Computerphile

Season 2021

Videos all about computers and computer stuff. Sister channel of Numberphile.

Where to Watch Season 2021

47 Episodes

  • Prime Numbers & RSA Encryption Algorithm
    E1
    Prime Numbers & RSA Encryption Algorithm
  • How NOT to Sample Audio!
    E2
    How NOT to Sample Audio!Could Dave recreate audio from a wav file preview image grabbed from a screen cap?
  • "Anonymous" Location Data Problems
    E3
    "Anonymous" Location Data ProblemsHow many times have you been asked to share 'anonymous' location data? Andrea shows just how simple it can be to work out who's who.
  • How Traceroute Works (Building a Movie Scene 'Trace' Map)
    E4
    How Traceroute Works (Building a Movie Scene 'Trace' Map)Traceroute is a standard networking tool, but can it be used to recreate all those film scenes where a 'trace' is put on a signal? Dr Richard G Clegg, Queen Mary University of London shows us the neat hack that makes it work and has a go at that supervillain map!
  • RFC (Request For Comment) Explained
    E5
    RFC (Request For Comment) ExplainedRFCs are standards. Aren't they? - Dr Julian Onions on how Request for Comments started, and aren't always what they seem.
  • Ubicomp (Ubiquitous Computing)
    E6
    Ubicomp (Ubiquitous Computing)The Internet of Things wouldn't be here if not for Mark Weiser and the team at Xerox Parc. Dr Stuart Reeves explains the vision.
  • Chacha Cipher
    E7
    Chacha CipherThe only viable alternative to AES? Dr Mike Pound unravels the clever ChaCha cipher.
  • Discussing node.js
    E8
    Discussing node.jsThe hidden technology that's behind apps like Visual Studio Code & Skype is web based. David Domminney Fowler chats Google's V8, node.js & HTML5
  • When Unix Landed
    E9
    When Unix LandedProfessor Brailsford recalls the advent of Unix v7 and AT&T's licensing procedure.
  • How Shazam Works (Probably!)
    E10
    How Shazam Works (Probably!)Looking at the audio mechanics and algorithms behind music identifier apps. David Domminney Fowler built a demo you can try yourself.
  • Reflections on Trusting Trust
    E11
    Reflections on Trusting TrustProfessor Brailsford discusses Ken Thompson's ACM Turing Award acceptance paper "Reflections on Trusting Trust"
  • Early Unix Computer Games
    E12
    Early Unix Computer GamesGames like rogue were revolutionary for terminal based Unix systems - Dr Julian Onions on some of the tricks they used.
  • Atomic Brain?
    E13
    Atomic Brain?How about a Neural Net where the neurons are actual atoms? Professor Phil Moriarty shows a paper demonstrating the principle from researchers at Radboud University in The Netherlands.
  • Cracking Enigma in 2021
    E14
    Cracking Enigma in 2021Enigma is known as the WWII cipher, but how does it hold up in 2021? Dr Mike Pound implemented it and shows how it stacks up against his laptop.
  • Building a Data Center Inside Your Laptop
    E15
    Building a Data Center Inside Your LaptopBuild a virtual switching network inside your own computer. Dr Richard G Clegg of Queen Mary University London demonstrates building a software network configured with Python.
  • Why Attachments are Larger in Emails
    E16
    Why Attachments are Larger in EmailsTo send binary files via a text based system, they'll need encoding. Dr Steve Bagley takes us through the attachment system used in email.
  • Kidnapped Robot Problem
    E17
    Kidnapped Robot ProblemWhen you relocate a robot, how does it work out where it is? Dr Ayse Kucukyilmaz explains how there's uncertainty at every turn.
  • Rog-O-Matic, Game Playing Program
    E18
    Rog-O-Matic, Game Playing ProgramOnce the Unix games arrived, it wasn't long before coders were looking for ways to game the games. Enter Rog-O-Matic - the program designed to play Rogue. Dr Julian Onions has been tweaking his copy for decades!
  • 3D Printing with a Robot Arm
    E19
    3D Printing with a Robot ArmWith dozens of affordable 3D printers out there, why re-invent the (filament) wheel? Feng Zhou has a plan, to improve the strength of 3D printed objects.
  • Recreating Dennis Ritchie's PhD Thesis
    E20
    Recreating Dennis Ritchie's PhD ThesisProfessor Brailsford has been toiling away on a faithful recreation of Unix co-creator Dennis Ritchie's unsubmitted PhD thesis.
  • Is DeepFake Really All That?
    E21
    Is DeepFake Really All That?How much of a problem is DeepFake, the ability to swap people's faces around? Dr Mike Pound decided to try it with colleague Dr Steve Bagley.
  • How bad is Exponential Growth?
    E22
    How bad is Exponential Growth?Exponential growth is a term that's used a lot, but our intuition can play tricks on understanding it. Dr Tim Muller takes us through some examples that demonstrate just how quickly things get out of hand.
  • Types of PDF
    E23
    Types of PDF"Just send me a PDF!" - but what kind of PDF? As Professor Brailsford explains, PDF is simply a wrapper which can contain a variety of joys!
  • Driverless Cars
    E24
    Driverless CarsDiscussing autonomous vehicles aka driverless cars with Prof. Subramanian "Ram" Ramamoorthy, Personal Chair of Robot Learning and Autonomy, University of Edinburgh.
  • Who's Telling the Truth? Using "Gobble"
    E25
    Who's Telling the Truth? Using "Gobble"Matching pictures on playing cards could have something in common with trying to guess which router has the correct routing table. Dr Tim Muller takes us through 'Gobble'!
  • Post Office Horizon Scandal
    E26
    Post Office Horizon ScandalComputer bugs were found to be the reason many sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were wrongly convicted of stealing and false accounting. Professor Steven Murdoch, a professor of Security Engineering and a Royal Society University Research Fellow at UCL explains the sorts of faults that were found.
  • Javascript Card Trick
    E27
    Javascript Card TrickHow does the "mystical" mind-reading computer program work? Spoiler, it can't read minds. Dr Tim Muller shows us a trick you can play on people.
  • TPM (Trusted Platform Module)
    E28
    TPM (Trusted Platform Module)With new operating systems requiring security hardware, what is this hardware and why do we need it? Dr Steve Bagley takes Sean's bet to see how many times he can mention Trusted Platform Module in one video!
  • The Hardest Problem in Type Theory
    E29
    The Hardest Problem in Type TheoryEquality sounds a straightforward idea, but there are subtle problems in theoretical computer science. Professor Thorsten Altenkirch explains how his late friend Martin Hofmann solved one of the biggest problems.
  • (Not) Discussing the Web @ 30 Years Old
    E30
    (Not) Discussing the Web @ 30 Years OldWhen the World Wide Web was born, there was no World Wide Web, so it took a while before it was widely adopted. Professor Brailsford takes us through what he was up to in 1991.
  • Dealing With Big Data
    E31
    Dealing With Big DataBig Data sounds like a buzz word, and is hard to quantify, but the problems with large data sets are very real. Dr Isaac Triguero explains some of the challenges.
  • Eliminating Run-Time Errors with Agda
    E32
    Eliminating Run-Time Errors with AgdaA language designed to eliminate run-time errors? Professor Thorsten Altenkirch demonstrates programming Type Theory with Agda.
  • Hacking Out of a Network
    E33
    Hacking Out of a NetworkMultiple ways to break through restrictions in a network* demonstrated by Dr Richard G Clegg of Queen Mary University London.
  • Programming with Proofs
    E34
    Programming with ProofsContinuing our look at the Agda programming language, Professor Thorsten Altenkirch shows us how you can work with proofs, which could be invaluable in some industrial situations.
  • Random Numbers with LFSR (Linear Feedback Shift Register)
    E35
    Random Numbers with LFSR (Linear Feedback Shift Register)A simple bit-shift operation can generate amazing random strings of numbers. Dr Mike Pound explains then codes it in Python.
  • Bit Blit Algorithm (Amiga Blitter Chip)
    E36
    Bit Blit Algorithm (Amiga Blitter Chip)The Bit Blit algorithm dates back to Xerox PARC, but was famously used to sell the Amiga home computer among others. Dr Steve Bagley takes us through how it works.
  • Sir Clive Sinclair & British Computer Revolution
    E37
    Sir Clive Sinclair & British Computer RevolutionSinclair Computers drove a computing revolution in the UK. At last you could purchase a computer for less than £100 (Approx. $230 in 1980) RIP Sir Clive Sinclair, the man behind the ZX80, ZX81 & ZX Spectrum (30 July 1940 – 16 September 2021)
  • Why Did Facebook Go Down?
    E38
    Why Did Facebook Go Down?Just what was it that took Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp offline on 4th October 2021? - Dr Steve Bagley investigates!
  • Saving the Universe (Simulation)
    E39
    Saving the Universe (Simulation)If your job involves simulating the creation of the universe, you're going to need a big computer. Dr Julian Onions on the practicalities of saving your universe simulation when it's terabytes in size, and in a different country!
  • WiFi's Hidden ____ Problem
    E40
    WiFi's Hidden ____ ProblemWe've all got to the edge of the wifi coverage, but the idea of coverage produces a network problem, the Hidden Node Problem. Dr Steve Bagley explains.
  • Superposition in Quantum Computers
    E41
    Superposition in Quantum ComputersParting the veil of mystery on quantum superposition using waves. Professor Phil Moriarty takes us through it.
  • Depth Camera
    E42
    Depth CameraDepth can be a useful addition to image data. Mike Pound shows off a realsense camera and explains how it can help with Deep Learning.
  • Discussing System On Chip (SoC)
    E43
    Discussing System On Chip (SoC)With the hype around Apple's M1 chip, Dr Steve Bagley discusses what the big deal is with the system on chip approach to building computers - spoiler, it's not a new thing!
  • Sinclair Software & Manuals
    E44
    Sinclair Software & ManualsThe Spectrum kick started an entire generation of computer coders. Dr Steve Vickers was involved in developing software for both the ZX81 and Spectrum, he even wrote the manuals!
  • Joining Point Cloud Scans (ICP)
    E45
    Joining Point Cloud Scans (ICP)You've scanned a room or object and now you have lots of discrete scans you want to fit together. Dr Mike Pound explains how the Iterative Closest Point Algorithm is used.
  • Log4J & JNDI Exploit: Why So Bad?
    E46
    Log4J & JNDI Exploit: Why So Bad?The "most critical vulnerability of the last decade?" - Dr Bagley and Dr Pound explain why it's so pervasive, and even affected Mike's own code!
  • Git Overview
    E47
    Git OverviewOne of the most useful tools in code development, Git protects your code from yourself and others! Dr Max Wilson gives us an overview.

 

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