1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,240 Thanks for watching TechQuickie. Click the subscribe button, then enable 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:09,920 notifications with the bell icon, so you won't miss any future videos. If you're 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:14,960 old enough to remember using MS-DOS, then you might also remember how easy it 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:19,360 could be to run a new program. Just pop in the conveniently sized floppy disk, 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:24,760 type in a command or two, wait for the data to load into RAM, and you're up and 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:27,520 running. These days, so-called portable 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:32,960 installs do still exist, but because modern programs are much larger and more 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:37,760 complex, it is much more common to have to install a program before you can use 9 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:43,680 it. With many of them prompting you to restart your entire system before you 10 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:46,120 can really get up and running. But why? 11 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:51,320 Well, lots of modern programs work by tying themselves somewhat directly into 12 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:56,880 your operating system's functions. For example, they may need to install new 13 00:00:53,960 --> 00:01:02,640 drivers or APIs that the program depends on, but that might require modification 14 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:07,680 of system files that the PC is currently using. And if Windows is busy with the 15 00:01:05,199 --> 00:01:11,920 current version of a file, well, it can't be changed until the next time the 16 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:15,280 computer is restarted. Think about how hard it would be to try and change your 17 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:21,600 tires while you're driving your car down the freeway. Another common way that this can pop up 18 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:24,600 is if the program relies on a DLL. These 19 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:27,040 files contain bits of code or even other 20 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:31,960 files that are shared among many different programs. For example, if a 21 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:36,880 program needs to know how much free disk space is remaining, it can just ask a 22 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:42,080 shared DLL to get the answer. And because DLLs are often being accessed by 23 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:46,440 other programs, the installer would need to reboot the system in order to make 24 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:50,480 sure that nothing else is using the DLL before it makes any changes to it. 25 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:54,640 Pretty common courtesy, if you ask me. Don't make changes to common areas 26 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:59,400 without checking with someone first. This is often also true for the system 27 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:03,920 registry. You can learn more about that here, but basically, it's a set of files 28 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:07,760 in Windows that stores tons of crucial settings for your system. 29 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:12,040 But wait, hold on a minute there, Linus. I can go into the registry editor and 30 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:17,400 manually make changes anytime I want without being prompted for a reboot. 31 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:19,800 Yes, you can, but those changes may not 32 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:23,880 go into effect if a program is currently reading the existing value. So, 33 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:28,600 installers typically ask you to reboot the system just to make sure that 34 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:33,600 everything got loaded properly, as many programs rely on correct registry 35 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:38,560 settings in order to run properly. And this central theme of, "I'm terribly 36 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:43,280 sorry, but you simply can't change stuff while you're using it," is also the 37 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:48,000 reason why some pieces of software don't require a full reboot, but might require 38 00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:52,640 you to restart a program. You see this one a lot when applying individual 39 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:56,680 program updates, as the installer might not hook into your operating system 40 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:59,640 deeply enough to force a full restart, but it can't patch critical dependencies 41 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:03,600 if you're in the middle of actually using them. And because many of these 42 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:07,360 same changes are made when you uninstall a program, you'll probably have to 43 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:10,920 reboot then as well in order to completely rid your system of that 44 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:14,560 horrible indie game you can't believe you paid $15 for. 45 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:19,560 So, while this integration with your OS has made modern programs more powerful 46 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:24,120 and easier to code, it also means that the portable programs of yesteryear have 47 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:27,960 become a fair bit less common. Oh well, I mean, at least it beats 48 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:33,080 trying to run all your software directly from a 4X CD-ROM drive, am I right? 49 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaking of being right, the right thing to do is go check out Squarespace. 50 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:40,520 Squarespace allows you to build a simple, powerful, and beautiful website, 51 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:44,680 and they've got tons of great features. They've got 24/7 support via live chat 52 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:49,040 and email. It starts at just 12 bucks a month. Every Squarespace site includes 53 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:54,000 commerce, so it comes with a free online store, and all of their templates look 54 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:58,560 great on any device, no matter what the screen size. And oh, cool, there's 55 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:01,520 something new. You can now tag and sell products from your Squarespace store on 56 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:06,000 Instagram. Dang, that's pretty cool. So, start a trial with no credit card required, 57 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:10,560 we're going to have that linked below, and start building your website today. When you decide to sign up for 58 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:14,400 Squarespace, make sure you use offer code TechQuickie to get 10% off your 59 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:18,440 first purchase. So, thanks for watching, guys. Like, dislike, check out our other videos. 60 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:24,800 Leave a comment with a video suggestion, and don't forget to subscribe and follow, because if you don't, my 61 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:28,280 grandmother will have a stroke. Actually, she did like 3 days ago. Yeah, 62 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:32,880 it's not funny at all. I'm not Yeah. I got to go see her after work 63 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:37,160 today. She's fine. No, no, she's fine. It's cool. No, 64 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,160 this is sad.