
Kopec Explains Software
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.
Latest episodes

Aug 17, 2020 • 23min
#10 What is an Emulator?
Emulators allow software designed for one computing system to run on another. They act as a kind of translation layer, simulating the hardware of the emulated system in software. Common applications include running software designed for video game systems on personal computers, and running business applications designed for a computing platform that the user doesn’t own. We discuss what emulators do, how they work, and some of the legal issues around them in this episode.
Follow us on Twitter @KopecExplains.
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Find out more at http://kopec.live

Aug 10, 2020 • 22min
#9 What Does it Take to Make an App?
We discuss what it takes to make a mobile app. What are the primary different kinds of jobs that people who work on apps have? What are the phases of the development cycle to go from idea to release? How hard is it to make an app?
We left our talking about one role: product managers/project managers who may facilitate the whole process and we’ll cover them in a future episode.
Follow us on Twitter @KopecExplains.
Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0
Find out more at http://kopec.live

Aug 3, 2020 • 33min
#8 How do Web Search Engines Work?
Information on the Web is always at our fingertips thanks to search engines. But, what makes them tick? In this episode we go over crawling, indexing, and ranking, the three phases a web page must go through to end up in your search results. We briefly discuss the PageRank algorithm and differences between various search engines. We conclude by discussing privacy issues.
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Find out more at http://kopec.live

Jul 27, 2020 • 23min
#7 What is a Character Encoding?
Computers are not just great for calculating, they’re also great for storing, manipulating, and viewing text. In fact, the majority of the work we do on a computer is “text work.” But, how does a computer actually store text? How is text represented in software? In this episode we dive into the world of character encodings, the way that software represents text.
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Find out more at http://kopec.live

Jul 20, 2020 • 22min
#6 How does the Web work?
What are the technologies that underly the Web? We discuss Web Browsers and Web Servers. We touch on: the protocols they use to communicate (HTTP and HTTPS), the languages they use to render web pages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), and server-side technologies like databases and server-side programming languages.
Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, [CC BY 4.0] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Find out more at http://kopec.live

Jul 13, 2020 • 30min
#5 How does the Internet work?
The Internet is not a single technology—it’s a combination of networking technologies including protocols, physical devices, and software. In this episode we delve into its many layers and try to provide an intuitive understanding about how they all fit together. We cover topics like routing, packets, application protocols, and encryption.
Theme “Place on Fire” Copyright 2019 Creo, [CC BY 4.0] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Find out more at http://kopec.live

Jul 6, 2020 • 37min
#4 iOS vs. Android
iOS vs. Android
In this episode we discuss the similarities and differences between iOS and Android. We delve into their history, business models, developer ecosystems, and user experiences. Does it really matter if you use iOS or Android? Listen to this episode and find out.
David Kopec on Twitter
Theme “Place on Fire”, Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0
Find out more at http://kopec.live

Jun 29, 2020 • 21min
#3 What is a Byte?
What is a Byte?
What is a Byte? In this episode we go down to the fundamentals and explain how data is represented in a computer. We discuss what a bit is, both at the hardware level and the software level. Then we discuss other terms like kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, and terabyte. We give various examples of real world files and their storage needs. Finally, we talk about the evolution of microprocessors from 8-bit to 64-bit.
David Kopec on Twitter
Theme “Place on Fire”, Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0
Find out more at http://kopec.live

Jun 22, 2020 • 30min
#2 What is an Operating System?
What is an Operating System?
This week we discuss the most essential layer of a computer’s software, the operating system. We describe what an operating system is. We denote the differences between popular operating systems. The varying operating system business models are described. And we talk about why operating systems are important.
David Kopec on Twitter
Theme “Place on Fire”, Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0
Find out more at http://kopec.live

Jun 15, 2020 • 31min
#1 What is Software?
What is Software?
We define software. What is software? How is it different than hardware? What is the language of software? What are the different kinds of software? Who makes software? How do they make it?
David Kopec on Twitter
Theme “Place on Fire”, Copyright 2019 Creo, CC BY 4.0
Find out more at http://kopec.live