How do computers actually work? From electrons to hardware to the web.

Follow me on 𝕏: https://x.com/tejaskumar_ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4WKO... Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Dive into the fascinating world of computing with our podcast episode titled "How do computers actually work? From electrons to hardware to the web." We unravel the mystery starting from the fundamental building blocks of technology—electrons, and how they power datacenters, to the intricacies of hardware and firmware. Journey through the critical layers of computing, including the OS kernel, CPU operations, memory management, and storage solutions. Security gets its due with an exploration of TPM, setting the stage for a deep dive into software architecture. We break down frontend technologies and backend infrastructure, covering everything from HTML and CSS to cloud computing and network protocols. The episode culminates with a discussion on CI/CD pipelines and the decision-making process in tech development. It's a comprehensive guide for anyone curious about the inner workings of computers and the internet. Chapters 00:00 - Intro 01:17 - Sponsor 02:47 - Everything is a Stack, with Layers on Layers 04:55 - The Lowest Layer: Subatomic Particles 09:21 - Types of Current: AC and DC (Alternating and Direct Current) 12:36 - How Datacenters use Electricity 15:45 - The Next Layer: Hardware 19:07 - The Next Layer: Firmware 21:46 - The Next Layer: The OS Kernel 24:21 - Diving Deeper: Motherboard 27:59 - The OS Kernel 29:43 - CPU, Threading, Multithreading, Hyperthreading, Clock Speed 36:53 - Memory/RAM, Volatile Memory, Virtual Memory 39:43 - Storage, Hard Drives, Solid State Drives 41:33 - TPM (Trusted Platform Module) 42:59 - The Next Layer: Software 43:46 - Software Architecture 47:08 - Frontend Deep Dive: HTML, HTMX, CSS, TailwindCSS, JavaScript, Accessibility, and Network 59:53 - What happens when data fetching: TCP/IP stack, HTTP and SSL encryption, how data flows over the network and internet 01:12:05 - Receiving a Network Request on the Backend, DNS, Firewalls, Load Balancing, SSL Termination, Reverse Proxies 01:20:38 - Backend Architecture: Caches, Queues, Distributed Systems, Control Plane vs. Data Plane 01:25:44 - Cloud Computing: Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs), Subnets, NATs 01:28:30 - Adjusting Expectations for Frontend and Backend 01:29:34 - CI/CD Pipelines, Webhooks, git-based deploys 01:30:21 - Build it or buy it? 01:31:18 - Conclusion