Technology
Exploring "Why" questions about Technology
491 articles
Why does a dead battery in a car get recharged if you just jump it and leave it running ?
Your car has a system in it called the alternator, which is essentially a generator. It takes some of the energy from your motor (which runs on fuel) and converts it to electrical energy. The alternat
Why do apps on Google Play need me to give them access to details which are seemingly private and unrelated to the app I’m downloading?
It depends on the app; either it: 1. Is spamming malware (there is no initial vetting done on apps put onto the Google Play store; Google only takes apps down if they're reported). 2.
Why is it that even when I’m close to my router, i never have wifi speeds close to what I’m paying for on my internet plan?
A common point of confusion for people when talking about internet speeds is that they are usually quoted in "bits" while the computer measures in "bytes". A bit is a single unit of binary information
Why is “it’s” so commonly grammatically misused over other function words like “your vs. you’re” or “a vs. an”?
People get confused because the 's declares ownership as that is what we have been taught. So when some people see its ability, they process it as it having the ownership of the ability hence using th
Why is it hard to emulate old game systems with low-specs on computers with much more powerful specs?
So emulation requires a LOT of power. Imagine that your PS2 is French. The games are French.
Why do some programs hog resources, but the project file is only some kilobytes?
> Why do some programs hog resources, but the project file is only some kilobytes? If I give you a shopping list which includes 300 items, how difficult is it to carry that list? Probably not diffi
Why are the Destiny load screens so long even though it’s saved to my hard drive?
Some of the loading is also synchronising with the network. Which pulls in the players you have on your team any randomers in the area and any random events that happen on the map. None of that is on
Why is there all this focus on advanced encryption/decryption technology but we still can’t decypher some older things like the zodiac cypher?
It's possible that the zodiac cipher is some form of one-time pad cipher, which is mathematically unbreakable. It's a cipher that has its uses, but is usually less practical than modern asymmetrical k
Why does the screen look like this when seen through 3D glasses?
It's due to the polarizing filters in the screen interacting with the polarizing filters that make up the 3d glasses' lenses. Polarization is a property of light involving the way the wave oscillates.
Why are the big torrenting websites such as PirateBay not being shut down?
They are. Constantly. TPB has been shut down numerous times.