![[LMG S10] Issue 123: Graphics cards: The Pixel Factory](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ngjunsiang/laymansguide/release/season10/issue123/issue123_01.jpg)
[LMG S10] Issue 123: Graphics cards: The Pixel Factory
Previously: Computers are general-purpose machines that usually process integer calculations. The graphics pipeline requires more specialised hardware that...
[LMG S10] Issue 122: The great flattening
Previously: 3D models are represented with vertices (points), edges (line segments between points), and faces in a computer. Images known as textures can be...
[LMG S10] Issue 121: In graphic detail
Previously: Driver files provide information about the driver, and instructions on how to receive information from the device, and encode information to be...
![[LMG S10] Issue 120: Drivers, the glue between hardware and firmware](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ngjunsiang/laymansguide/release/season10/issue120/issue120_01.png)
[LMG S10] Issue 120: Drivers, the glue between hardware and firmware
Previously: Solid-state disks are much faster than hard disks because they have no moving parts, so no time is wasted waiting for parts to get into the right...
![[LMG S10] Issue 119: Solid-state disks, an upgrade from hard disks](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ngjunsiang/laymansguide/release/season10/issue119/issue119_01.jpg)
[LMG S10] Issue 119: Solid-state disks, an upgrade from hard disks
Previously: A hard disk consists of a read arm, and a set of magnetic platters which store data. To read or write data, the read arm must move to the...
![[LMG S10] Issue 118: When I run two file-copy processes at the same time, why are they much slower?](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ngjunsiang/laymansguide/release/season10/issue118/issue118_01.gif)
[LMG S10] Issue 118: When I run two file-copy processes at the same time, why are they much slower?
Previously: Operating systems use a page file on the storage disk as a complement to physical memory. This allows OSes to behave more performantly than they...
[LMG S9] Issue 117: Swap space
Previously: Hibernation mode causes the computer to store the data configuration into a hibernation file on disk. When powered up, the OS reads the data...
[LMG S9] Issue 116: Hibernation
Previously: When you shut a computer down, it sends an exit signal to all running programs to get them to do their exit routine. This process can sometimes...
[LMG S9] Issue 115: Shutdown & standby
Previously: Embedded operating systems are unlike user operating systems. They are designed to run the software needed for an appliance’s operation, and are...
[LMG S9] Issue 114: In the beginning (firmware)
Previously: If you can’t get to a BIOS screen, it is likely a hardware problem and has to be solved by a technician. If you can’t get the the OS loading...
[LMG S9] Issue 113: A computer’s existential crisis (boot failure)
Previously: When a computer is booted up, it runs the BIOS from a chip on the motherboard. The chip checks that core parts are present, checks for a storage...
[LMG S9] Issue 112: Bootstrapping into existence (bootup)
Previously: Moving a file (within the same disk region) merely updates its file table record, and this happens really quickly. Copying a file, or moving it...
[LMG S9] Issue 111: Copying, moving, and deleting files
Previously: Filesystem journals are a record of changes made to the disk, so as to enable those changes to be rolled back, or to be completed properly in...
[LMG S9] Issue 110: Safeguarding against data corruption with a journal
Previously: Fast writes dump the data to a write cache (in computer memory), then update the file table to look like the file is already written to disk....
[LMG S9] Issue 109: Speeding up data operations
Previously: Safe writes ensure that all the data is written to disk sectors properly first before updating the file table. The result is that write...
[LMG S9] Issue 108: Safeguarding data operations
Previously: When write operations are interrupted prematurely, filesystem corruption often results. When a batch of data (shipment of cargo)) arrives at our...
[LMG S9] Issue 107: The challenges of storage
Previously: A hard disk is organised into sectors, which are the smallest unit of storage. The OS’s filesystem determines how and where to store each file on...
[LMG S9] Issue 106: Organising storage
Previously: The OS takes care of booting up, login and user management, window management, memory allocation, storage interfaces, background services,...
[LMG S9] Issue 105: Operating Systems
Previously: Shared secrets allow secured access to resources, such as databases or other services. These shared secrets are typically kept on a server...
[LMG S8] Issue 104: Storing sensitive data
Previously: A race condition happens when threads depend on instructions happening with coincidental timing for success. When instructions are not executed...