What Is SMS, and Why Are Text Messages So Short?

February 21, 2022

Did You Know?

Lake Wendouree, an artificially created and maintained shallow urban lake in Australia, is named such because when a settler asked a local indigenous woman what the name of the (original) swamp was, she said “wendaaree” in response. Wendaaree, in the local aboriginal language was not, in fact, the name of the swamp, but simply means “go away”.

30 years ago, SMS (Simple Message Service) introduced the world to cellular text messaging, 160 characters at a time. How did it get that way—and what happens if we have more to say? We’ll explore the history and origins of SMS. Read More »

Emoji are everywhere and there are plenty to choose from. Apple took them to the next level with animated (Animoji) and personalized (Memoji) emoji. Samsung’s version of this called “AR Emoji.” We’ll show you how to use them. Read More »

Live captions are useful for video calls so that you can see what’s being said in addition to hearing it. Basically subtitles, you can enable live captions in Google Meet, turn them off if needed, and change the language. Read More »

Samsung is the most popular Android phone manufacturer. The company offers a wide range of Galaxy phones with different features at various price points, including some lesser-known models. We’ll show you the best ones you can buy. Read More »

Windows 11 includes robust tools for managing the storage on your PC. It can detect where large, unused files are, clear temporary files automatically, and empty the recycle bin on a schedule. Find out how to use them here. Read More »

Does strapping a screen over your eyes and then blasting photons at them for hours cause damage? Moms always said sitting close to the TV is a bad idea, but is there evidence that VR is bad for your eyes? Read More »

Developed by Microsoft, C# is a multi-paradigm programming language that drives apps, cloud services, and even enterprise software. C# Notes for Professionals is your guide to mastering this language, offering 700+ pages of tips, tricks, and industry expertise. Best of all, you can download a copy for free here.

Windows 11 comes with an advanced setting, called hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling, which can boost gaming and video performance using your PC’s GPU. We’ll show you how to enable the feature and thereby potentially get a performance increase. Read More »

Want to keep the chatter down on your Facebook posts? Unfortunately, Facebook limits how and when you can prevent other users from commenting on your posts. We’ll show you where you can and how to do it. Read More »

Have you ever seen a fantastic-looking pair of pants for sale accompanied by the acronym TTS? Here’s what this acronym means and how you can use it to make sure your clothes fit well. Read More »

The celebrated Mcdonald’s Shamrock Shake is officially back, but only for a limited time. Here’s how you can make it at home now and anytime you’re in the mood! Read More »

Valentine’s Day might be over, and there’s no movie-centric holiday on the horizon, but that doesn’t mean Netflix isn’t dropping quality content. Read More »

From squirrel soup to hard cider before breakfast, our former presidents each had (or have) a love for some unusual food choices. Learn the story behind each of these (sometimes bizarre) culinary quirks. Read More »

By creating an astrological profile on Snapchat, you can get information about your zodiac sign as well as display the sign on your profile. We’ll walk you through the steps to make this profile in Snapchat on your iPhone or Android phone. Read More »

Using multiple user accounts on Windows 10 is a convenient way to control access to files and applications. Switching between accounts preserves what you’re working on without closing anything. Find out a few ways to switch between accounts here. Read More »