16 and maybe 22a. Multiple antennas up and down the coast all to connect to one Coast 'Group' where **a single radioman would monitor** all the static waiting for a call. Some consoles had a light which would indicate which antenna w... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bsaoex | Why do guitar amplifiers give off bad feedback? guitars in giant rock concerts don't normally do this, how they can be so loud without feedback? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoktuht"
],
"text": [
"The guitar amps/setup at rock concerts are different to your typical bedroom 30watt fender amp. Firstly, at most large concerts, amps are ethier mic'd up on stage, or off stage in an Isolation Cabinet. The musicians will probably have 'in ear monitors' (head phones esse... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bsg3gb | How does the file compression work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eon14tx"
],
"text": [
"* Compressor looks for larger patterns of data inside the file that also repeat a lot. * Compressor makes a list of those patterns. * Compressor searches through the file and replaces each instance of that pattern with a reference to the list. * De-compressor takes the ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bshm20 | How have Olympic gymnasts improved so much from back in the day. | I was watching old gymnast clips on YouTube and the routines look extremely simple compared to the level of acrobatics that go on in modern day gymnastics. Why does it seem like now gymnasts are able to do incredible feats that people didn't do before. Thanks | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eonb8a8"
],
"text": [
"Back then people still needed jobs, now they dont and can practice harder for longer. And science helps by showing then methods on improving motions. You cam find cool videos on youtube"
],
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bsjxlo | How does a Lava Lamp work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eons69r"
],
"text": [
"The “lava” heats up and expands slightly decreasing its density. Which it is already close to the rest of the liquids density. When it becomes lower than the other liquid it starts to float which moves it further from the heat source and then becomes more sense and caus... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bskgk6 | Help me understand why we can't see stars in pictures taken from space. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eonwgc8"
],
"text": [
"You can see lots of stars in pictures taken from space, that's all the Hubble Space Telescope does. You can see stars in pictures taken from the ISS, as long as the Earth isn't in the picture ([my favorite]( URL_0 )). The Earth is really bright, particularly during the ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bskym4 | with content being created on a daily basis and posted to social media or any other outlet, how is it all stored and managed? Will we ever run out of ‘space’? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoo05ei",
"eoo0bae"
],
"text": [
"TLDR: Yes, but then they'll just add more. Speaking as a Storage Administrator working in the IT industry, if you give users space they will find a way to fill it. The data stored by web-based apps of this scale are typically in the form of databases and ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bsnagp | How did physicists figure out the structure of an atom at a time when it was impossible to observe them? | Especially, the 3 main parts of the atom - electron, proton and neutron and the fact that electron whirled around the nucleus and that the nucleus had proton and neutrons, etc. It's a complex structure and I am struggling to understand how they were able to hypothesize it. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eooiigt",
"eooi3i3"
],
"text": [
"The first experiment was done by Geiger, Marsden, and Rutherford. Basically, they shot alpha particles (a helium nucleus, so 2 protons/2neutrons bound together) at pieces of very thin gold foil. The idea is that charged particles like the alpha particle s... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bsndny | How do they turn black and white shows into color? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eopnf0n"
],
"text": [
"1. Take a colourfully vibrant picture. 2. Turn it to grayscale 3. note which colour turns to which shade of grey 4. apply it in reverse to an originally grayscale picture 5. profit"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bsoi7m | The difference between old landline phone calls, cellphone calls, VoIP and calls made through social media sites | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eop154o"
],
"text": [
"I'll give it a shot. Back in the day old landline calls came to your house over dedicated copper wires. These even ran a little bit of current which would ring the phone, which was why hard phones like that could work without electricity - they had a little bit of elect... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bspy8m | Why do larger capacity SSDs have better read and write speeds than smaller ones? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eop7fli"
],
"text": [
"Higher capacity SSDs are very similiar to lower capacity SSDs (for the same model), but have more flash chips to store data. The controllers in SSDs can access these chips in parallel, at the same time, and so can transfer more *total* data to more chips in the same amo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bss5dn | Why has split screen gaming disappeared? | Supply and demand seems to have failed here. History has shown a huge market for split screen gaming (Halo, early CoD, years and years of N64 including Goldeneye, etc). Split screen gaming is amazing for young siblings, sleepovers, and college dorm rooms. Why the lack of supply? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoppvb2",
"eoptd7f",
"eoqbi6b"
],
"text": [
"Because Internet. You can just play games online and be able to see the whole screen. Many times you don't need to be huddled around a game console with your buddies playing split screen.",
"Split screen is just too intensive on the sys... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bst0hd | How touch technology works? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eopzq9v",
"eoqiglx"
],
"text": [
"Conductivity. There's an electric field across the whole screen. Your fingers are conductive, so when you touch the screen, some of that electricity drains away. The device has sensors all around and so can tell how far across and how far up that screen t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bswxfi | OS (C:) vs DATA (D:) | Hi everyone. What is the difference between the OS (C:) vs DATA (D:) drives on a laptop. Are they for different things? Can D not be used for games and things like C? Why is D so much larger? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eordrcs",
"eord94k",
"eord1rv"
],
"text": [
"It's just two separate drives. The separation can be physical (i.e. The drives are two physically separate drives) or it can be logical (there's only one actual physical drive, split into two partitions). If the separation is logical, then ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bswz2p | Image sizes. If the camera settings stays the same and the image is stored as a set of pixel values, why does the image size change? | On my smartphone, the largest image is around 8mb and the smallest in the same camera settings is around 2mb (images of different objects though). Why is there such a huge difference in image size? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eorfeqq"
],
"text": [
"The images are likely being compressed. Say for example you take a picture of someone in front of a flat white wall. Uncompressed the photo file would have to explicitly store that every single individual pixel of the wall is white, while a compressed file would store “... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bsy8z0 | How do the saws used to remove casts not break skin? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eorrmp0",
"eors165",
"eos5zs8",
"eos08x7",
"eos5cvx",
"eosc75a"
],
"text": [
"It doesn’t actually rotate, it just vibrates back and forth, it ‘cuts’ through the cast because its hard and sturdy, when it hits your skin it does no damage as your skin actually moves with it d... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bsz3qp | How do random glitches happen on computers and smart phones when the code is perfectly fine? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eos1rgj",
"eos6k0k"
],
"text": [
"They happen because the code is never perfectly fine. There are errors in any software. The code just mostly works, while in a stable situation. Once in a while something unexpected happens - like a network loss, or a hardware problem, or some weird user ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bszz8y | how can we hear people’s voices through a phone? How can our voices travel across the world through a mobile? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eosfm3v"
],
"text": [
"Voices are sound waves. A sound wave is a change in air pressure, and you can describe all the information in a sound wave by describing the change in pressure over time. To make voices into electricity in your phone, you put a diaphragm near an electromagnet. When you ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bt22wo | When you load a new website how can we trust the website is legitmate? Is the ssl certificate downloaded in browser or perhaps we verify signed certficate with the CA immediately? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eot51on"
],
"text": [
"the SSL certificate is sent by the webserver to you, which is valid only for each connection you make to the webserver (as it is part of the encryption). You (or your browser) check the legitimacy of that certificate by checking that some trusting agent has signed that ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bt2d5s | During commercial breaks, why do they sometimes play half a second of one commercial before switching to another? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eot5g1p"
],
"text": [
"Saw this from a guy who scheduled TV commercials Every hour of television, there are two local breaks, one minute each. If your local cable company sells that time, a local ad will run. If your local cable company does not sell that time, it defaults to whatever the net... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bt3h3t | How people move bionic limbs with their thoughts like normal limbs? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eotku2j",
"eotjcam"
],
"text": [
"The advanced prosthetics that work this way are very rare. They use electrodes connected to the nerves that used to control muscles. When they detect electrical signals in the nerves, they move the arm. The user \"learns\" to control the limb just like ho... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bt4iwy | How are game replay files so small? | To give a concrete example, I play this game called world of tanks blitz. They have a replay system where the replay file itself is < 1MB and can be imported into the game client to view the entire game footage. So my question is how do these replay files store the entire state of a complex game like this with many fac... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eotwofz",
"eotx8ey"
],
"text": [
"It's because it's not rendered into a 3d video file. It's just instructions for the system to re-simulate the player movements in the preloaded 'map'. Hope that makes sense",
"Not exactly sure how world of tanks works but all the file has to contain i... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bt4t1f | how a amputee controls a bionic arm. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eou7net",
"eoveih6",
"eov2dss"
],
"text": [
"There’s electronics that picks up the signals sent to the remainder of the arm and translates this to movement. When you tell a muscle to contract you send a very weak electric signal. The bionic arm will have EMG sensors that pick up the p... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bt6ejz | Why is the race to 5G such a big deal. USA, China and South Korea seems to all being doing well and are all nearing 5G. Why is it a big deal who does it "first" | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eouizmc",
"eoutnv4",
"eoujp6y",
"eov1m59",
"eousjgl",
"eouubnk",
"eov4t67",
"eov112m"
],
"text": [
"There isn’t really a race. It’s just political pandering and news sensationilization. There are benefits to having 5G connectivity, so each country is pursuing the t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bt6fl1 | Why can’t I take a photo with my flash on at museums or historical locations? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eouha0d"
],
"text": [
"It disturbs other people, and the harsh light can damage historical items such as old fabrics."
],
"score": [
17
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bt7ut0 | Why do most video games only run on Windows and not Mac OS? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eouq4o3",
"eousved",
"eout1tq"
],
"text": [
"The install base of Mac OS is incredibly small compared to Windows. The developers would have to do a lot more coding in order to make the game run on both operating systems, and that would cost money. The ROI would be far lower. Mac OS als... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bt9kb0 | Why do flatscreen/LCD monitors display random colours and bizzare shapes or patterns upon being cracked? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eov9eln"
],
"text": [
"Like others have mentioned, it can be the glass breaking and causing rainbows (from diffraction). You asked specially about Liquid Crystal Displays, the liquid can flow around when the display is (more accurately, the pixels are) broken. “Flatscreen” is a physical shape... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btak8k | Why does car window tinting only work one way, and maybe similarly, how do one-way mirrors work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eovc0n5",
"eovrmmw"
],
"text": [
"Both tinting and mirroring work both ways. The only difference is that if there is a significant difference in illumination in one side against the other the transmitted image intensity outweighs the reflected or vice versa. If you are outside on a sunny ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btf8fp | How does the voice of performers like Michael Buble come across so evenly despite the varying distance between the microphone and his mouth? | I imagine some of this is done in post-production (for recorded video), but what about live? He is constantly moving his microphone all over the place. Happens a few times during this song, plus lots of his other performances. [ URL_0 ]( URL_0 ) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eox1h4k",
"eowz9nf"
],
"text": [
"Great vocalists have impeccable mic technique. When he’s pulling the microphone away his voice is louder. And when it is closer his voice is softer.",
"I used to do live audio for events and we are diligently paying attention to volume levels so we ca... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bthytz | Why does pressing harder on a TV remote with near flat batteries, seem to work better? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoy6z63"
],
"text": [
"As the batteries die, they push out lower voltage. The buttons are basically conductive dots that bridge a contact under the button and complete a circuit, making the led flash in a certain way to tell the TV what to do. Pushing harder can make a better contact, allowin... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btiawf | How are amputees able to control and move prosthetic limbs right out of the box? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoyapq6"
],
"text": [
"There are two kinds of prosthetics. They both have different goals in mind. For example, a cosmetic prosthetic limb, called a cosmesis, is designed with appearance in mind rather than controllability. Advanced plastics and pigments uniquely matched to the patient's own ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btiurv | Why do videos from the early internet have such weird audio quality? | Why is it that some media (early Homestar Runner, most Neopets stuff, the old BIC games, etc.) have such weird audio? I can't really explain it but it's like sort of echoed, kind of muted and super sharp at the same time, and sort of digitized. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoyqcs2"
],
"text": [
"Bad, early file compression algorithms. Back in the day average internet speeds were very slow compared to today, and the need for small file sizes combined with early compression algorithms, leading to a serious loss of detail."
],
"score": [
8
],
"text_url... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
btj5jk | what determines the type of batteries an electronic is assigned to? AAA, AA, the circle ones, etc | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoyt8d8",
"eoymcfh"
],
"text": [
"Two factors are in play: 1) The form factor of the device being powered. 2) The power requirements of the device. AA, AAA, AAAA, C and D are all 1.5 volt regardless of their size. CR2032 (the circular button shaped battery) outputs 3V and 9V doesn’t need ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btjyom | How do those machines at Disneyland that write your name on the mouse-ear hats work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoz3hi9",
"eoz74z5"
],
"text": [
"Magic! Just kidding. It’s an electronic embroidery machine. They can embroider anything, like even logos. They aren’t unique to Disney World. In regards to the cursive, the software probably has all of the letter transitions programmed in.",
"Some fon... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btkdo1 | Durag, is it just a fashion accessory or does it have function? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"eoz2o67"
],
"text": [
"**Waves** are a hairstyle for curly hair in which the curls are brushed and/or combed and flattened out, creating a ripple-like pattern. The hairstyle begins with a short-cropped haircut and frequent brushing and/or combing of the curls, which trains the curls to flatte... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btn8sz | How does a transformer work? | Edit: I meant this [one]( URL_0 ) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep0948x"
],
"text": [
"When you move a wire though an electromagnetic field you can induce a current in the wire... The same works the other way where if you \"move\" the electric or magnetic field relative to the wire it can induce a current in the wire. As well, a current going through a wi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bto39d | How does making the '8' sign in Google Maps improves the compass accuracy? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep0icxj"
],
"text": [
"The compass in the phone does not work the same way as the old whiskey compass. Both are trying to locate the direction of the magnetic field but where a whiskey compass will have a needle that spins around until it points in the right way the phone compass is stuck in ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btrs6n | How did large congregations of people hear speeches (i.e. Lincoln's address, and countless other older speeches) without the use of microphones? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep1rbqi",
"ep1v5n5",
"ep2jwtx",
"ep33mtv",
"ep2jwnr",
"ep3ngmi",
"ep360kb",
"ep3hjli"
],
"text": [
"If people are quiet, and there is no traffic or other sources of noise nearby, the voice of a single shouting man can be clearly heard for quite a long way away. In ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bts4a5 | How does a simple, cheap sensor light know how long to stay on? | I installed a cheap motion sensor LED light in our fridge and wondered how it was "programmed" to stay on for one minute after sensing motion and whether this time could be changed when it only has a motion switch and on/off switch. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep22oqa"
],
"text": [
"A design like that today likely use a simple micro controller that is a very simple computer in a single chip. The can be as cheap as 3 cents each for as small orders as 100 controlled for example [here]( URL_0 ). They can only be programmed once so you cant change what... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bttjop | How do hackers use brute force attacks like dictionary attacks if I get locked out of my account after 3 failed attempts? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep285ge",
"ep29sd7",
"ep29ef2"
],
"text": [
"Usually they do this either on systems that don't have such lockouts (to prevent just those kinds of attacks) or they steal an encrypted database and can try those attacks on them at their own leasure.",
"Those systems have been put int... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btuzxe | Twitter is rampant with bots, how do they get past the whole "Are you a Robot" section? Does this make "Are you a Robot" questions useless? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep2xbh5",
"ep34fxt"
],
"text": [
"Twitter has several programs, called clients, that can send, like, delete, retweet posts, and do most of the things you can do on the site. The official ones are written by Twitter and include the website, and apps for mobile phones. However, the company ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btvtvg | How does voice recognition work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep38gu2",
"ep44o7v"
],
"text": [
"it Essentially breaks down the sound recording into very tiny pieces and compares each piece with a known sound or phonemes (sounds you make when saying specific letters like p or t). It then tries to match up these sounds into words and sentences that ma... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bty4ke | Why isn't solar energy widely used? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep4cg59",
"ep4d0of",
"ep4d35j",
"ep5ahp9"
],
"text": [
"Solar cells, while the operating principle is simple, are very expensive and difficult to manufacture because of the ceramic materials required. (source: studying materials science and advanced functional materials at univers... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btyct2 | How does an artificial neural network function? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep4rmau"
],
"text": [
"To build a neural network, you'd need some neurons, right? Well, the neurons we use are artificial neurons. They are mathematical machines that add up everything that comes in the back, and send it out to everything connected to the front. But when sending things out th... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
btyend | Why does mobile signal fluctuate like this? | I'll be sitting in the same place with 5/5 signal and 4G internet. Then suddenly no signal at all. Then 2/5 signal and no internet. Then 1/5 signal and E internet. All within 10 minutes while sitting in the exact same spot. Why? Why does this happen? Thanks! | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep4glfq",
"ep4qgjw",
"epa163m"
],
"text": [
"The signal from the antenna isn't just a steady stream. It comes in waves, your signal depends on what those waves hit on the way to your phone and back again. Even moving your phone slighty can cause the signal to need going through a bric... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bu1enp | if every light emmiting diode is also a solar panel, why dont smartphones have the ability to charge via the sun? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep5m73u"
],
"text": [
"Mainly because they aren’t very efficient being used that way. It’s the same issue with microphones and speakers. They technically can be used interchangeably but a microphone makes a terrible speaker and a speaker makes a terrible microphone. LEDs are just better at em... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bu1f06 | Why do diesel engines seem to outlast gasoline engines? Shouldn't they be built with the same stress safety factors built in and fail at around the same rate? | Edit: Specifically referring to passenger vehicles and consumer trucks, not commercial vehicles that i assume would be built to go much longer anyway. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep5q8gm",
"ep5nuis",
"ep6szjf",
"ep6ts9x",
"ep5tsd6"
],
"text": [
"Gasoline engines usually operate at 25-50% higher RPM and have longer piston strokes further increasing piston speed which causes increased wear on pistons and cylinders as well as stress on the connecting rods... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
bu7iw3 | Why is Starlink internet supposed to be good, when all current satellite internet is hot garbage? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep7z1ic",
"ep7za97"
],
"text": [
"Current i tenet satellites are at 22,000 miles above the planet in orbit. Starlinks will be at 823 miles. Much less transmission time.",
"Because StarLink is going to be a constellation of low orbit, low latency, high bandwidth mesh networked satellit... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bu7kfb | In animation, what is rendering and why does it take so long? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep80b63",
"ep8bs5m"
],
"text": [
"A lot of animation is done using wireframe and low-detail figures to sort of rough out the picture, to which high-quality details like lighting are applied. The process of applying those high-quality details is called \"rendering,\" and it involves a ridi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
buafn6 | How did old timey torches work? How did they burn for so long? How did the fire not just burn down the stick? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ep97cjt"
],
"text": [
"They were often wrapped in a cloth soaked in some sort of oil or pitch. Tar was common, so was tree pitch. Inuit cultures and Norwegians used seal and whale fat. It burned an extremely long time but didnt actually burn down the torch itself"
],
"score": [
5
],... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
budadx | How does a computer chip store data? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epayt6d"
],
"text": [
"The chip itself only stores a very limited amount of data in what’s called a “cache” (there are typically multiple “layers” of this cache: L1, L2, and L3). These caches are used for data that needs to be accessed really quickly and frequently. Data can and will be remov... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bue0w8 | What does it mean if 'secure boot keys are self-signed'? | I have spent close to two days trying to understand this and I just can't. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epawdvd"
],
"text": [
"In public key infrastructure (PKI), people will publish public keys that others are supposed to use if they wish to communicate securely with the individual. The problem is, how can you tell that a public key is valid? One way is that a central Certificate Authority (CA... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
buf7a5 | Why is is necessary to put phones into flight mode during a flight? What makes it critical during take off and landing? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epbb7c3",
"epba9n7"
],
"text": [
"It's a complex issue. The FAA does **not** prohibit cellphone use on aircraft. They do however encourage companies to use their discretion and enforce policies that dictate usage of known safe devices. However, with thousands of different devices it's qui... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bugd5t | Why do the lights in aircrafts have to be turned off during take off and landing? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epbry49"
],
"text": [
"Because take off and landing are the most dangerous parts of a flight and most likely for a crash to happen. The lights have to be off and blinds up so your eyes are adjusted to the outside brightness/darkness aiding the speed and safety of a possible evacuation"
],
... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
buhvo8 | How do glass companies know how to mold an hourglass to have the sand fall precisely? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epcdatr",
"epdgbhb",
"epdzcu2",
"epdq3le",
"epdqge3",
"eperspz",
"epds2z6",
"epe97uf",
"epdwgrr"
],
"text": [
"They don't need to. They mold the hourglass to have sand fall approximately, add sand, wait the hour, dump the extra out and seal the glass. Its WAY e... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
buiebf | What makes burner/trap phones untraceable by the police? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epckl0b",
"epds04x",
"epck0qg",
"epd4u4n"
],
"text": [
"The phone is easy to trace, the person using the phone is not. There is nothing magical about the phones specifically, it's how they are used. Burner phones are bought by companies in huge batches, and don't require any plan ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
buieq9 | How do surgeons prevent you from bleeding out during surgery? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epcknt6"
],
"text": [
"Depends really. Aside from major vessels, not much blood is lost during a surgery. Tourniquets for limbs and careful positioning of incisions for more general stuff. Hollow organs, the major vessels, and scalp stuff all can involve a lot of bleeding if not done right. T... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
bul2dc | Does leaving a phone screen idle save more battery then flipping it on/off? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epe8wcw"
],
"text": [
"The screen is typically the most battery intensive thing your phone does. The more time it's on, the more battery drains. Every second it's turned off saves battery."
],
"score": [
7
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
buouwd | Why are most street lights and car lights orangish yellow and not white? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"epf50ui"
],
"text": [
"Many street lights were/are sodium vapor lights. It’s a highly efficient light that just produces a warmer light as the byproduct. URL_0"
],
"score": [
9
],
"text_urls": [
[
"https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium-vapor_lamp"
]
]
} | [
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bur31f | What's the difference between a router and a wireless access point? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"A wireless access point is a hub of a Wi-Fi network. It allows Wi-Fi capable machines to connect to that network. A router connects multiple networks together and routes messages between networks. For instance, it allows users on the Wi-Fi ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
burok1 | How are games 'ported' to different platforms like PC, Xbox or PS? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Most of a game's code and assets are the same between platforms. The main things that have to be different are the bits that interact with the hardware or OS. Take graphics for example. On PC and Xbox you use the DirectX API to give instructions to the GPU. But PlayStat... | [
"url"
] | [
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