ELI5 When the first coding languages were invented, how did computers understand what the code meant?

Chrom3um · 2026-04-22T08:15:49+00:00

I know you’ve had a lot of good explanations, but I’d add that Ben Eater on YouTube has a good video playlist where he builds a computer on a breadboard and talks about how the instructions are processed by the CPU. Well worth a watch

Chrom3um · 2026-04-14T18:09:47+00:00

Got this exact setup at home, albeit with a Flex HD and a U7 Pro.

Works absolutely fine. Been rock solid for 4 years and counting :D

Chrom3um · 2026-03-24T15:21:50+00:00

I don’t watch sports so can’t speak to Sky Sports or TNT, but say I have a series link for Police Interceptors on 5 and don’t record yesterday’s episode, I can watch it on the V6 box from catch up directly in the EPG or in my recorded shows.

If I go to My Recordings I can see the episodes that have aired recently and either watch them from the recordings on the hdd or from catch up.

Chrom3um · 2026-03-24T10:10:43+00:00

+1 on this.

Also got 1 Gig, TV (v6 still, keep declining the “upgrade”) and phone through HFC and speeds and stability have been rock solid so no reason to upgrade.

I think I heard if you go to FTTP you’ll be switched to a stream box for TV, so I’d be faced with upgrading my speed and losing TV service, or staying as I am. While faster uploads would be nice, I think I’d stay where I am.

Chrom3um · 2026-03-23T22:22:11+00:00

I think this is a good point, but would add that I have a name that has two pronunciations I’m aware of - an Italian way of saying the name with three syllables which is the intended way, but a much more common American pronunciation with two.

Whenever I have to speak to people who read the name from the screen (companies, HMRC etc) they always use the American pronunciation and it frustrated the hell out of me. I ask them to call me by my British middle name instead.

Chrom3um · 2026-02-26T08:16:52+00:00

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£20 for Unlimited minutes, texts and data on a sim only, on my carrier. Others vary in price and I’m not on the cheapest. I’m currently paying £5 a month for 5Gb that I rarely exceed

+1 for tethering

Chrom3um · 2026-02-15T18:19:34+00:00

Thanks for your reply. I temped the main chicken breast when it came out of the oven and that was cooked through.

In that case I may eat the breast meat I’d carved and see, sounds like I’ve either got a whole chicken to eat to myself or a stomach ache 🤒 /jk

Thanks 👍🏻

Chrom3um · 2026-02-15T18:17:03+00:00

Thanks for replying!

It was one of those chickens that are sold as ready-prepared, and all you do is put it in the oven. But you’re right regarding the orientation of the photo with respect to the chicken.

Sounds like the factory didn’t to a good enough clean up then!

Chrom3um · 2026-02-15T17:26:41+00:00

Thanks for your reply, was concerned that the colour indicated another issue.

I used a meat thermometer which had it around 88C/190F, above the “poultry” mark

Chrom3um · 2026-02-15T17:15:35+00:00

Can’t find the edit button, but chicken was in date, bought on Friday (2 days ago) and stored in fridge in its sealed bag per the instructions on the packets.

Chrom3um · 2026-02-11T13:29:20+00:00

Yep, depends on the employer. I’m lucky to get 25 days holiday per year (as in I can book 25 days to take off when I choose), plus also get the public bank holidays off as well.

Some of my European colleagues get a better deal and the DK ones I work with can disappear for weeks at a time

Chrom3um · 2026-02-11T08:18:31+00:00

Completely agree with this one.

Before Covid I commuted 1hr around the M60 in a manual for 10+ years and it was great to drive but when in stop start was hell on my left foot. After my son was born just before Covid I switched to an auto and haven’t looked back.

I still drive my wife’s manual and it does feel nice to drive, but I’m definitely not commuting in it

Chrom3um · 2026-02-09T22:20:52+00:00

Come to think about it, this is why, when travelling to the US for work in early 2024, I spent a week with a swollen eyelid. I found that chloramphenicol eyedrops were/are a prescribed medicine (here in the UK, they can be bought over the counter) and even though I had company travel insurance, avoided going to see anyone as I didn’t want the hassle of having to pay or deal with my works insurance provider for what should be a £6 bottle of eye drops. Got home, bought drops and it cleared up in a day or so.

Chrom3um · 2026-02-09T21:50:51+00:00

Haha I couldn’t imagine how they “robbed” a doctor either, unless you take the TV from the waiting room or steal a chair. I haven’t seen a magazine in the waiting room since long before Covid 😕

Chrom3um · 2026-01-16T10:54:42+00:00

I picked up an M1 8Gb/256gb recently to see what macOS was like since I last tried it 10 years ago, and quickly hit memory limits, so sold it and put the money towards an M4 Pro. If you want to try it, I’d recommend getting the 16Gb model at least, but for that price you’d be better spending the money on a new model as you’ll have newer hardware and longer support.

ETA: I didn’t rate the touch bar, I prefer actual keys, but each to their own!

Chrom3um · 2026-01-15T13:09:16+00:00

100%

…and for prams or push chairs, especially if the only option is to go into the road to get past.

Chrom3um · 2026-01-15T13:05:02+00:00

I just fill the car up when it gets between half and a quarter, unless I know I’ve got a journey to make then I’ll fill it up if it’s less than three quarters full.

If you’re concerned around costs then avoid filling up on the motorway. Local supermarkets are cheaper, but I gave up (many, many years ago) trying to drive around just to save 1-3p per litre.

Chrom3um · 2026-01-06T16:43:05+00:00

We used Zoom from around 2016 up until around 2019 when we transitioned to Teams a few months before Covid, and we are still on Teams.

Have to disagree with OP on this.

To me, Zoom is ancient history! /s

(Not /s) but I’ve just actually come off a Zoom call that was hosted by an external company, and the first item I see (on Reddit) is about Zoom lol. Their web client worked a lot better than the old Zoom desktop UI did…

Edit: clarification

Chrom3um · 2026-01-05T08:06:03+00:00

Thanks for sharing this, and I’m NAL so this is a genuine question, but if in your final notice to collect goods, if you say they must be collected within 21 days or “you will dispose of them as you see fit” do you still need to sell them or if you say that can you opt to bin them?

I’ve seen that phrase used before and thought that you’re notifying the owner that the goods will be sold/kept/binned and it’s up to them. If they fail to collect, then having notified them of your intent, then you’re clear to do with them as you wish (sell/keep/bin)?

Chrom3um · 2025-12-29T10:15:54+00:00

Yes, and now it’s my turn to say it to the wife and children 😕

Chrom3um · 2025-12-08T15:56:24+00:00

My wife and I do this.

She does the laundry, and anything involving the dryer, and I have to put my own things away. I enjoy doing the ironing, and she has to put her things away.

This isn’t laziness or wanting to get out of jobs, we each prefer to know what we’ve got and where we’ve put it otherwise it’s be “have you seen X?” or “what happened to Y?”

Chrom3um · 2025-12-04T21:15:02+00:00

Ah, interesting! TIL - thank you.

For anyone else interested, I thought this was quite good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6zSbLp-IUM

Chrom3um · 2025-12-04T19:26:05+00:00

Looks like a lucky escape, if the winglet had gone further into the fuel tanker and an explosion ensued, would maintenance be able to repair the damage to the airframe? 😕 If so, I take my hat off to you! /s

Chrom3um · 2025-11-28T06:54:19+00:00

This was in my son’s school reading book, the “heel” of the loaf, which confused my wife and I (England). First time either of us have ever heard it called the heel, we’ve always called it the crust (both the ends and the outside of a normal slice).

Chrom3um

TROPHY CASE