Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
How To: Disable the Time-Wasting Lock Screen in Windows 8
For many busy people, time is of the essence, and for others, it's simply just being impatient. But no matter what your vice, having your computer start up as quickly as possible is usually a plus for anyone.
How To: Get the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Update Early on Your Samsung Galaxy S2
If you have the international version of the Samsung Galaxy S2 (I9100) and are sick and tired of waiting for the Jelly Bean update to hit your device, you're in luck—XDA-Developers member izap has leaked what appears to be the final version of Android 4.1.2 for the S2.
How To: This Arduino Hack Lets You Control a Table Lamp Using Your Voice
The Jetsons may not have gotten everything right about the future, but even though we may not have flying cars or live in the sky (yet), one thing they imagined correctly was our electronics eventually being able to understand us.
News: This Mini Indoor Weather Station Can Reproduce the Conditions Anywhere in the World
If you've spent most of your life in one geographic location, you're probably pretty familiar with the weather there (unless you're a hermit). If you live in a tropical climate (and haven't done much traveling), maybe you've never even seen snow.
How To: Trick Verizon into Thinking You Never Modded Your Samsung Galaxy S III
One of the main reasons why the Samsung Galaxy S III has dethroned Apple's iPhone 4S as the best-selling smartphone in the world is due to Android's open-source operating system. The vast spectrum of customization that comes with Android has become one of its focal points, allowing n00bs and programmers alike to build and destroy. The open-source OS has allowed rooting and modified ROMs to flourish within Android community. The only problem with this is that rooting and installing your own RO...
How To: Ingress, Google's Awesome New Mind-Hacking AR Game for Android Phones Now in Beta!
Google has just launched a new revolutionary augmented reality game for Android called Ingress. Their new mobile game centers around the fight for control of the minds of everyone here on Earth. It's a freaking worldwide fight—from your smartphone! While augmented reality in is nothing new in the smartphone gaming world, it has never seen the likes of this. With an almost Halo-like storytelling, Ingress seeks to bring out gamers all across the globe to perform physical activities by transform...
How To: Missing Time in Windows 8? Add a Free Live Tile Clock to Your Start Screen
What time is it? It's a question that you'll find yourself asking a million more times throughout your life, but one that hardly goes unanswered. When you're on your phone or at your desktop, there is almost always some type of clock available to immediately give you the time.
How To: This DIY Umbrella Stand Alerts You of Rainy Weather Before You Walk Out the Door
Whether it's forgetting your driver's license or misplacing your cell phone, forgetting things at home can be a pain in the butt. Car keys, wallet, purse, papers, sunglasses—the list can go on. Sometimes I even surprise myself at the important things I forget... Oops.
How To: Unlock Your Front Door Without Keys Using This DIY Keyfob Entry System
Keys are on the way out. They're clunky, take up precious space, and slow you down when you have tons of identical-looking gold ones on your keyring. Everything we can open with keys can now also be opened with wireless technology in just a click—so why use keys anymore? Sure, you can pay hundreds of dollars for an automated lock system on your house—but why do that when you can build it yourself!
How To: Add Real-Time Twitter Results to Google Search in Chrome and Firefox
If you want to know the most up-to-date news on a trending topic, Twitter can be a great place to look since people generally tweet about things as they happen. It used to be easy to find Twitter results in Google Search, but after their deal expired last year, tweets are no longer included in search results.
How To: Add a Custom Background Image to Your Windows 8 Start Screen
Like most new things, the Start Screen in Windows 8 has its adorers and detractors, but either way you slice it—it's here to stay. I'm still getting used to the Start Screen, so I'm not sure if it's a love or hate feeling yet, but I do know one thing—I want my own background!
How To: Who's Unfollowing Your Twitter Account? Find Out with These Tracker Apps (And Get Revenge!)
Feelings can get hurt on Twitter as fast as an update. Everything is fine and dandy because two people are mutually following each other, then out of nowhere, one person has unfollowed the other out for seemingly no reason. Twitter doesn't notify users when someone has unfollowed them, so there are millions of people out there who get used for their follow! Well, now you can find out who unfollows you on Twitter with these mobile apps.
How To: Stream Netflix, Hulu, and Pandora from Anywhere in the World with Media Hint
Having the ability to stream music or video from practically any internet-capable device is a thing of wonder—especially at the airport. I don't know how many times Netflix has saved me from watching something like CNN for 5 hours straight at the gate during long layovers. But streaming video sites like Netflix only work in North American and few other regions. So, if you're a U.S. subscriber currently in Australia or France or any other international location, Au Revoir to your streaming cap...
How To: Listen to Text Messages and Other Notifications While Driving—Without Touching Your Phone
The car is arguably one of the worst places to receive a text message. You know you can't resist looking, and when you do, your attention is no longer on driving, it's on reading the latest gossip or whatever. You take your eyes of the road for just a few seconds and you could get an expensive ticket, or even worse—an accident. But you can't just ignore that notification sound or vibration, can you? So, if you just have to know what it says right then and there, why not at least do it in a sa...
How To: Remove Stock iOS App, Without Jailbreak (iOS 6)
At first glance, the iOS home screen looks nearly identical to the original release back in 2007. Though those experienced with the evolving iterations of iOS will tell you that the features have changed. Furthermore, with the App Store continuing to explode with (lets face it) better options than the stock software, these included applications are only causing clutter across the springboard.
How To: Make Your Jailbroken iPhone or iPad Infinitely Customizable with DreamBoard
One of the biggest downsides to the iPhone is that it isn't as easy to customize as other smartphones. It's true that this makes Apple products more secure in some ways, but it also means that you have to jailbreak your phone and void your warranty if you want to change certain things.
How To: Automatically Use Speakerphone When You Move Your Face Away During a Call
It can get frustrating to switch from a regular call to speakerphone when you're in a hurry. The speakerphone button tends to be small and surrounded by many others, and it requires attention to press; something that can be difficult while driving or multitasking. For those of us in a hurry, there's an app for that.
How To: Turn Your iPad Mini's Box into a Free Stand and Charging Dock
You can make a dock for an Apple device out of almost anything, even the box it comes in. People have been turning Apple's product packaging into DIY docks for a few years now, including the iPod nano, iPod touch, and iPhone 4. So, it's no surprise that the newly released iPad mini already has one, too. Obviously, if you ever anticipate selling yours, modifying the box probably isn't a good idea since you get more money for used devices with original packaging. But, if you plan on keeping it ...
How To: Beautify Your Twitter Account with Profile, Header, and Background Images
This goes out to all of the Tweeters out there looking to get a little more creative with their Twitter accounts. My page has always been extremely basic, because I just never bothered to pretty it up. I just had one of the stock backgrounds and the good ole Sacramento Kings logo for my profile pic. So, if you want to add your own cool photos and backgrounds to your account, the folks over at Twitter made this funny cartoon video just for you. It's not the most complicated of tasks, and every...
How To: Automatically Add Bing's Daily Background Images to Your Windows 8 Lockscreen
Windows 8 gives you a few different options for the image you want to appear on your lockscreen, whether it's a PC or Surface, but if you're the kind of person who gets bored easily, you may want more to choose from.
How To: Buid a Mic Stand Camera Mount/Steadycam/Crane Shot Camera Boom
I took a telescope mount from a tripod and converted it so it could be mounted on a microphone stand. For a step-by-step guide please visit my project at Make: http://makeprojects.com/Project/Mic+Stand+Camera+Mount+-+Steadycam+-+Camera+Boom/2770/1
How To: Get Some of Jelly Bean 4.2's Cool Features on Your Samsung Galaxy S III Right Now
Google's newest Android system update should be arriving on Tuesday, November 13th, with the release of the Google Nexus 4 smartphone, and Nexus 7 and 10 tablets. All will come preloaded with the new Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS, but what about the rest of you (especially those with the Samsung Galaxy S III) who just got Jelly Bean 4.1.1?!?
How To: Do Almost Anything on Your Mac Using Only a Keyboard (No Mouse or Trackpad Required)
On average, it takes three seconds to move your hand from the keyboard to the mouse, then click once and move your hand back to the keyboard. While the time wasted my sound trivial, it can add up quickly throughout the day.
How To: Turn Your Android Device into a Customizable Thermostat for Your Home
A faulty or broken thermostat can be one of the most annoying things to ever happen to your house. It's always too hot or too cold, and you can end up wasting money on your electricity bill.
How To: Fix Your Seemingly Broken iPhone Speakers with a Q-Tip
Jamming out to the newest beats can be a problem if your speakers don't work. I've been having some issues with my iPhone speakers and was looking for some quick fixes when I stumbled upon this quick fix from Saw Tun that uses just a cotton swab.
How To: Change Facebook's Boring Blue Theme to Any Color You Want
Facebook has always been notoriously difficult to customize. Personally, I think this is an improvement over MySpace's totally open platform (some people should not use code), but users should still have the option to change a few things if they want. While you'll never be able to choose your own background image or add an obnoxious number of aWeSoMe quiz results to your profile, there are a few browser plugins that let you at least change the color scheme.
How To: Turn the Multi-Window Menu Transparent on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
One of the features on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that has created quite a bit of buzz is Multi Window, which adds split-screen functionality and allows you to simultaneously task through two applications. This feature can be toggled through a menu that appears on one side of the screen and only works with a few selected applications (unless you mod your Note 2). Thanks to a new hack from XDA Developers, you can now turn the Multi Window task menu transparent, so you can still see what's under...
How To: Send Self-Destructing Spy Messages via Google Docs, Texts, and Private Links
There's really nothing safe about transmitting sensitive information electronically, but even if it gets there safely without being seen by prying eyes, there's no guarantee what happens to it once it reaches its destination. And let's face it, there are some things that you just don't want floating out there forever. So what can you do? Whether you want to send an email, a text, or a link, there are ways to send messages that self-destruct so that once they're read, they immediately vanish. ...
How To: Control Your Xbox 360 with a Smartphone or Tablet Using the New SmartGlass App
Xbox gaming has come a long way since its inception over a decade ago. What was once simply a bulky gaming console has transformed into legitimate entertainment hub for the home, thanks to the latest Metro-friendly update to the Xbox 360. Now there's newly-designed Music and Video apps, Internet Explorer, and best of all—Xbox SmartGlass.
How To: View Tweets Through the Eyes of Your Favorite Celebrity on Twitter with ShadowMe
Remember TwtRoulette? TwtRoulette was an online app that turned you into a so-called Twitter spy, letting you peruse someone's own timeline feed exactly how they saw it themselves. So, if you wanted to see what tweets Ashton Kutcher was seeing in his home timeline from the 700+ people he follows, you could.
How To: Keep Tabs on Today's Voting Results for the 2012 Presidential Election
Believe it or not, the 2012 Presidential Election is (finally) almost over. While most of us are breathing a collective sigh of relief (no more political ads!), it still seems like it hasn't been that long since the last election results were announced. This time, though, one of the biggest differences is how people will watch. Since traditional cable is on its way out, and mobile devices are getting more popular every day, a lot of people will be watching this year's election results online ...
How To: Use Blocking Mode to Disable Alerts at Specific Times on a Samsung Galaxy Device
If you're like me, getting as much sleep as possible is priority number one. With more and more time spent on or around our cell phones, it's becoming harder and harder to block out all the noise.
How To: Mod Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for Multi-Window View with Any App
With the new Samsung Galaxy Note II, there's a new Multi Window mode that allows users to run two different apps simultaneously on the tablet's screen. This feature works with Samsung and Google apps like Gmail, YouTube, Chrome and Talk.
How To: Identify Any Shade of Color with Your Android Device Using the Color Grab App
As most of us know, men and women are (shocker alert) different. Not only are they different, but they view the world an entirely different way.
How To: Create a Restore Point in Windows 8
Restoring your computer to a previous point is an extremely important thing if something goes wrong. I've restored my computer at least a dozen times after downloading some suspicious software or running into an error I couldn't remedy on my own.
How To: Use S Voice Commands on a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 & Galaxy S3 to Unlock, Open Camera, & More
With voice commands becoming conventional on most new smartphones, it's only ideal that their abilities increase as well. Thanks to Apple's Siri, you can do things like update your Twitter account and look up who the president of Costa Rica is.
How To: Preserve Battery Life on Your Apple iPad Mini
Apple has begun selling their new iPad mini at stores around the world starting today. The mini, a smaller and cheaper alternative to the larger iPad, has a starting price of $329 and is expected to sell around 1 to 1.5 million units in the first weekend, far below the 3 million iPad 3s sold last March (who all probably want their money back). Something that's sure to be brought up in the following days, as with most new devices, is the battery life. As we previously provided you tips on savi...
How To: Group and Organize Your Start Screen Tiles in Windows 8
Keeping your computer organized and your desktop clutter-free can be pretty difficult. And with last week's official release of Windows 8, users have another screen they need to get used to organizing—the new Metro-style Start Screen. It uses large rectangular or square tiles in place of the standard icons you've seen on older Windows operating systems. For better organization and grouping, you can group similar items onto a page (similar to many smartphones), you increase or decrease the siz...
How To: Hide All of the Stock Apple Apps on Your iPhone Without Jailbreaking
Hiding apps that you don't want or don't use is a no-brainer, but with Apple's mobile iOS, they try to make it virtually impossible without a jailbreak. Now, with a few downloads and clicks, you can finally get rid of that pesky Newsstand or Stocks app without jailbreaking!
How To: Save Some Cash on Apple's New Hybrid Fusion Drive and Make Your Own!
At the most recent Apple event, the company announced its new Fusion Drive, a hybrid hard drive designed to increase performance and speed by combining traditional and flash storage. It's composed of a small solid-state disk and a larger spinning hard disk drive, and files and applications are moved back and forth between the two based on how often you use them. A chunk of memory is reserved for whatever task you're currently doing, which means that multitasking doesn't slow down your compute...