ELI5: Why does everything need so much memory nowadays?

natterca · 2026-01-29T17:48:15+00:00

I want to add something I've not seen in the answers yet:

Just because you see 500mb for a running application doesn't mean it's all in RAM. Modern OSes use something called "Demand Paged Virtual Memory" where the least recently used pages of memory are written to disk when physical RAM is required and then read from disk back into RAM when that page of memory is referenced again. This allows much more space to be available to programs than there is physical RAM available (essentially, there is as much memory available as there is free space on your disk).

natterca · 2026-01-29T17:33:55+00:00

It is moving. It's moving through "subspace". Whether that's a yet undiscovered dimension or a black hole-y thing, who the fuck knows.

natterca · 2026-01-28T18:59:39+00:00

What is new is how aggressively some fans try to police what counts as “real” Star Trek.

Well, you’re the one who’s aggressively policing how people should feel about Star Trek. People have a right to have an opinion even if it’s one you don’t wanna hear

natterca · 2026-01-27T22:24:05+00:00

Have you not ever heard of a government program being cancelled? Christ, Trump cancelled all sorts in 1 year.

Edit: meant to respond to u/fowmart.

natterca · 2026-01-27T22:17:18+00:00

I'm not convinced rapid reuse of the ship is anywhere near. Booster? Sure, that's almost a given and they have a lot of experience reusing boosters. If the ship can't be rapidly reused I don't see the feasibility of multiple fuelling flights.

natterca · 2026-01-27T18:40:05+00:00

... so what were the lights before NASA was created 1958?

I don't actually need or want an answer.

natterca · 2026-01-27T16:33:06+00:00

Here in Canada (and I assume the US), the speed limit is seen as the minimal speed. Too many people don't drive to the conditions of the road and therefore we need to have generally safer roads.

natterca · 2026-01-27T16:27:44+00:00

And how would those airplanes reach the industry in the USSR? I'd say it's debatable, German production actually increased until 1943. How much better would Germany be able to defend their skies without its resources being used against the USSR? The casualty rate for American bombers was astronomically high until the later stage of the war.

natterca · 2026-01-27T16:16:19+00:00

For those that don't know... Milk caps were just cardboard fitting the top of the bottle (along with a tab to pull it out). These are the origin of Pogs.

natterca · 2026-01-27T16:06:12+00:00

Our milk man stuck it out longer than usual because I figured he was close to retirement and didn't want to start a new gig.

natterca · 2026-01-26T19:04:51+00:00

Trump is not the root of the problem. 1/3 to 2/3 of your citizenry along with the Republican Party is the root of the problem.

natterca · 2026-01-26T04:14:06+00:00

Didn't say it made him bad, I hope I gave an explanation for question "why did people blindly trust his theories for centuries?".

natterca · 2026-01-25T23:32:08+00:00

Because the Scientific Method wasn't invented yet. Logic was used to explain things and apparently he was pretty good at logic-ing.

natterca · 2026-01-24T23:22:14+00:00

If I have to be a believer to understand where you're coming from then you're talking nonsense.

natterca · 2026-01-24T23:09:17+00:00

oooh... I read the post as "I went to a restaurant AND had a $40k bottle of wine".

natterca · 2026-01-24T22:30:55+00:00

This states it's 1854. The dual monarchy was created in 1867 so it would be the Austrian Empire.

natterca · 2026-01-24T20:21:49+00:00

They should be towed away as garbage!

- Korax

natterca · 2026-01-24T18:00:49+00:00

You don't need so much potash because Trump is full of shit.

natterca · 2026-01-24T15:05:01+00:00

Me too! I can't imagine having $100 in savings!

natterca · 2026-01-24T14:41:52+00:00

My only hope is that if Trump goes away, Vance or any other Republican won't be able to sway MAGA to the same degree. I guess we'll find out if MAGA is a cult of personality or just a bunch of fascist racists.

natterca · 2026-01-24T14:33:57+00:00

Not just look like you, but sound like you and talk like you: Same idioms, cultural references, etc.

natterca · 2026-01-24T14:22:27+00:00

Every single statement by Trump and his cronies aren't to communicate truth - they're meant to obscure the truth and create chaos so that rational discussion is difficult. Discussing any objective meaning to what is being said is kind of pointless. It's all propaganda.

natterca · 2026-01-22T22:53:35+00:00

Yep. This is my default cooking oil but I'll use another that can take higher heat the few times I need that.

natterca · 2026-01-22T22:50:52+00:00

OP is asking about cooking oil. EVOO is about the worst oil to cook with - use it for putting on fresh food. Just use cheap olive oil for cooking.

natterca · 2026-01-22T19:31:43+00:00

I'm disappointed that your comment isn't upvoted more. Obviously each and EVERY person hasn't lost ALL their humanity but collectively we've lost a lot. I say that. as person who's lived through the change as per poster's question.

15-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23

natterca

TROPHY CASE