What Is a Semiconductor, and Why Is There a Shortage?

Did You Know?: Although you may not know the name William A. Mitchell offhand, there’s a good chance you’ve come across things invented by the prolific food chemist. Over the course of his career, he was awarded over 70 patents and is responsible for notable consumable products like Pop Rocks, Tang, Cool Whip, and powdered egg whites. [Read in Browser]( [How-To Geek]() September 15, 2021 Did You Know? Although you may not know the name William A. Mitchell offhand, there’s a good chance you’ve come across things invented by the prolific food chemist. Over the course of his career, he was awarded over 70 patents and is responsible for notable consumable products like Pop Rocks, Tang, Cool Whip, and powdered egg whites. 🍏An Apple a Day…🍏 Yesterday was all about Apple and its new hardware. In case you missed it, here are the big announcements: - [iPhone 13 Pro’s Display Adjusts Based on How You’re Using It]( - [iPhone 13’s Best New Feature Is Hours More Battery Life]( - [The New iPad Mini Looks Amazing, We’re Buying One]( - [Apple Watch Series 7 Brings a Full Keyboard to Your Wrist]( - [Apple’s New iPad Brings iPad Pro Features to the Cheaper Model]( Apple definitely brought it this year with its new gadgets. Plus, the [new versions of its operating systems]( are right around the corner! -Dave LeClair, News Editor [What Is a Semiconductor, and Why Is There a Shortage?]( [What Is a Semiconductor, and Why Is There a Shortage?]( They’re everywhere on the tech news nowadays, but what exactly are “semiconductors,” and why is there a shortage of them in 2021? We explain this important material and how its supply can affect all kinds of electronics. [Read More »]( Advertisement [Sick of biased news stories? 1440’s got you covered]( Check out 1440 – The fastest way to an impartial point-of-view. The team at 1440 scours over 100 sources so you don't have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business and everything in between - in a 5-minute read each morning, 100% free. [Sign up now!]( [4 Ways to Open a Private Safari Tab on iPhone and iPad]( [4 Ways to Open a Private Safari Tab on iPhone and iPad]( Private Browsing mode in Safari lets you view sites without adding anything to your history on your iPhone and iPad. Here are four different ways to open a private tab in Safari when you need it. [Read More »]( [Update Your PC Now to Protect Windows 10 From Internet Explorer]( [Update Your PC Now to Protect Windows 10 From Internet Explorer]( No, that headline isn’t a joke. Unfortunately, there’s a significant vulnerability that’s actively being exploited in the wild through Internet Explorer and Office, and Microsoft has released a patch to fix it. You need to update your PC to protect it as soon as possible. [Read More »]( [How to Convert PDF to JPG on Windows 10]( [How to Convert PDF to JPG on Windows 10]( To convert a PDF’s pages to JPG on Windows 10, you can either use Adobe’s online conversion tool or take a screenshot of each page of your PDF and save that as JPG. We’ll show you both these methods. [Read More »]( [Unicode 14.0 Arrives With Troll and Low Battery Emoji]( [Unicode 14.0 Arrives With Troll and Low Battery Emoji]( It’s officially the time of the year when new emoji are released and we get to sift through them to find the true standouts. Unicode 14 has arrived, and with it, a slew of new emoji are ready for your emoting pleasure. [Read More »]( [The Best Budget TVs of 2021: Affordable Televisions for Everyone]( [The Best Budget TVs of 2021: Affordable Televisions for Everyone]( Looking for a budget television? You’re in luck as many affordable TVs on the market are excellent for movies, gaming, and more. But which ones are best? We’ve picked out the best budget TVs you can buy right now. [Read More »]( [ExpressVPN Sells for $1 Billion, Promises Your Data Will Stay Private]( [ExpressVPN Sells for $1 Billion, Promises Your Data Will Stay Private]( Further reminding us of just how popular ExpressVPN is, the company was sold to Kape Technologies for almost $1 billion. Despite the sale, ExpressVPN is promising users the same level of privacy it always offered. [Read More »]( [How to Install an NVMe Drive in Your PlayStation 5]( [How to Install an NVMe Drive in Your PlayStation 5]( The PlayStation 5 embraces user-upgradeable storage in a way we’ve never seen in another Sony console. While this provides console owners with the freedom to shop around that will ultimately drive down the cost of an upgrade, it’s not quite as straightforward as rival Microsoft’s proprietary slot-driven upgrade. [Read More »]( [How to Choose the Best NVMe SSD for Your PlayStation 5]( [How to Choose the Best NVMe SSD for Your PlayStation 5]( Want to expand your storage space on the PlayStation 5? Before you buy any old NVMe drive, you’ll need to make sure it’s compatible with Sony’s console. We’ll explain how to determine this. [Read More »]( LIFESAVVY [Left Your Car Windows Open In the Rain? Here's How to Quickly Dry It Out]( [Left Your Car Windows Open In the Rain? Here's How to Quickly Dry It Out]( It’s easy to forget to roll up your car windows on a beautiful summer day, but nice summer days have a way of turning into rainy days in a matter of minutes. Here’s how to dry your car out if your day got a little damper than expected. [Read More »]( Want to see more great content from LifeSavvy? Join the mailing list! [Sign Up for the LifeSavvy Newsletter]( CLOUDSAVVY IT [Where Are Docker Images & Containers Stored on the Host?]( [Where Are Docker Images & Containers Stored on the Host?]( Docker uses two kinds of formats to represent running processes—images, and containers, and both store data on your computer’s drive. We’ll talk about the commands Docker provides for handling data, and how you can use them to access image and container files. [Read More »]( [How to Connect Your Mac to Any VPN (and Automatically Reconnect)]( [How to Connect Your Mac to Any VPN (and Automatically Reconnect)]( Macs have built-in support for connecting to the most common types of VPNs. If you want to ensure your Mac is automatically reconnected to your VPN or connect to an OpenVPN VPN, you’ll need a third-party app. [Read More »]( SHARE THIS COMIC: [Follow us on Facebook]( [Follow on Twitter]( [Share Link]( [Email Link]( [What Is the iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 Release Date?]( [What Is the iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 Release Date?]( Apple held its giant California Streaming event today where it announced the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, new iPad Mini, and a bunch of other stuff. After the event, the company revealed the release dates for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8, which will come to both the new devices and several older models. [Read More »]( MINDBOUNCE TRIVIA [The First Mass Produced Computer Was The?]( [Bendix G-15 »]( [IBM 650 »]( [NEC 6700 »]( [Minsk »]( [iPhone 13 Pro’s Display Adjusts Based on How You’re Using It]( [iPhone 13 Pro’s Display Adjusts Based on How You’re Using It]( As is usually the case, Apple capped off its massive event with the Pro versions of its upcoming phones. In this case, the company revealed the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. These are clearly the company’s most advanced iPhones, featuring some awe-inspiring display and camera technology. [Read More »]( Follow Us on Social Media [Follow us on Facebook]( [Follow on Twitter]( [Follow us on LinkedIn]( [How to Make a Direct Download Link for Google Drive Files]( [How to Make a Direct Download Link for Google Drive Files]( We’ve all come across that unwanted web page that opens when you click a Google Drive file link. Luckily, with a workaround, you can make a direct download link for your files and bypass that web page. We’ll show you how. [Read More »]( [iPhone 13’s Best New Feature Is Hours More Battery Life]( [iPhone 13’s Best New Feature Is Hours More Battery Life]( Apple rounded out its California Streaming event with the announcement of the iPhone 13, which is definitely the device everyone was talking about leading into the show. Apple announced the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini. [Read More »]( Advertisement [Is your Small Business Equipped to Work from Home?]( For as low as $19.99 a month, RingCentral can get you an all-in-one Business Phone System with unlimited phone calls w/ HD Voice, Conferencing, and Toll Free numbers to name a few. Have your whole office up and running in a day or less. [Get a free quote now!]( [The New iPad Mini Looks Amazing, We’re Buying One]( [The New iPad Mini Looks Amazing, We’re Buying One]( At its “California Streaming” Apple event, the firm announced a radically new iPad mini redesign with a faster CPU, larger screen, and other features that have the How-To Geek staff buzzing. Here’s a look at what’s new. [Read More »]( [How to Change Your Google Profile Picture]( [How to Change Your Google Profile Picture]( Your Google profile picture appears in all kinds of places. For example, when you leave a Google review or send someone an email in Gmail, people will see your profile picture. Here’s how you can change it. [Read More »]( [Apple Watch Series 7 Brings a Full Keyboard to Your Wrist]( [Apple Watch Series 7 Brings a Full Keyboard to Your Wrist]( The Apple Watch Series 7 brings a new display with 20% more screen real estate. There’s so much room that Apple has even managed to cram a full-size keyboard onto your wrist. (And it looks usable!) [Read More »]( [Apple’s New iPad Brings iPad Pro Features to the Cheaper Model]( [Apple’s New iPad Brings iPad Pro Features to the Cheaper Model]( After a brief introduction and a feature on Apple TV+ shows, Apple announced a new model of its base iPad at its big event, which comes with a bunch of features that were exclusive to the iPad Pro before. Apple made all of the key improvements, including a huge bump to the selfie camera for the Center Stage feature. [Read More »]( [How to Check Your RAM Amount, Type, and Speed on Windows 11]( [How to Check Your RAM Amount, Type, and Speed on Windows 11]( System memory, or RAM, is an essential part of any PC running Windows 11. Too little RAM and your PC might be sluggish, so more RAM is almost always better. Here’s how to check how much RAM you have (and what type and speed it is) in Windows 11. [Read More »]( You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from How-To Geek. 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