Kopec Explains Software

Making software intelligible in a biweekly podcast.
New episodes every other Monday morning.
Hosts @davekopec & @beccajayed

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

Shareware was an important software distribution mechanism for decades, and @mossrc's recent book, "Shareware Heroes," finally gives it its due.

In our latest episode we had the privilege of interviewing Richard about the history and impact of shareware.
https://t.co/KFeH1snSBw

[David Kopec @davekopec]

Computer Science from Scratch: Building Interpreters, Art, Emulators, and ML in Python comes out today!

This is the perfect book for an intermediate Python programmer who wants to learn more about the layers of the software stack under their programs.
https://t.co/WRJ2Fc3o2a

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

The Classic Mac OS refers to the operating system that Apple Macintosh computers ran from 1984 to 2001 (System 1 to Mac OS 9).

Prolific Classic Mac OS hacker, Elliot Nunn, joins us to discuss how it worked at a technical level.
#MARCHintosh
https://t.co/4gvE9jiygV

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

The incident last month involving CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor software was according to some people, the most impactful computer bug of all time. In this episode we explain the bug, why it happened, and its larger implications.
https://t.co/dwjTrGA2G2

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

We discuss the ethical and economic implications of ad blockers.
https://t.co/0gAxPh0spd

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

What is Machine Learning?
https://t.co/9OPLUm1hwz

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

@sve10362122 Thanks for reposting us.

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

@diananilsen1 Thanks for the feedback and episode recommendation. Best wishes in your studies!

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

Software that is old and no longer commercially available is termed "abandonware." Is it legal and ethical to download abandonware?
https://t.co/x0QCHGumTw

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

#WomensHistoryMonth

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

Grace Hopper was an iconic computer scientist. She created the first programming language, FLOW-MATIC, with English-like syntax, making computers accessible to people who were not mathematicians or technicians. We explore her life and accomplishments.
https://t.co/2QVpXeznYd

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

@MarkWitucke @dartmouth Thanks, Mark. We appreciate it.

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

The democratization of computing began with the introduction of BASIC alongside the Dartmouth Time Sharing System in 1964. Amazingly, a team of undergraduate students @dartmouth led by math professors John Kemeny & Thomas Kurtz were key to the development.
https://t.co/TlLu3WsR8Y

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

@fraulago @dartmouth Thanks, Frau. We don't really listen to any similar tech podcasts (all the ones we listen to are much more specific (Talk Python to Me, Internet History Podcast, CoRecursive, etc.)). It's not tech, but In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg is an excellent general history show/podcast.

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

@vikalpagg2011 Thanks, Vikalp. That's a great suggestion.

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

This week we looked at the Google Search Antitrust lawsuit. What's at issue and why does it matter? We also weigh-in on whether we feel the government's case has merit.
https://t.co/lUuPWMYjZ7

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

@fraulago Thank you. Definitely an interesting topic! Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to add it to the list of the potential episodes.

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

When a sophisticated machine learning model is trained, say one for generative AI, often a large amount of copyrighted material is used in the data set. Is that legal? If so, why?
https://t.co/VKpHmuF2Ja

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

@premix92 Thanks for listening! See you in 2024 (and again in 2023).

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Now here's something truly scary: Google made 78% of its revenue last quarter (~$60 billion) by harvesting your data and showing you ads. 📈

We explain the categories of their revenue & the regional breakdown in our latest episode. 🎧
https://t.co/wYfcdCfVTc

[Kopec Explains Software @KopecExplains]

Our 2020 episode on iOS vs. Android still holds up.
https://t.co/4wVz7aP0oG