Kopec Explains Software

Hosted by David Kopec, Rebecca Kopec

Technology Education Science

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Episodes

140

Latest episode

Mar 2025

Language

EN-US

About the show

We make software-related technical topics intelligible. We aim to help you develop an intuitive understanding of each subject, instead of emphasizing formal definitions. Join us as we learn about the wide world of software.

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60 recent

March 20, 2025Episode 1351 hr 23 min

#135 Hacking the Classic Mac OS

The Classic Mac OS refers to the operating system that Apple Macintosh computers ran from 1984 to 2001. While it was one of the first popular operating systems to feature a graphical user interface, it hit some very real growing pains by the 1990s. In this episode, prolific hacker of the classic Mac OS, Elliot Nunn, joins us to dive into some of the quirks of this landmark operating system. We discuss some of its unique traits, how it compares to a modern operating system, and some of Elliot's projects to reverse-engineer it. By the end of the episode you'll have a much stronger understanding of how the Classic Mac OS (System 1 through Mac OS 9) worked. Show Notes Elliot Nunn's Website Elliot Nunn on GitHub Elliot Nunn on Mastodon os9.shop Classic Episode: What is an Operating System? Episode 111: The Apple Lisa Episode 38: The History of macOS Episode 29: Why was the Original Macintosh Significant? You can also find Elliot on #mac68k on Libera.Chat Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript

August 12, 2024Episode 13415 min

#134 The CrowdStrike Incident

On July 19th, 2024, the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike released an update for its Falcon Sensor software that brought down millions of Windows computers around the world. Some of these computers were involved in critical infrastructure like airlines, hospitals, and governments. Falcon Sensor, which hooks into the Windows kernel, was certified by Microsoft and cryptographically signed. The update triggered a classic (and common) bug reading past the end of an array. It not only crashed Windows, but didn't even allow it to complete its boot process. In this episode we explain what the bug was and why CrowdStrike did not catch it before it had the opportunity to bring down millions of machines. Show Notes Classic Episode: What is an Operating System? CrowdStrike's Report on the Incident Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript

July 21, 2024Episode 13315 min

#133 Ad Blockers

Approximately one in four consumers uses an ad blocker. But do they stop to consider whether that is actually a good thing for them? In this episode, we briefly touch on the technical aspects of ad blockers before having a larger discussion around the ethical and economic considerations of ad blocking technology. Show Notes Episode 6: How Does the Web Work? Episode 82: What Are Cookies? Ad Blocking - academic article mentioned in episode Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript

June 2, 2024Episode 13222 min

#132 What is Machine Learning?

Machine Learning is a discipline within the broader field of Artificial Intelligence concerned with using insights from datasets to make predictions, classify new data points, and generate content. The algorithms used vary greatly in complexity and the real world applications that they are applicable to. Instead of concentrating on any particular algorithm, in this episode we aim to provide a broad understanding of machine learning and what it is used for. We also discuss bias in datasets and some common misconceptions. You may want to listen to our prior episode on Artificial Intelligence before diving into this episode. Show Notes Episode 13: Artificial Intelligence Episode 103: Expert Systems: A Forgotten Area of AI The Classic Computer Science Problems Book Series by David The Hundred-Page Machine Learning Book by Andriy Burkov Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript

April 19, 2024Episode 13119 min

#131 Abandonware

Abandonware is old software that is no longer commercially available. It's not a legal term, and in fact it's not legal to download most of the software that is termed "abandonware." In this episode we explain what abandonware is, the different legal situations that old software finds itself in, and we discuss whether or not downloading abandonware is ethical. Show Notes Episode 10: What is an Emulator? Episode 26: Napster Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript

March 18, 2024Episode 13019 min

#130 Grace Hopper

Grace Hopper is one of the most iconic people in the world of software. Her career as a mathematician, software innovator, computer science advocate, programmer, and technical leader spanned the early era of computing through to the 1990s. One of the first notable computer programmers, Hopper developed the first programming text book, one of the first compilers, and perhaps most importantly she was the visionary who ideated and developed the first programming language with an English-like syntax. That programming language, FLOW-MATIC, was instrumental in the later development of COBOL, which she advised. COBOL is still used to this day. Her contributions were immense and her legacy has been honored by multiple national awards and the naming of the largest conference for women in software. Show Notes Harvard IBM Mark I - Manual via Harvard The Queen of Code via YouTube Grace Hopper: The Math Genius who Taught Computers to Talk via Fierce Grace Hopper: Full lecture at the University of Tennessee, 1983 via YouTube Grace Hopper via Wikipedia FLOW-MATIC via Wikipedia Episode 11: What is a Programming Language? Episode 87: Compilers and Interpreters Episode 129: BASIC Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript

February 1, 2024Episode 12918 min

#129 BASIC

The creation of BASIC was one of the most important steps in the democratization of computing. BASIC, coupled with the Dartmouth Time Sharing System, was developed by math professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz along with a team of undergraduate students at Dartmouth College in 1964. They revolutionized who could use and access a computer. In the 1970s BASIC became the defacto standard interface to early personal computers. In this episode we contextualize BASIC, tell its story in broad strokes, and explain why it was so successful. Show Notes Birth of BASIC Documentary by Dartmouth College via YouTube BASIC at 50 Website via Dartmouth College First BASIC Instruction Manual via Dartmouth College BASIC via Wikipedia Dartmouth Time Sharing System via Wikipedia Episode 16: The Personal Computer Revolution Episode 11: What is a Programming Language? Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript

December 11, 2023Episode 12819 min

#128 Copyright & Machine Learning Models

Many large sophisticated machine learning models, like those employed in generative AI, are trained on immense amounts of copyrighted images or text. How is that legal? In this episode we delve into the exceptions to copyright law that enable such uses to not be seen by courts as infringement. This includes expressive vs functional uses of a copyrighted work, fair use, and the possibility of a data mining safe harbor law. We also discuss whether such interpretations are to the benefit or detriment of society as a whole. A note: as mentioned in the episode, we are not lawyers, and this episode should not be considered legal advice. It is just a discussion of the issue based on our somewhat limited understanding of the legal arguments and expanded to consider the societal implications. Also as mentioned in the episode, we based much of our understanding on the article "Does Training AI Violate Copyright Law?" by Jenny Quang which is linked below in the show notes. Show Notes Does Training AI Violate Copyright Law? by Jenny Quang via Berkeley Technology Law Journal Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript

November 13, 2023Episode 12717 min

#127 The Google Search Antitrust Lawsuit

In 2020 the Trump administration and eleven state attorney generals initiated an antitrust lawsuit against Google for its alleged anti-competitive behaviors in the search engine market. Last month, the lawsuit went to trial. In this episode we explain what a monopoly is, the government's antitrust allegations, and weigh-in on whether we agree that Google has abused its monopoly position. We also provide some critical background information necessary to better understand the lawsuit. It's worth nothing that Google is in the midst of several other antitrust lawsuits, including one recently initiated by the Biden administration related to the ads market. In this episode we exclusively concentrate on the search engine lawsuit. Show Notes Justice Department Sues Monopolist Google For Violating Antitrust Laws via Justice Department So what exactly is Google accused of? via The Harvard Gazette Episode 126: How Does Google Make Money? Episode 98: How Does Apple Make Money? Episode 108: How Does Mozilla Make Money? Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript

October 30, 2023Episode 12616 min

#126 How Does Google Make Money?

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is one of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization. But where does all of the revenue come from to support that? In this episode we analyze Alphabet's third quarter earnings report and earnings call. We delve into the different categories of revenue, how they breakdown as a percentage, what they mean, and some other interesting details that we noticed. By the end of the episode you will have a solid understanding of what's driving Google's revenue and growth. Show Notes Alphabet's Investor Website (including earnings reports) Episode 71: How Does Facebook Make Money? Episode 78: How Does Amazon Make Money? Episode 98: How Does Apple Make Money? Episode 108: How Does Mozilla Make Money? Follow us on X @KopecExplains. Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0 Find out more at http://kopec.liveRead transcript