#IT Knowledge
58 posts
How Does Video Streaming Play Without Buffering? The Basics of Streaming and Codecs
This post explains, without any code, how video plays without buffering. It covers streaming that receives video in chunks, codecs that shrink heavy video, adaptive streaming that changes quality to match the network, and CDNs, at a non-developer's level.
How Are QR Codes and Barcodes Read? The Basics of Encoding
This post explains, without any code, how barcodes and QR codes hold information and get read by machines. It covers the numbers held in stripes and dots, clears up the misconception that a QR code holds the full content rather than just an address, and error correction, at a non-developer's level.
How Does Google Search Work? The Basics of Crawling, Indexing, and Ranking
This post explains, without any code, how Google returns millions of sorted results in under a second. It walks through the three stages — gathering pages by crawling, organizing them into an index, and deciding their order by ranking — at a non-developer's level.
How Do Chatbots Answer? The Difference Between Rule-Based and AI Chatbots
This post explains, without any code, how a support chatbot produces its answers. It covers the difference between rule-based chatbots that follow a fixed path and AI chatbots that understand sentences, how the two are mixed in practice, and the limit of hallucination, at a non-developer's level.
Why Are There So Many Image File Types? The Basics of JPG, PNG, and Compression
This post explains, without any code, why there are so many image formats, what the compression beneath them is, and which format to choose when. It covers pixels and numbers, lossless and lossy compression, and the differences between JPG, PNG, and WebP, at a non-developer's level.
How Do Maps and Your Location Show Up? GPS, Geocoding, and Map APIs
This post explains, without any code, how a map app finds your location and how addresses and maps connect. It covers GPS and supporting signals, the geocoding that links addresses and coordinates, map APIs, and location as sensitive personal data, at a non-developer's level.
How Apps and the Web Differ — Native, Web Apps, and App Store Review
A code-free explanation of how native apps, the web, and hybrid apps differ — and why an app requires installation and store review while the web opens with just an address.
How Do Web Fonts Work? Why Fonts Break and Why Licensing Matters
This post explains, without any code, how fonts appear on the screen on the web, why they sometimes break, and why fonts come with licenses too. It covers how web fonts work, loading performance, and font licensing, at a non-developer's level.
How Does Email Get Delivered? SMTP, Spam Filters, and SPF/DKIM
This post explains, without any code, how email reaches the recipient and why some mail is classified as spam. It covers the relay between mail servers, the SPF and DKIM that verify the sender, and how a spam filter decides, at a non-developer's level.
How Are Domain Names Bought and Sold? Registration, WHOIS, and Renewal
This post explains, without any code, how you buy, own, and keep a domain name, from a transactional angle. It covers why a domain is closer to a lease, what a registrar and WHOIS are, and what happens when you miss a renewal, at a non-developer's level.
AI, Machine Learning, and LLMs — The Big Picture for Non-Developers
This post sorts out, without any code, how AI, machine learning, and LLMs differ and fit together. It covers what today's tools do well and poorly, and why they hallucinate, at a non-developer's level.
What Is Web Accessibility? Building Services Everyone Can Use
This post explains, without any code, that web accessibility means building services anyone can use, whether or not they have a disability. It covers screen readers and alt text, keyboard navigation, and color contrast, through to why accessibility is a matter of quality, at a non-developer's level.