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How the machines and networks around you work, from what happens when you open a web page to how a chip computes and how encryption keeps a message private. Plain words, worked examples, and the notes each idea leads to.

18 notes from Graphite. Free to read, with no account. Nothing here is for sale.

Start here

Where to begin.

The note that answers the topic’s biggest question, then the two it leads to most directly.

  1. Start here

    How does the internet work? A plain-words guide

    The internet is a network of networks that splits data into small packets, addresses each one, and passes it router to router until it reaches the right computer.

    Graphite7 min read

  2. Then

    How do computers work? From switches to software

    Computers work by flipping billions of tiny switches that stand for 1s and 0s, following stored instructions one step at a time. From transistors to the apps on your screen.

    Graphite7 min read

  3. And then

    Internet vs World Wide Web: what's the difference?

    The internet is the global network that connects computers; the World Wide Web is one service that runs on it, made of linked pages you open in a browser.

    Graphite7 min read

Every note

All 18 notes in Technology.

The three above, then the rest. Each answers one question and links to the notes it leads to.

  1. How do QR codes work? The squares, decoded

    A QR code stores data as a grid of black and white squares, with three corner markers that let a camera find it and spare data that rebuilds damaged parts.

    Graphite7 min read

  5. What is hacking? How hackers break in, and why

    Hacking is getting a computer system to do something its owners never intended, for good or ill. The two meanings, how break-ins happen, and the habits that stop most of them.

    Graphite6 min read

  6. How does email work? What happens when you hit send

    Email works by passing your message from server to server with a protocol called SMTP, after DNS finds the recipient's mail server. One email, followed from send to inbox.

    Graphite6 min read

  8. How does Wi-Fi work? Radio waves and your router

    Wi-Fi works by sending data as radio waves between your devices and a router, on the 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz bands. Why walls matter, and why Wi-Fi isn't the same as the internet.

    Graphite6 min read

  9. What is quantum computing? Qubits in plain words

    Quantum computing uses qubits, which follow the rules of quantum physics, to solve certain problems far faster than ordinary computers. What qubits do, and why errors are the hard part.

    Graphite7 min read

  12. What is phishing? How to recognize a fake message

    Phishing is a scam message that poses as someone you trust to get your password, money or personal details. Its forms, the anatomy of a fake, and a checklist for spotting one.

    Graphite6 min read

  13. What is an API? How apps talk to each other

    An API is a published set of requests one program can make to another, and the replies it promises to give back. How web APIs work, with a real example.

    Graphite6 min read

  14. What is 5G? What's new about the fifth generation

    5G is the fifth generation of mobile network standards, designed for faster data, much lower delay and far more connected devices. How it works, and what the bands mean.

    Graphite6 min read

  15. What is a VPN? What it hides and what it doesn't

    A VPN is an encrypted tunnel from your device to a server run by someone else, who then sends your traffic on. It hides some things from some people, and nothing from the VPN itself.

    Graphite6 min read

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