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Emoji Dictionary, Device

Chargers, Windows 11 Update

By Jasmine Blue

Q. Is there a dictionary for Emoji? fine if it is powerful enough.
A. What a delightful question. There is not just a dic- The latest technology in power adapters is gallium
tionary, but an entire encyclopedia! Point any web nitride, usually abbreviated GaN. These adapters
browser to emojipedia.org, your one-stop shop for all tend to be smaller and more powerful than previous
things emoji. chargers. Some of them are powerful enough to han-
While many people know about emoji, fewer peo- dle a Chromebook or a couple of phones at the
ple know that there is a constantly changing uni- same time. Unfortunately, they require USB-C.
verse surrounding emojis. New emojis are added If you need a suggestion for your new smartphone,
regularly, and illustrations for existing emoji charac- the Anker Nano II 45-watt charger is an excellent
ters change over time. For example, a recent choice.
change to the syringe character removed the red One word of caution: avoid the temptation to go for
drops suggesting blood, expanding the usefulness of a bargain-priced power adapter. Safety margins mat-
the syringe to communicate about vaccines. ter. Even a well-designed high-quality adapter can
These kinds of changes are documented on Emo- develop problems. Bargain-priced adapters are no
jipedia. Emojipedia is a labor of love founded by one bargain in the long run.
person, ‘Jeremy Burge, who refers to himself as the
Chief Emoji Officer of Emojipeda. Jeremy's site con- Q. Will my computer be able to run Windows 11
tains a wealth of information, both current and histor- when it is released?
ic. A. As of late summer when I write this, no one
There is a searchable index of character descrip- knows for sure. Windows 11 beta arrived amidst a
tions, character lists grouped by occasion, news, surge of excitement a few months ago, but mixed
release messages have left a trail of confusion about com-
schedules, and much more. patibility with existing hardware.
The visual style of an illustration for each emoji Although beta programs can seem almost routine,
character varies. A smileyface looks one way on an most people should avoid them. Significant changes
iPhone, and a unique way on a Google phone. before launch are common. There is a balance to be
Some software companies also develop their own stlilck which can only be found once the operating
interpretation of the emoji character set. system is tested on thousands of computers.
Personal computing has come a long way from Microsoft's initial Windows 11 hardware require-
ASCII marks like :) to denote a sideways smile. To- ments touChed off a backlash by some customers.
day, the right emoji can add depth and meaning to TO make a tough situation harder, there were con-
any text. flicting messages about exactly what the require-
ments were, and the test app to check for Windows
Q. Are smartphone chargers interchangeable? Can I 11 compatibility was pulled -back for inaccuracies.
reuse my existing charger with a new device? One of the reasons the requirements question is
A. The easy answer is sort of, but not always. Read so challenging is because there are just so many of
on to get the whole story. them. That makes simple statements like "less than
The power charger tale mirrors many other stories four years old" impossible.
in tech. Some things get better. Some things get Until the official release, the best thing to do is
worse. And there is plenty of confusion to maximize wait. Only then will we have enough information to
the suspense. It does appear that the days of finding evaluate Windows 11.
a power charger in the smartphone box are num-
bered. What was once considered a necessity is
now an accessory.
Besides quality, the difference between chargers
comes down to two things: the USB connector and
the power capacity. You will need a cable that
matches the connectors on the adapter and your
phone. When it comes to power, a little larger is bet-
ter than a little too small. Your device will only draw
the amount it requires. Reusing an older charger is

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