Make Tech Easier https://maketecheasier.com/homepage/ Uncomplicating the complicated, making life easier Wed, 21 Oct 2026 04:22:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.10 https://maketecheasier.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-site-icon-32x32.png Make Tech Easier https://maketecheasier.com/homepage/ 32 32 The world’s first traffic light stood 6 metres tall outside the Houses of Parliament from 9 December 1868, and after a gas leak exploded and seriously injured the constable working it, London had no traffic lights again until 1926. https://maketecheasier.com/first-traffic-light-westminster-1868/ https://maketecheasier.com/first-traffic-light-westminster-1868/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:53:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863217 https://maketecheasier.com/first-traffic-light-westminster-1868/feed/ 0 Valve opens Steam Next Fest on 19 October at 10:00 PDT, a week of free demos and developer livestreams that closes 26 October at the same hour. https://maketecheasier.com/steam-next-fest-october-2026-dates/ https://maketecheasier.com/steam-next-fest-october-2026-dates/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863184 https://maketecheasier.com/steam-next-fest-october-2026-dates/feed/ 0 David Bradley wrote Ctrl+Alt+Del into the 1981 IBM PC as a soft reboot for developers, and at the machine’s twentieth anniversary in 2001 he said of Bill Gates, “I may have invented it, but I think Bill made it famous” https://maketecheasier.com/david-bradley-ctrl-alt-del-ibm-pc/ https://maketecheasier.com/david-bradley-ctrl-alt-del-ibm-pc/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:13:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863236 https://maketecheasier.com/david-bradley-ctrl-alt-del-ibm-pc/feed/ 0 WhatsApp will only support iPhones on iOS 15.5 and newer from 30 November 2026, and it warns affected users inside the app before support ends https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-iphone-ios-15-5-minimum-november-2026/ https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-iphone-ios-15-5-minimum-november-2026/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:20:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863230 https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-iphone-ios-15-5-minimum-november-2026/feed/ 0 Turn on Theft Detection Lock under Settings > Google > All services > Theft protection and your Android locks itself when a thief runs off with it https://maketecheasier.com/android-theft-detection-lock-setup/ https://maketecheasier.com/android-theft-detection-lock-setup/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2026 09:27:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863232 Google > All services > Theft protection, uses sensors, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to lock a stolen Android phone's screen.]]> https://maketecheasier.com/android-theft-detection-lock-setup/feed/ 0 Otto Rohwedder’s bread slicer cut its first commercial loaf at the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri on 7 July 1928, and the machine that made Kleen Maid Sliced Bread fell apart after about six months of heavy use. https://maketecheasier.com/chillicothe-1928-first-sliced-bread-machine/ https://maketecheasier.com/chillicothe-1928-first-sliced-bread-machine/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:33:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863215 https://maketecheasier.com/chillicothe-1928-first-sliced-bread-machine/feed/ 0 A 100,000-ton aircraft carrier running four years behind schedule caught its first F-35C on a wire off Virginia on the Navy’s birthday, the jet Congress ordered it fitted for in the first place, while a second F-35C flew the test with inert bombs mounted under its wings https://maketecheasier.com/a-100000-ton-aircraft-carrier-running-four-years-behind-schedule-caught-its-first-f-35c-on-a-wire-off-virginia-on-the-navys-birthday-the-jet-congress-ordered-it-fitted-for-in-the-first-plac/ https://maketecheasier.com/a-100000-ton-aircraft-carrier-running-four-years-behind-schedule-caught-its-first-f-35c-on-a-wire-off-virginia-on-the-navys-birthday-the-jet-congress-ordered-it-fitted-for-in-the-first-plac/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2026 04:21:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863243 https://maketecheasier.com/a-100000-ton-aircraft-carrier-running-four-years-behind-schedule-caught-its-first-f-35c-on-a-wire-off-virginia-on-the-navys-birthday-the-jet-congress-ordered-it-fitted-for-in-the-first-plac/feed/ 0 Cambridge researchers built a camera system to check their coffee in 1991 — two years later, it became the world’s first webcam https://maketecheasier.com/cambridge-trojan-room-coffee-pot-first-webcam/ https://maketecheasier.com/cambridge-trojan-room-coffee-pot-first-webcam/#respond Wed, 21 Oct 2026 04:16:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863222 https://maketecheasier.com/cambridge-trojan-room-coffee-pot-first-webcam/feed/ 0 Arduino raises the VENTUNO Q from its $299 introductory price to $399 on 19 October, blaming a sharp rise in memory module costs. https://maketecheasier.com/arduino-ventuno-q-price-rise-399/ https://maketecheasier.com/arduino-ventuno-q-price-rise-399/#respond Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:50:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863180 https://maketecheasier.com/arduino-ventuno-q-price-rise-399/feed/ 0 Clyde Dawson picked a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit for the first UPC barcode scan in 1974 because nobody was sure a barcode could be printed on something that small, and Sharon Buchanan scanned it at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. https://maketecheasier.com/first-upc-barcode-scan-juicy-fruit-1974/ https://maketecheasier.com/first-upc-barcode-scan-juicy-fruit-1974/#respond Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:09:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863186 https://maketecheasier.com/first-upc-barcode-scan-juicy-fruit-1974/feed/ 0 WhatsApp can hide your IP address in calls through Settings, Privacy, Advanced, Protect IP address in calls, at some cost to call quality. https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-protect-ip-address-in-calls/ https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-protect-ip-address-in-calls/#respond Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:20:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863188 https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-protect-ip-address-in-calls/feed/ 0 Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, starts at $1,999 with a 7.58-inch inner display and is available from 23 October. https://maketecheasier.com/iphone-duo-foldable-price-release-date/ https://maketecheasier.com/iphone-duo-foldable-price-release-date/#respond Tue, 20 Oct 2026 08:30:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863113 https://maketecheasier.com/iphone-duo-foldable-price-release-date/feed/ 0 NASA’s Kepler telescope lost two of the four wheels it used to aim at stars — engineers gave it a second mission by balancing the spacecraft against the pressure of sunlight https://maketecheasier.com/kepler-k2-reaction-wheels-sunlight-pressure/ https://maketecheasier.com/kepler-k2-reaction-wheels-sunlight-pressure/#respond Tue, 20 Oct 2026 02:54:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863205 https://maketecheasier.com/kepler-k2-reaction-wheels-sunlight-pressure/feed/ 0 A 990-foot ocean liner that still holds the transatlantic speed record from her maiden voyage in 1952 will be sunk in the Gulf off Destin, Florida, in the second week of November, after 29 years tied to a pier in Philadelphia, to become the world’s largest artificial reef https://maketecheasier.com/a-990-foot-ocean-liner-that-still-holds-the-transatlantic-speed-record-from-her-maiden-voyage-in-1952-will-be-sunk-in-the-gulf-off-destin-florida-in-the-second-week-of-november-after-29-years-tied/ https://maketecheasier.com/a-990-foot-ocean-liner-that-still-holds-the-transatlantic-speed-record-from-her-maiden-voyage-in-1952-will-be-sunk-in-the-gulf-off-destin-florida-in-the-second-week-of-november-after-29-years-tied/#respond Tue, 20 Oct 2026 01:42:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863197 https://maketecheasier.com/a-990-foot-ocean-liner-that-still-holds-the-transatlantic-speed-record-from-her-maiden-voyage-in-1952-will-be-sunk-in-the-gulf-off-destin-florida-in-the-second-week-of-november-after-29-years-tied/feed/ 0 A 228-year-old wooden warship still in active Navy commission sailed out of Boston this summer for America’s 250th birthday, and she is regularly turned around in the harbor, because a ship that sits facing the same way at her pier weathers unevenly on one side https://maketecheasier.com/a-228-year-old-wooden-warship-still-in-active-navy-commission-sailed-out-of-boston-this-summer-for-americas-250th-birthday-and-she-is-regularly-turned-around-in-the-harbor-because-a-ship-th/ https://maketecheasier.com/a-228-year-old-wooden-warship-still-in-active-navy-commission-sailed-out-of-boston-this-summer-for-americas-250th-birthday-and-she-is-regularly-turned-around-in-the-harbor-because-a-ship-th/#respond Tue, 20 Oct 2026 01:13:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863194 https://maketecheasier.com/a-228-year-old-wooden-warship-still-in-active-navy-commission-sailed-out-of-boston-this-summer-for-americas-250th-birthday-and-she-is-regularly-turned-around-in-the-harbor-because-a-ship-th/feed/ 0 In 2010, the US Air Force stacked more than 1,700 PlayStation 3 consoles on wire shelves and wired them into the Pentagon’s most powerful interactive supercomputer https://maketecheasier.com/us-air-force-condor-playstation-3-supercomputer/ https://maketecheasier.com/us-air-force-condor-playstation-3-supercomputer/#respond Mon, 19 Oct 2026 22:39:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863125 https://maketecheasier.com/us-air-force-condor-playstation-3-supercomputer/feed/ 0 Amazon’s new Alexa Tablets drop Fire OS for Android with full Google Play Store access, starting at $229.99 for the Alexa Tablet 8. https://maketecheasier.com/amazon-alexa-tablets-android-google-play/ https://maketecheasier.com/amazon-alexa-tablets-android-google-play/#respond Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:50:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863137 https://maketecheasier.com/amazon-alexa-tablets-android-google-play/feed/ 0 Anbernic’s RG DDS is a dual-screen clamshell handheld modelled on the Nintendo 3DS, with pre-orders at $284.99 and shipping gradually from 10 December 2026. https://maketecheasier.com/anbernic-rg-dds-3ds-style-handheld-pre-orders/ https://maketecheasier.com/anbernic-rg-dds-3ds-style-handheld-pre-orders/#respond Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863135 https://maketecheasier.com/anbernic-rg-dds-3ds-style-handheld-pre-orders/feed/ 0 WhatsApp shows your profile photo to every user by default, and Settings > Privacy > Profile photo is where you switch it to My contacts, My contacts except…, or Nobody. https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-profile-photo-privacy-settings/ https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-profile-photo-privacy-settings/#respond Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:09:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863147 Privacy > Profile photo on Android, iPhone or the web.]]> https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-profile-photo-privacy-settings/feed/ 0 Sound stickers, a toggle to remove the sticker outline and a two-line compose box are in WhatsApp’s beta code, per an Android Authority teardown. https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-sound-stickers-teardown/ https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-sound-stickers-teardown/#respond Mon, 19 Oct 2026 11:20:00 +0000 https://maketecheasier.com/?p=863144 https://maketecheasier.com/whatsapp-sound-stickers-teardown/feed/ 0