Affiliate Disclosure: By buying the products we recommend, you help keep the lights on at MakeUseOf. Read more. Gateron, a top-tier manufacturer of mechanical switches for keyboards, announced their newest and greatest products for 2020: a range of colored switches which include magnetic, low-profile, waterproof, tactile, linear, and clicky options. Most are simply upgrades of
Tips
Affiliate Disclosure: By buying the products we recommend, you help keep the lights on at MakeUseOf. Read more. While unlocked phones dominate the market in developing countries, many people in the US and UK are used to buying carrier-locked devices. But this results in them missing out on the benefits of unlocked phones. So what
Affiliate Disclosure: By buying the products we recommend, you help keep the lights on at MakeUseOf. Read more. Cloud gaming is an interesting idea. Instead of buying a games console or a gaming PC, you buy a subscription to a cloud gaming service. You stream PC games to your monitor or TV instead of installing
Affiliate Disclosure: By buying the products we recommend, you help keep the lights on at MakeUseOf. Read more. So, you’ve got a new Amazon Fire Stick. It’s ready for you to enjoy Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Netflix, and more. But what if you want to install other apps on it? To do that, you’ll need
Advertisement How many rechargeable or battery-driven devices float around your home? If you have a secure smart home, it’s likely a two digit number. Consequently, long-range wireless charging could banish a great number of cables, chargers, or batteries from your household. AT CES 2020, Wi-Charge is presenting the PowerPuck, a long-range wireless charger that plugs
The internet is full of confusing slang. One term you might have come across is HMU. It’s used all over the place: on social media, chats and texts, and even dating apps. But what does HMU mean? In this article we detail what HMU means and give you examples of how, where, and when to
Jio Wi-Fi calling service has been launched to let users make and receive calls over a Wi-Fi network. The new development is aimed to help users connect in case of signal issues. Jio is set to roll out the Wi-Fi calling service on a pan-India basis until January 16. It is designed to support both
The world is becoming more and more data-driven, with endless amounts of data available to work with. Big companies like Google and Microsoft use data to make decisions, but they’re not the only ones. Is it important? Absolutely! Data analysis is used by small businesses, retail companies, in medicine, and even in the world of
Reliance Jio is touted to offer caller tunes aka JioTunes of over four lakh songs across genres such as Bollywood, Regional, International, Instrumental, and Devotional. Users are provided with these ringback tunes for free — along with the ability to switch between different tunes at no additional cost. This means that you can apply a
Jio is one of the leading telecom operators in India. As per the latest data provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the operator has a total base of 364 million subscribers in the country. It provides various recharge options, top-up vouchers, and unlimited plans to meet specific requirements of its subscribers. However,
It’s common knowledge that mobile providers like AT&T and T-Mobile throttle user connections after they use a certain amount of data in a month—but did you know that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) might be doing the same thing? Why do companies impose data caps, and what can you do about it? The Reason Behind
Increased security at US airports has people worried about the security of their mobile devices. But can the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) take and search your phone? Let’s explore if airport security can search your phone, and what to expect if they can. Don’t Fear the TSA—Fear the CPB First, let’s talk about who might be
Do you know the difference between a modem and a router? These two devices make up the backbone of our broadband experience, but not everyone understands how they fit together. Let’s break down the differences between the modem vs. the router and how each one plays its role. What’s the Difference Between a Modem and
Most of us grew up in a time when anecdotal evidence was enough to prove a myth right or wrong. We didn’t need quantitative research or double-blind studies to tell us that the word of a trusted friend or family member was indeed true or false. Nowadays, things are different. We’re a generation of skeptics—yet
If you’ve watched a crime TV show before, you’ve probably seen analysts extracting data from a phone. How realistic are these procedures, and can the police recover deleted photos, texts, and files from a phone? Let’s look into what a forensic analyst can do with a phone. Why Mobile Forensic Investigations Happen A mobile forensic
Buying a new computer? You have more operating system choices than ever. Windows is still popular, but Macs are a great choice for creative professionals. Google offers Chromebooks that are simple and cheap, and Linux laptops are an option, too. But what is the best operating system for your new computer? We’ll give you an
Have you seen one of those weird circular discs slapped on the back of someone’s phone? Chances are, that’s a PopSocket. They’re hugely popular right now, especially with the younger crowd. But what is a PopSocket? And more importantly, are PopSockets removable? We’re going to dive right in and answer all of your burning questions.
Advertisement Formatting a USB drive is no different than formatting any other drive How to Format a New Internal Hard Drive or Solid State Drive How to Format a New Internal Hard Drive or Solid State Drive If you have a new HDD or SSD, you should format it. Through formatting, you can wipe old
Advertisement If you need a portable Mac, you buy a MacBook. If you want the most powerful Mac experience, you buy an iMac—right? Deciding between a desktop and a laptop isn’t quite as simple as you might think. We have to balance our expectations, real-world requirements, and a realistic budget before taking the plunge. So
Older desktop and laptop computers feature hidden software called the BIOS. Making changes to this can improve how your computer works—or impede it from running properly. But what is the BIOS? How do you access it, and what changes can you make when you do? Here’s everything you need to know about your computer’s BIOS,
If you’re using an older desktop computer or a laptop, your computer’s motherboard contains an integrated battery. But unlike a standard laptop battery, the motherboard’s battery doesn’t power your computer while you’re using it. Quite the opposite, actually—the battery (known as “CMOS”) is tiny and only active when you’re not using your computer. So, why
Smartphones are now the main way most of us connect to the internet. And it means getting the fastest possible internet speeds on our mobile devices is more important than ever. But that doesn’t always happen. There are lots of things that can slow you down. Let’s take a look at the main reasons why
As people become more aware of the impact of their actions on the environment, one issue to consider is how much electricity is being used by your computer. And as you have to pay for electricity use, you might be concerned about how much your PC use is costing you as well. But how much
Advertisement We’ve all used USB sticks to transport files between computers and back up our files, but there are other cool things you can do with a USB stick. You can use one to lock and unlock your computer—just like in the movies. You can also use a USB flash drive to quickly connect to
Over the past two decades, technological developments have dramatically improved internet speeds. Broadband and fiber connections have created lightning-fast networks where even high-definition media can be loaded in just a few seconds. That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement. Changing your DNS settings is often cited as one of the easiest ways to
Advertisement While computer hardware such as your RAM and graphics card are easy to identify in your system summary, things are not always as straightforward when it comes to your motherboard. Depending on your motherboard and operating system, there are a few more steps involved. But luckily it’s still easy enough for novices to learn.
Advertisement Solid state drives (SSDs) are faster, more stable, and conserve less power than traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). But SSDs aren’t flawless, and can fail before their expected life span of five to seven years. It’s best to be prepared for an eventual failure. If you know how to tell if an SSD is
RAM (random access memory) is one of the basic components of a computer or a smartphone. But a lot of misconceptions are floating about, like whether you can mix RAM size or brands. Let’s bust some myths about RAM. The job of RAM is to remember computations for a limited amount of time, so that
Advertisement Formerly known as smileys and often confused with emoticons, emoji faces are used on SMS and social media apps like Instagram and WhatsApp. But what do emojis mean? What each emoji means is often open to interpretation—further complicated by heart and hand symbols. Unicode publishes standards on what emojis mean, but they’re not always
Advertisement You’ve booted your PC or brought it out of sleep mode. But for some reason, there’s no sound. You’re not greeted by the Windows chime when you sign in, or there’s no audio accompanying your videos. So, what’s the problem? It could be an issue with the audio settings, or with the speakers themselves.