Hot Gadget Hacks Posts
How To: Use your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad as a 2nd monitor on OS X
Looking for a bigger monitor? How about a smaller monitor? With a little app called Screen Recycler, you can hook up your Apple iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad and use it as a second monitor. The app is available in the Apple App store and will let you view things on your hand held Apple device. No need to always think bigger, or rush out to the store to buy more hardware. You may already have what you need at home!
How To: Use your iPhone or iPod touch as a 2nd monitor
If you're looking to expand your viewing space, and haven an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can follow this how-to and learn how to do it. You'll need to get an app from the Apple App Store called SideMonitor. With this little app, you'll be able to connect your Mac or PC to your hand held device to get a bit more viewing room. It seems like you can never have enough viewing space, so don't poo poo the idea of hooking up some smaller devices.
How To: Use an iPhone as spy camera
If you're looking for ways to get all James Bond on someone, you may want to check out this video. In it you'll see how to turn your iPhone into a spy camera, letting you take photos or videos at set intervals, or, whenever the mic detects any sound. It's pretty cool and not hard to do! Requirements: 1. iPhone 2. iPad 3. Wi-Fi (bluetooth works aswell but not as good) 4. a place to put iPhone 5. spare time! So remember, the name is phone. iPhone.
News: Print Your Own Photorealistic Gadget Pouches
If you've yet to stumble across Photojojo, it's an awesomely addictive web newsletter for all photography junkies. I'm especially loving their recent photorealistic gadget pouch project because the finished product looks incredibly pro and as Photojojo keenly comments, "We’ve been seeing these little pouches in hipster gift stores that look like tacos, cassette tapes, pizza, etc. And we thought, 'That’s so easy, we could totally make those ourselves!'” Right on. The project is indeed easy to ...
How To: Root, unlock, S-OFF, and load DesireHD ROMs on a HTC Inspire 4G phone
The Inspire 4G is AT&T's hot new budget 4G handset, and it's a powerful little unit thanks to a fast processor and AT&T's new 4G LTE network. This video will show you how to root, unlock, and S-OFF your device so that you can do whatever you want with it. The second part of the video shows you how to fix the sound issue from the first part AND install DesireHD ROM games on the phone. All of the advantages of jailbreaking without the cool name. You will need this software.
How To: Take Screenshots on Apple iOS 4 Devices (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad)
Now that the iPhone 4 is on Verizon, there's an increasing number of ex-Android users wanting to know how to take a screenshot on their new iOS device. We all know what a nightmare it was to take a screenshot on your Android device. You had to download the Android SDK, enable USB Debugging, connect your Android to your computer, open DDMS, mess with Terminal, open up Screen Capture... well, you get the picture—complicated.
How To: Make a Kindle Cover from a Hollowed Out Hardback Book
Kindle users love reading. But let's face it—nothing compares to the feel of a book in your hands.
How to Hack Netflix: Free DVDs and Money Saving Tips
I remember a time when I had to rent a VHS from the local video rental store. It wasn't all that bad, with the only real annoyances being the trip to and fro, having to rewind the movie and the possible malfunction of my VHS player, which liked to eat tape from time to time.
How To: Text bomb your friends with the iPhone 3G, 3Gs, and 4
Text bombing isn't a very nice thing to do, and sucks for whoever you're doing it to, but it's certainly fun for you! Annoy the hell out of a frenemy, or simply pass the time in your boring Biology class with affably evil fun, by spaming your friend's text inbox with loads of messages.
How To: Tether and use your MetroPCS phone for internet access
This video will show you how to tether your Samsung Messager 2, (the MetroPCS phone) to your PC to use as a modem for internet access. This will allow you to use your cell phone as your internet connection point, meaning you'll connect to the net for the cost of your cell phone's data plan. You will need your Samsung USB cable, a PC with Windows 2000 or higher, all current drivers for your phone and PC, and you will also need to head here to get the Samsung PC Studio program. This is part 1 o...
How To: Tether your MetroPCS phone to your PC for internet access
If you're a MetroPCS user and would like to tether your phone to your PCS to use it as a modem, this video will show you how it's done. First of all, hit the subtitles button to make sure you're getting the instructions in english. Next, you'l want to go here to get the Samsun PC Studio link tool which will let the connection be made. Enjoy!
How To: Jailbreak an iPhone without a sim card
If you want to jailbreak an iPhone without a sim card, check out this video and learn how. Initially this video was only for PC, but it now includes instructions on how to perform the same feat on your Mac as well. You'll need a program here to get it done, and you'll need to be connected between your PC/Mac and your iPhone. Break free from the clutches of Apple today and feel the cellular freedom! Now YOU can jailbreak and iPhone without a sim card!
How To: Change your iphone email notification sound
If you're an iPhone owner tired of have the same email notification sound as every other iPhone owner on the planet, check out this video to see how to change it to what YOU want! You will need to have a jailbroken iPhone, you'll need a little program called Green Poison, and you'll need to have the iPhone jailbroken app Cydia to get it all done. So go for it and tweak it today!
How to Make GTA: Chinatown Wars for iPod work on lower firmwares than 3.1.2
So you have gotten Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for your iPhone or iPod Touch, but now it turns out that your firmware is too low to be able to play the game! If you have a firmware older than 3.1.2, this tutorial shows you how to get everything working so you can proceed to play your game. The process is easy - get to your app through the iTunes interface and then use Payload to change a few things around.
How To: Enable Chrome Instant for Faster Searching and Browsing
I don't know anyone who doesn't use Google to explore the web. And I don't know anyone who hates Google's Instant Search feature, which is available in all web browsers, as long as you're searching from Google's website.
News: 8-Bit Your Browser with Pixelfari (So Awesome)
Love, love, love it! Pixelfari converts Safari to 8-bit, turning everything into old school Nintendo-style pixely fonts and graphics.
How To: Craft a Homemade Digital Music Box with a Cheap MP3 Player
Musical boxes are best known for their kitschy designs and somewhat trivial renditions of musical masterpieces. They tend to frequent the dresser of young girls or elderly woman hanging on to their youth, and for the most part, they remain cutesy and harmless, but when featured in movies like The Silence of the Lambs and Black Swan, they become downright creepy.
How To: Take apart an old broken power supply and turn it into a battery charger
Do you have an old uninterruptable power supply you're not using or that's broken? Most people have scads of them these days, and they contain all sorts of useful electronics parts, including all of the stuff to make a little batter charger, which you'll learn how to do by watching this video and checking out the circuit diagram here.
How To: Build a laser tripwire that can trigger anything out of a photoresistor
This video, incredibly short for it's massive content, will teach you how to make a laser tripwire that, combined with a photoresistor, can trigger just about any device. You can make traps, alarms, awesome party decorations, and all sorts of other awesome things with this easy-to-make device, provided you have a soldering iron and a local electronics store to buy some parts.
How To: Use the new HTC Inspire AT&T Android phone
The HTC Inspire is a $99 4G-capable Android handset with a 4+ inch touchscreen. Really? That's pretty awesome. If you're an AT&T customer or thinking about switching to them, check out this video review and guide to the phone to learn all about it. Also check it out if you've already taken the plunge and want to get to know the phone faster.
How To: Transfer music from your iPhone or iPod Touch to your PS3
If you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch then you probably think that the only places you can listen to your MP3 files are on your laptop, your i-gadget of choice, and your car. But in reality anything that you can groove to on your iPhone or iPod Touch can be listened to - and transferred to - your PlayStation 3.
How To: Use your iPhone to tether WiFi for your XBOX 360 or PS3
Paying for internet WiFi? That's SO 2010. If you have one internet connection on your iPhone 3G then you can share that connection with just about any other device, such as the iPad, iPhone, iPod, laptop, XBOX 360, and PS3.
How To: Use bluetooth and PS3 to listen to the iPod or iPhone on your TV
Don't get us wrong - we love our iPhones and iPods - but sometimes we just want to kick back on the couch, pour ourselves a glass of Chardonnay, and go for the full surround sound musical experience. Get a more visceral exerpience of your favorite tunes by listening to them on your TV.
How To: Use your PS3 bluetooth headset as an iPhone headset
Look around you. Chances are (if you haven't been living under a rock for the last few months), you have at least several snazzy electronics gadgets lying around. From your PS3 to iPhone, iPad to laptop, your ADD will find a source of diversion no matter which way you look.
How To: Build and use a voltage divider
A voltage divider is one of the easier-to-understand pieces of circuity in use in modern electronics. They divide voltage, and are crucial to most modern electronics. This video will show you how they work and how to build one yourself for your circuits.
How To: Install Java applications on the iPhone from China, the iClone
You knew it was only a matter of time. China is now producing the iClone, a phone which looks very similar to the famous iPhone. The bonus with this phone is that you have the ability to install Java, and run Java based applications on the device. This tutorial shows you how to download and install Java on your new China phone.
How To: Use oscillators in circuits and electronics projects
Oscillators are basically just machines that make waves, but they are used everywhere in modern life and if you want to know electronics you should understand them as well. This video will teach you how oscillators work, what they're for, and how to make some simple circuits with sine and square wave models.
How To: Find and wire linear voltage regulators and make a 5V power supply
This handy electronics tutorial will teach you all about one of the most important electronic components: the linear voltage regulator. You'll learn how they work, how to wire them, where to find them, and how to make an awesome 5V USB charger to use your newfound skills.
How To: Test a starter capacitors in your car
If you're looking to see if you're working with a live, dead, or leaking capacitor, this video is just what you need. You'll want to have a multimeter and you need to remember: capacitors can be dangerous things. They hold and release electricity very rapidly, so you can get shocked or electrocuted if you don't exercise caution.
How To: Test an electrolytic capacitor with a digital multimeter
If you're working with a capacitor and wondering whether it's working or not, this video will help you find out. You're going to need a multimeter, available at any good electronics store. This device is capable of testing many different electric devices, and capacitors are one you can test. Set the dial, hook it up and see if things are working! These multimeter devices are essential in the world of home electronics, so put one in your tool kit today!
How To: Fix a stuck Blackberry trackball with no tools
The trackball on your Blackberry is your only way of navigating much of the phone, so having it work is pretty important. If yours has gotten stuck, don't panic, just watch this video and see if the easy fix depicted therein will work for you.
News: Magic 8-Ball Booby Trapped with Camera Flash
Take $1.35 of thrift store bric-à-brac, toss in a few spare parts from your electronics drawer and mix it all up with an earnest desire to alienate your loved ones forevermore and what do you get? A booby-trapped Magic 8-Ball, that's what! Hacker arfink explains, "My idea was to make a Magic 8-Ball which would blind an unsuspecting victim with the camera flash. I had an old Honeywell thermostat at home which had a mercury tilt switch inside, and after cutting open the 8 ball and removing the ...
How To: Boost the range of your iTouch device
Looking for a way to boost your iTouch device's wifi signal at home? The answer is rather simple - all you need is an Asian cooking wok! The shape of the pan functions like a satellite dish, boosting your signal!
News: Think You've Got What It Takes to Be a Google Mascot?
Available for free in the Android Market, Google's Androidify turns your phone into a veritable Android Assembly Line.
How To: Use a Newstweek to change the news read by others on a wifi network
The Newstweek might be the coolest new device of 2011 that no one is talking about. It's a pocket-sized device that allows you to access the data streaming through a wireless internet access point and change the news being read by fellow users at the hotspot, from any site, however you want. It allows you to do some amazingly inspiring and sinister things, like any really progressive technology, and this video will show you how to use it.
How To: Install WebOS games on a Nokia N900 smartphone
The Nokia N900 smartphone suffers from a lack of quality games due to Nokia's restrictive OS, but fortunately you can get WebOS games from the Palm Pre loaded onto it pretty easily by following the steps outlined in this video tutorial.
How To: Install the Asphalt5 WebOS game on a Nokia N900 smartphone
Asphalt5 is a racing game for the WebOS phone operating system, originally developed by Palm. If you want to play it (and you should) on your Nokia N900 handset there are some complications you're going to have to get through, and this video will show you how step-by-step.
How To: Use your Nokia N900 better by downloading wallpapers, tethering, etc.
If you're a loyal Nokia customer and proud owner of their N900 smartphone, you may be wondering how to get the most out of it since there's so much more info out there about Android and iOS platform devices. This video will show you how to download custom wallpapers, use tethering, free up RootFs, and change the LED pattern on your N900, among other things.
News: 'Super Brite' LED Sneakers Basically Make Sneaking Impossible
Know how some people have a natural way of lighting up a room? Well, hacker i-am-jen has an artificial one—LED sneakers! Powered by a pair of 6-volt batteries and two teeny-tiny RBBB Arduino microcontrollers, the shoes offer a high-tech, DIY spin on the mass-market L.A. Lights of yesteryear: Interested in kickstarting your own LED shoe project? You'll find Jen's step-by-step here.
How To: Hack a Friendster account password
Looking to do a little Friendster account hacking? Well, this video will show you how to hack into anyone's Friendster account after getting their password. Friendster was Facebook before Facebook was around, and beleive it or not, people still use it! You'll need a little tool to do the work, which you can find here. After that, follow the steps and get into any Friendster account. Remember, hacking is illegal, so be responsible out there.