Make Tech Easier https://maketecheasier.com/homepage/ Uncomplicating the complicated, making life easier Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:33:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.8 https://maketecheasier.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-site-icon-32x32.png Make Tech Easier https://maketecheasier.com/homepage/ 32 32 When you type bbc.com, the browser may trigger several invisible network exchanges: it asks a DNS resolver for the site’s address, opens a TCP connection with three packets, negotiates encryption keys, and only then requests the page, with each uncached round trip adding delay https://maketecheasier.com/mte-when-you-type-bbc-com-the-browser-may-trigger-several-invisible-network-exchanges-it-asks-a-dns-resolver-for-the-sites-address-opens-a-tcp-connection-with-three-packets-negotiates-encryption/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-when-you-type-bbc-com-the-browser-may-trigger-several-invisible-network-exchanges-it-asks-a-dns-resolver-for-the-sites-address-opens-a-tcp-connection-with-three-packets-negotiates-encryption/#respond Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:31:51 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861955 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-when-you-type-bbc-com-the-browser-may-trigger-several-invisible-network-exchanges-it-asks-a-dns-resolver-for-the-sites-address-opens-a-tcp-connection-with-three-packets-negotiates-encryption/feed/ 0 Christopher Latham Sholes, the printer and Wisconsin state senator who designed the QWERTY keyboard, was appointed Milwaukee’s postmaster by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War — he tinkered with a page-numbering machine on the job before turning to typewriters https://maketecheasier.com/mte-christopher-latham-sholes-the-printer-and-wisconsin-state-senator-who-designed-the-qwerty-keyboard-was-appointed-milwaukees-postmaster-by-abraham-lincoln-during-the-civil-war-he-tinkered-with-a-pa/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-christopher-latham-sholes-the-printer-and-wisconsin-state-senator-who-designed-the-qwerty-keyboard-was-appointed-milwaukees-postmaster-by-abraham-lincoln-during-the-civil-war-he-tinkered-with-a-pa/#respond Mon, 21 Sep 2026 07:57:42 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861945 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-christopher-latham-sholes-the-printer-and-wisconsin-state-senator-who-designed-the-qwerty-keyboard-was-appointed-milwaukees-postmaster-by-abraham-lincoln-during-the-civil-war-he-tinkered-with-a-pa/feed/ 0 Why did the QWERTY keyboard, arranged in the 1870s to stop mechanical typebars from jamming, outlast every layout designed to beat it over the next 150 years? https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-why-did-the-qwerty-keyboard-arranged-in-the-1870s-to-stop-mechanical-typebars-from-jamming-outlast-every-layout-designed-to-beat-it-over-the-next-150-years/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-why-did-the-qwerty-keyboard-arranged-in-the-1870s-to-stop-mechanical-typebars-from-jamming-outlast-every-layout-designed-to-beat-it-over-the-next-150-years/#respond Mon, 21 Sep 2026 03:57:02 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861938 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-why-did-the-qwerty-keyboard-arranged-in-the-1870s-to-stop-mechanical-typebars-from-jamming-outlast-every-layout-designed-to-beat-it-over-the-next-150-years/feed/ 0 Pixel 3 Night Sight can capture a photo in near-darkness because it doesn’t take one picture — it can take up to 15 short exposures, align them with sub-pixel precision and average down the noise while the phone keeps collecting light after you press the shutter https://maketecheasier.com/mte-pixel-3-night-sight-can-capture-a-photo-in-near-darkness-because-it-doesnt-take-one-picture-it-can-take-up-to-15-short-exposures-align-them-with-sub-pixel-precision-and-average-down-t/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-pixel-3-night-sight-can-capture-a-photo-in-near-darkness-because-it-doesnt-take-one-picture-it-can-take-up-to-15-short-exposures-align-them-with-sub-pixel-precision-and-average-down-t/#respond Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:47:35 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861931 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-pixel-3-night-sight-can-capture-a-photo-in-near-darkness-because-it-doesnt-take-one-picture-it-can-take-up-to-15-short-exposures-align-them-with-sub-pixel-precision-and-average-down-t/feed/ 0 Screens use red, green and blue because human retinas carry only three types of colour-sensing cones, tuned near those wavelengths — a display isn’t reproducing colour, it’s tricking three specific proteins in your eye into firing in the right ratio https://maketecheasier.com/mte-screens-use-red-green-and-blue-because-human-retinas-carry-only-three-types-of-colour-sensing-cones-tuned-near-those-wavelengths-a-display-isnt-reproducing-colour-its-tricking-three-specific-prote/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-screens-use-red-green-and-blue-because-human-retinas-carry-only-three-types-of-colour-sensing-cones-tuned-near-those-wavelengths-a-display-isnt-reproducing-colour-its-tricking-three-specific-prote/#respond Thu, 17 Sep 2026 04:43:03 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861923 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-screens-use-red-green-and-blue-because-human-retinas-carry-only-three-types-of-colour-sensing-cones-tuned-near-those-wavelengths-a-display-isnt-reproducing-colour-its-tricking-three-specific-prote/feed/ 0 Voyager 1 is over 15.8 billion miles from Earth and its generators lose about four watts of power every year https://maketecheasier.com/mte-voyager-1-is-over-15-8-billion-miles-from-earth-and-its-generators-lose-about-four-watts-of-power-every-year/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-voyager-1-is-over-15-8-billion-miles-from-earth-and-its-generators-lose-about-four-watts-of-power-every-year/#respond Wed, 16 Sep 2026 07:22:27 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861917 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-voyager-1-is-over-15-8-billion-miles-from-earth-and-its-generators-lose-about-four-watts-of-power-every-year/feed/ 0 When you delete a file from a traditional hard drive, the operating system usually removes the pointer to it — the bytes themselves can sit undisturbed until something else writes over that patch of disk, which is why recovery tools can rebuild photos months later https://maketecheasier.com/mte-when-you-delete-a-file-from-a-traditional-hard-drive-the-operating-system-usually-removes-the-pointer-to-it-the-bytes-themselves-can-sit-undisturbed-until-something-else-writes-over-tha/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-when-you-delete-a-file-from-a-traditional-hard-drive-the-operating-system-usually-removes-the-pointer-to-it-the-bytes-themselves-can-sit-undisturbed-until-something-else-writes-over-tha/#respond Mon, 14 Sep 2026 14:16:27 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861905 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-when-you-delete-a-file-from-a-traditional-hard-drive-the-operating-system-usually-removes-the-pointer-to-it-the-bytes-themselves-can-sit-undisturbed-until-something-else-writes-over-tha/feed/ 0 The Gulf Offshore Research Institute has been awarded $20 million to turn idle Gulf oil platforms into hubs for energy, minerals and aquaculture https://maketecheasier.com/mte-the-gulf-offshore-research-institute-has-been-awarded-20-million-to-turn-idle-gulf-oil-platforms-into-hubs-for-energy-minerals-and-aquaculture/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-the-gulf-offshore-research-institute-has-been-awarded-20-million-to-turn-idle-gulf-oil-platforms-into-hubs-for-energy-minerals-and-aquaculture/#respond Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:03:41 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861902 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-the-gulf-offshore-research-institute-has-been-awarded-20-million-to-turn-idle-gulf-oil-platforms-into-hubs-for-energy-minerals-and-aquaculture/feed/ 0 How did a metal box first secured to a converted tanker in April 1956 cut ocean freight loading costs by more than 90 per cent? https://maketecheasier.com/mte-how-did-a-metal-box-first-secured-to-a-converted-tanker-in-april-1956-cut-ocean-freight-loading-costs-by-more-than-90-per-cent/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-how-did-a-metal-box-first-secured-to-a-converted-tanker-in-april-1956-cut-ocean-freight-loading-costs-by-more-than-90-per-cent/#respond Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:10:44 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861894 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-how-did-a-metal-box-first-secured-to-a-converted-tanker-in-april-1956-cut-ocean-freight-loading-costs-by-more-than-90-per-cent/feed/ 0 In December 2014, Google introduced a reCAPTCHA checkbox that let many users skip distorted letters while the system weighed browser characteristics and a Google tracking cookie before deciding whether to show another challenge https://maketecheasier.com/mte-in-december-2014-google-introduced-a-recaptcha-checkbox-that-let-many-users-skip-distorted-letters-while-the-system-weighed-browser-characteristics-and-a-google-tracking-cookie-before-deciding-wh/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-in-december-2014-google-introduced-a-recaptcha-checkbox-that-let-many-users-skip-distorted-letters-while-the-system-weighed-browser-characteristics-and-a-google-tracking-cookie-before-deciding-wh/#respond Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:45:42 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861888 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-in-december-2014-google-introduced-a-recaptcha-checkbox-that-let-many-users-skip-distorted-letters-while-the-system-weighed-browser-characteristics-and-a-google-tracking-cookie-before-deciding-wh/feed/ 0 Microsoft didn’t just stop shipping Flash with Windows 10 — in February 2021 it began silently force-installing update KB4577586, which scrubs the player from the operating system itself, with the rollout finishing across most Windows machines by July 2021 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-microsoft-didnt-just-stop-shipping-flash-with-windows-10-in-february-2021-it-began-silently-force-installing-update-kb4577586-which-scrubs-the-player-from-the-operating-system-itself-with-the-roll/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-microsoft-didnt-just-stop-shipping-flash-with-windows-10-in-february-2021-it-began-silently-force-installing-update-kb4577586-which-scrubs-the-player-from-the-operating-system-itself-with-the-roll/#respond Tue, 08 Sep 2026 10:06:30 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861880 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-microsoft-didnt-just-stop-shipping-flash-with-windows-10-in-february-2021-it-began-silently-force-installing-update-kb4577586-which-scrubs-the-player-from-the-operating-system-itself-with-the-roll/feed/ 0 A phone knows which way is up because a silicon chip smaller than a grain of rice contains tiny cantilever beams that physically bend under gravity, and the circuit measures how far they flex in three axes thousands of times a second https://maketecheasier.com/mte-a-phone-knows-which-way-is-up-because-a-silicon-chip-smaller-than-a-grain-of-rice-contains-tiny-cantilever-beams-that-physically-bend-under-gravity-and-the-circuit-measures-how-far-they-flex-in-th/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-a-phone-knows-which-way-is-up-because-a-silicon-chip-smaller-than-a-grain-of-rice-contains-tiny-cantilever-beams-that-physically-bend-under-gravity-and-the-circuit-measures-how-far-they-flex-in-th/#respond Mon, 07 Sep 2026 12:17:12 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861869 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-a-phone-knows-which-way-is-up-because-a-silicon-chip-smaller-than-a-grain-of-rice-contains-tiny-cantilever-beams-that-physically-bend-under-gravity-and-the-circuit-measures-how-far-they-flex-in-th/feed/ 0 The first GIF ever made was a picture of an airplane — Stephen Wilhite told the New York Times in 2013 that he ‘saw the format I wanted in my head and then I started programming’, and insisted the pronunciation was a soft G, like Jif peanut butter https://maketecheasier.com/mte-the-first-gif-ever-made-was-a-picture-of-an-airplane-stephen-wilhite-told-the-new-york-times-in-2013-that-he-saw-the-format-i-wanted-in-my-head-and-then-i-started-programming-and-in/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-the-first-gif-ever-made-was-a-picture-of-an-airplane-stephen-wilhite-told-the-new-york-times-in-2013-that-he-saw-the-format-i-wanted-in-my-head-and-then-i-started-programming-and-in/#respond Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:07:54 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861866 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-the-first-gif-ever-made-was-a-picture-of-an-airplane-stephen-wilhite-told-the-new-york-times-in-2013-that-he-saw-the-format-i-wanted-in-my-head-and-then-i-started-programming-and-in/feed/ 0 Kishi Station in Wakayama Prefecture was destaffed in April 2006 to cut costs, then handed over the following year to a calico cat wearing a custom-made stationmaster’s cap — passenger numbers, which had fallen to about 1.9 million a year, began climbing again within months https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-kishi-station-in-wakayama-prefecture-was-destaffed-in-april-2006-to-cut-costs-then-handed-over-the-following-year-to-a-calico-cat-wearing-a-custom-made-stationmasters-cap-passenger-numbers-which/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-kishi-station-in-wakayama-prefecture-was-destaffed-in-april-2006-to-cut-costs-then-handed-over-the-following-year-to-a-calico-cat-wearing-a-custom-made-stationmasters-cap-passenger-numbers-which/#respond Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:13:43 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861855 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-kishi-station-in-wakayama-prefecture-was-destaffed-in-april-2006-to-cut-costs-then-handed-over-the-following-year-to-a-calico-cat-wearing-a-custom-made-stationmasters-cap-passenger-numbers-which/feed/ 0 The ROICE program at the University of Houston started in 2022 as a thought experiment about what to do with thousands of dead Gulf oil wells, pipelines and platforms — four years later it received about $800,000 to turn that thinking into commercial repurposing plans https://maketecheasier.com/mte-the-roice-program-at-the-university-of-houston-started-in-2022-as-a-thought-experiment-about-what-to-do-with-thousands-of-dead-gulf-oil-wells-pipelines-and-platforms-four-years-later-it-received-a/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-the-roice-program-at-the-university-of-houston-started-in-2022-as-a-thought-experiment-about-what-to-do-with-thousands-of-dead-gulf-oil-wells-pipelines-and-platforms-four-years-later-it-received-a/#respond Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:11:44 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861843 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-the-roice-program-at-the-university-of-houston-started-in-2022-as-a-thought-experiment-about-what-to-do-with-thousands-of-dead-gulf-oil-wells-pipelines-and-platforms-four-years-later-it-received-a/feed/ 0 Voyager 1 crossed into interstellar space in August 2012 and still transmits from more than 24 billion kilometres away on about 22 watts, less power than a fridge bulb, with each signal taking over 22 hours to reach Earth https://maketecheasier.com/mte-voyager-1-crossed-into-interstellar-space-in-august-2012-and-still-transmits-from-more-than-24-billion-kilometres-away-on-about-22-watts-less-power-than-a-fridge-bulb-with-each-signal-taking-over/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-voyager-1-crossed-into-interstellar-space-in-august-2012-and-still-transmits-from-more-than-24-billion-kilometres-away-on-about-22-watts-less-power-than-a-fridge-bulb-with-each-signal-taking-over/#respond Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:44:24 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861837 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-voyager-1-crossed-into-interstellar-space-in-august-2012-and-still-transmits-from-more-than-24-billion-kilometres-away-on-about-22-watts-less-power-than-a-fridge-bulb-with-each-signal-taking-over/feed/ 0 How did a phone game released in July 2016 briefly double foot traffic to small businesses near landmarks, and why did the effect fade within eight weeks? https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-how-did-a-phone-game-released-in-july-2016-briefly-double-foot-traffic-to-small-businesses-near-landmarks-and-why-did-the-effect-fade-within-eight-weeks/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-how-did-a-phone-game-released-in-july-2016-briefly-double-foot-traffic-to-small-businesses-near-landmarks-and-why-did-the-effect-fade-within-eight-weeks/#respond Tue, 01 Sep 2026 06:46:45 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861829 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-how-did-a-phone-game-released-in-july-2016-briefly-double-foot-traffic-to-small-businesses-near-landmarks-and-why-did-the-effect-fade-within-eight-weeks/feed/ 0 End-to-end encryption hides what you said, but metadata the app or carrier may still hold — who you messaged, when, for how long, and which cell towers your phone used — can be enough to reconstruct your day without ever reading a word https://maketecheasier.com/mte-end-to-end-encryption-hides-what-you-said-but-metadata-the-app-or-carrier-may-still-hold-who-you-messaged-when-for-how-long-and-which-cell-towers-your-phone-used-can-be-eno/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-end-to-end-encryption-hides-what-you-said-but-metadata-the-app-or-carrier-may-still-hold-who-you-messaged-when-for-how-long-and-which-cell-towers-your-phone-used-can-be-eno/#respond Mon, 31 Aug 2026 07:26:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861822 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-end-to-end-encryption-hides-what-you-said-but-metadata-the-app-or-carrier-may-still-hold-who-you-messaged-when-for-how-long-and-which-cell-towers-your-phone-used-can-be-eno/feed/ 0 How does a fibre-optic strand thinner than a spaghetti noodle carry a signal across 13,000 kilometres of ocean without a single electrical amplifier along the way? https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-how-does-a-fibre-optic-strand-thinner-than-a-spaghetti-noodle-carry-a-signal-across-13-000-kilometres-of-ocean-without-a-single-electrical-amplifier-along-the-way/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-how-does-a-fibre-optic-strand-thinner-than-a-spaghetti-noodle-carry-a-signal-across-13-000-kilometres-of-ocean-without-a-single-electrical-amplifier-along-the-way/#respond Fri, 21 Aug 2026 07:32:46 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861814 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-q-how-does-a-fibre-optic-strand-thinner-than-a-spaghetti-noodle-carry-a-signal-across-13-000-kilometres-of-ocean-without-a-single-electrical-amplifier-along-the-way/feed/ 0 Wi-Fi signals struggle through walls not because concrete is thick, but because water in the plaster absorbs 2.4 GHz almost exactly the frequency a microwave oven uses to heat your dinner https://maketecheasier.com/mte-wi-fi-signals-struggle-through-walls-not-because-concrete-is-thick-but-because-water-in-the-plaster-absorbs-2-4-ghz-almost-exactly-the-frequency-a-microwave-oven-uses-to-heat-your-dinner/ https://maketecheasier.com/mte-wi-fi-signals-struggle-through-walls-not-because-concrete-is-thick-but-because-water-in-the-plaster-absorbs-2-4-ghz-almost-exactly-the-frequency-a-microwave-oven-uses-to-heat-your-dinner/#respond Thu, 20 Aug 2026 06:21:12 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=861805 https://maketecheasier.com/mte-wi-fi-signals-struggle-through-walls-not-because-concrete-is-thick-but-because-water-in-the-plaster-absorbs-2-4-ghz-almost-exactly-the-frequency-a-microwave-oven-uses-to-heat-your-dinner/feed/ 0