WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.240 Thanks for watching TechQuickie. Click the subscribe button, then enable 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:09.920 notifications with the bell icon, so you won't miss any future videos. If you're 00:00:07.720 --> 00:00:14.960 old enough to remember using MS-DOS, then you might also remember how easy it 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:19.360 could be to run a new program. Just pop in the conveniently sized floppy disk, 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 00:00:21.520 --> 00:00:27.520 running. These days, so-called portable 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:32.960 installs do still exist, but because modern programs are much larger and more 00:00:30.240 --> 00:00:37.760 complex, it is much more common to have to install a program before you can use 00:00:35.720 --> 00:00:43.680 it. With many of them prompting you to restart your entire system before you 00:00:40.120 --> 00:00:46.120 can really get up and running. But why? 00:00:43.680 --> 00:00:51.320 Well, lots of modern programs work by tying themselves somewhat directly into 00:00:49.040 --> 00:00:56.880 your operating system's functions. For example, they may need to install new 00:00:53.960 --> 00:01:02.640 drivers or APIs that the program depends on, but that might require modification 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:07.680 of system files that the PC is currently using. And if Windows is busy with the 00:01:05.199 --> 00:01:11.920 current version of a file, well, it can't be changed until the next time the 00:01:09.800 --> 00:01:15.280 computer is restarted. Think about how hard it would be to try and change your 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 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:24.600 is if the program relies on a DLL. These 00:01:21.600 --> 00:01:27.040 files contain bits of code or even other 00:01:24.600 --> 00:01:31.960 files that are shared among many different programs. For example, if a 00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:36.880 program needs to know how much free disk space is remaining, it can just ask a 00:01:34.440 --> 00:01:42.080 shared DLL to get the answer. And because DLLs are often being accessed by 00:01:39.600 --> 00:01:46.440 other programs, the installer would need to reboot the system in order to make 00:01:43.960 --> 00:01:50.480 sure that nothing else is using the DLL before it makes any changes to it. 00:01:48.320 --> 00:01:54.640 Pretty common courtesy, if you ask me. Don't make changes to common areas 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:59.400 without checking with someone first. This is often also true for the system 00:01:57.240 --> 00:02:03.920 registry. You can learn more about that here, but basically, it's a set of files 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:07.760 in Windows that stores tons of crucial settings for your system. 00:02:05.880 --> 00:02:12.040 But wait, hold on a minute there, Linus. I can go into the registry editor and 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:17.400 manually make changes anytime I want without being prompted for a reboot. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:19.800 Yes, you can, but those changes may not 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:23.880 go into effect if a program is currently reading the existing value. So, 00:02:21.720 --> 00:02:28.600 installers typically ask you to reboot the system just to make sure that 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:33.600 everything got loaded properly, as many programs rely on correct registry 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:38.560 settings in order to run properly. And this central theme of, "I'm terribly 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:43.280 sorry, but you simply can't change stuff while you're using it," is also the 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:48.000 reason why some pieces of software don't require a full reboot, but might require 00:02:45.920 --> 00:02:52.640 you to restart a program. You see this one a lot when applying individual 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:56.680 program updates, as the installer might not hook into your operating system 00:02:54.480 --> 00:02:59.640 deeply enough to force a full restart, but it can't patch critical dependencies 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:03.600 if you're in the middle of actually using them. And because many of these 00:03:01.600 --> 00:03:07.360 same changes are made when you uninstall a program, you'll probably have to 00:03:05.480 --> 00:03:10.920 reboot then as well in order to completely rid your system of that 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:14.560 horrible indie game you can't believe you paid $15 for. 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:19.560 So, while this integration with your OS has made modern programs more powerful 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:24.120 and easier to code, it also means that the portable programs of yesteryear have 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:27.960 become a fair bit less common. Oh well, I mean, at least it beats 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:33.080 trying to run all your software directly from a 4X CD-ROM drive, am I right? 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:36.280 Speaking of being right, the right thing to do is go check out Squarespace. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:40.520 Squarespace allows you to build a simple, powerful, and beautiful website, 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 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:49.040 and email. It starts at just 12 bucks a month. Every Squarespace site includes 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:54.000 commerce, so it comes with a free online store, and all of their templates look 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:58.560 great on any device, no matter what the screen size. And oh, cool, there's 00:03:56.600 --> 00:04:01.520 something new. You can now tag and sell products from your Squarespace store on 00:04:00.320 --> 00:04:06.000 Instagram. Dang, that's pretty cool. So, start a trial with no credit card required, 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 00:04:08.640 --> 00:04:14.400 Squarespace, make sure you use offer code TechQuickie to get 10% off your 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:18.440 first purchase. So, thanks for watching, guys. Like, dislike, check out our other videos. 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 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:28.280 grandmother will have a stroke. Actually, she did like 3 days ago. Yeah, 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 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:37.160 today. She's fine. No, no, she's fine. It's cool. No, 00:04:34.440 --> 00:04:37.160 this is sad.