Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: The Good Samaritan's Guide to Returning Lost Smartphones
Sometimes, doing the right thing is way more difficult than it should be, like trying to return a lost smartphone. Despite having the best intentions, it's often hard to track down the rightful owner, especially if the device is armed with a passcode. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who see an unattended iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S3 as a chance for profit. In 2011 alone, the number of lost and stolen cell phones in America was worth over 30 billion dollars. That's right, billion....
How To: Make a "Shocking" Deck of Prank Playing Cards Packed with 330 Volts of Electricity
A deck of cards may be a magician's best way to demonstrate his or her's sleight of hand, but for the prankster, it's the perfect way to deliver a shocking 300 volts of electricity! And that's exactly what I'm going to show you how to do today. Stuart Edge used it in his "Electric Shock Kissing Prank" to show the ladies how a man can really put the sparks in a kiss.
How To: Install Jelly Bean 4.2's Photo Sphere Camera & Gallery on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
The rumors are flying everywhere about the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 getting updated to Jelly Bean 4.2, but as of now, we have no freakin' idea when. Among all of the features sported in the update, Photo Sphere is one of the more popular, allowing you to snap incredible and immersive 360 degree photographs. So, until that update comes, you're probably still marooned with Jelly Bean 4.1.2 on your Note 2, and that means no Photo Sphere camera.
How To: The 7 Most Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for Chrome, Firefox, IE, & Safari
There are hundreds of keyboard shortcuts out there, but these 7 are the ones you'll definitely want to remember. I use them every day, and you should too. Step 1: Tab Domination
How To: Tame the Clutter on Your Nexus 7 Tablet & Effortlessly Manage Your Files—Even Cloud Storage
If you're always on the go, the Nexus 7 is a godsend for having everything you need at the tip of your fingers—music, videos, text documents, photos, and more. Unfortunately, as good as that is, it also means one hell of a messy tablet.
How To: Manage & Recover Your Facebook Chat & Messages History
In the UK, 20 percent of divorce filings include the word "Facebook." You may think you're being slick by using the site to chat with your ex, but the problem is that Facebook saves everything, and I mean everything. All someone needs is your login information and they have access to everything you've ever said on Facebook, public or private.
How To: Swap the Menu & Back Buttons on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for Easier Left-Handed Navigation
Throughout history, almost every superstition dealing with evil has had something to do with left hands. In the seventeenth century, it was thought that the Devil himself baptised his followers using his left hand. Today, studies show that left-handed people are more likely to be schizophrenic, alcoholic, delinquent, dyslexic, have Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and a slew of other medical problems. To top it all off, left-handed people have an average lifespan that is 9 years shorte...
How To: The Fastest Way to Share Large Files from a Nexus 7 to a Samsung Galaxy S3 or Other Android Device
Recently, I wanted to share a large video file from my Nexus 7 to my friend's Samsung Galaxy S3, and even though he was standing right next to me, it was an extremely difficult and frustrating thing to do. Every single Nexus 7 tablet comes NFC equipped, so it can share files with other NFC-equipped devices just by tapping and holding them together. With both NFC and Android Beam enabled, sharing a small file between two devices should be fairly simple.
How To: Hack Your Samsung Galaxy S4 into a Free Wireless Hotspot
International, T-Mobile, and Verizon customers all share something in common—their carriers provide unlocked Wi-Fi tethering for free. Of course, you still pay for the data used, but they don't charge you extra simply for using your Samsung Galaxy S4 as a wireless hotspot.
How To: Turn Your HTC One into a Remote Control & TV Guide for Your Home Theater System
When the HTC One was announced, the fact that its IR transmitter was a side note more than a main feature made me dismiss it. When Samsung included one in the GS4, it became even less impressive. However, now that I actually have a One, I find that the "TV" app is way more than just one of Samsung's "S"-gimmicks. Step 1: Set Up Your Service Provider
How To: Restart into Recovery or Download Mode Right from Your Samsung Galaxy S4's Reboot Menu
Rooting your Samsung Galaxy S4 has many advantages; theming, free wireless hotspots, deleting system apps, and generally being ahead of the curve when it comes to updates. It's also great for simple things like centering your clock or freezing apps.
How To: Use Your New Terabyte of Free Flickr Storage for More Than Just Photos Using This Hack
Dropbox lets you store anywhere from 2 GB to 18 GB of data for free, but if you want more cloud storage you're going to have to pay. Even if you do, Dropbox only gives you 500 GB for a pro membership. So how do you get more cloud storage without paying a dime? Start using Flickr.
How To: Replace a Broken Home Button with a Soft Key on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
There may only be a few hardware buttons on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but when they're not working, your phone might as well be a doorstop. A few years back, I was texting while walking to class and a student on a bicycle crashed into me. My phone was flung thirty feet—straight into a puddle. I picked it up and checked for damage, but everything seemed okay. The biker apologized profusely, but nothing was wrong, so I told him not to worry about it and proceeded to class.
How To: Disable the Annoying Increasing Ringtone on Your Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung introduced a wave of seriously unique and innovative features on the Galaxy S4, including air gestures and weather sensors, but a lot of the features are actually just updated ones from the Galaxy S3. Unfortunately, one of those that returned was the dreaded increasing ringtone. In their increasing ringtone system, the ringtone will start off on a low volume and increase until it reaches your set volume. In theory, this is useful for not shocking the user with a sudden, blaring ringto...
How To: The Quickest & Easiest Way to Remove Backgrounds from Images Without Using Photoshop
One of the very first Photoshop skills we learned in my tenth grade photojournalism class was cropping the background out of images. I hated it. It was extremely time consuming, and the magnetic lasso tool never seemed to want to cooperate with me.
How To: Access Files, Manage Apps, & Get Remote Camera Access to Your HTC One Wirelessly from Your Computer
The first thing I do when I get a new phone is ditch the USB cable. At least, when it comes to data transfer. My brand new HTC One came with a USB cord that feels sturdy, but like any other cable, it will eventually fall apart from overuse. It will probably still charge just fine, but at that point it will be unreliable for transferring data. Lucky for me, there's a solution. Transfer files over the air. This will let you save that USB cord only for charging and the occasional situation when ...
How To: Identify Missed Alerts by Notification Type Just by Looking at Your Samsung Galaxy S4
Previously, if you missed a call or text on your old Samsung Galaxy S3, there was a white LED notification to let you know. It's a nice feature that most smartphones have, but wouldn't it have be nice to know what kind of notification it was before picking up the phone?
How To: Change Firefox and Google Chrome Home Page
You could change your firefox and Google chrome home page through this video guidelines.
How To: Revert Back to a More Traditional Sense-Style Home Screen on Your HTC One
The newer HTC One is arguably the best smartphone yet in terms of hardware, but its software moves considerably farther away from the stock Android experience. Even more so from HTC's own Sense.
How To: Improve Note-Taking on Your Nexus 7 Tablet by Adding Handwriting Recognition
Writing longhand may boost learning and goal achievement, but that doesn't mean squat if you don't have pen and paper on you.
How To: Customize iOS App Icons Without Jailbreaking Your iPhone
While iOS offers a plentiful mix of excellent and exclusive features, what you see is what you get. Apple doesn't leave much room for customizability, meaning most people's iPhones look relatively the same. You can make yours stand out, however, by giving your apps unique and personal icons.
How To: Get Ambient Weather Readings Instantly Using Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2's Built-In Sensors
The new Samsung Galaxy S4 may be the only phone to include temperature and humidity sensors, but your Galaxy Note 2 has a few weather-detecting features of its own.
How To: Stop Android Lag in Its Tracks on Your Nexus 7 for a Super Smooth Tablet
Lag has been a serious issue on Android devices since the very beginning. Even the Nexus 7's quad-core processor can't stop it from happening. That's because the pauses and long responses are coming straight from the Android OS itself, not the hardware.
How To: Flash a Custom ROM onto Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Enhance Your Android Experience
The new Samsung Galaxy S4 just received an update to Android 4.2.2, so why is it that my Galaxy Note 2 is still running an older version of Jelly Bean? It felt like yesterday that my device was finally updated to 4.1.2, but why even bother since 4.2 has been around since last November?
How To: Turn Your Samsung Galaxy S4 into a Personal Ambient Weather Station
The new Samsung Galaxy S4 has something no other phone has ever had before—weather sensors. Older devices like the Galaxy Nexus, S3, Note, and Note 2 do have a atmospheric pressure sensor, aka a barometer. However, they do not have a thermometer or hygrometer like the GS4 does, which measures ambient temperature and humidity.
How To: Root Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Using ODIN for Windows (So Easy Your Grandma Can Do It)
Just like the recently rediscovered Star Wars ruins in the Tunisian desert, there are tons of hidden treasures in your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 just waiting to be unearthed.
How To: Ditch Stock & Install a Custom Android ROM on Your HTC EVO 4G LTE
HTC's Sense 4 may be leaner and faster than previous versions, but one thing my EVO 4G LTE sorely lacked was the "Quick Settings" option that Sense 2 and 3 had. Developers were able to port it to Sense 4 for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), but the only way to get this feature was to install a custom ROM. With the update from ICS to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), my EVO 4G LTE received the new Sense 4+ version. This new Sense made it possible to add widgets to the Notifications pull-down menu, so...
How To: Totally Maximize the Battery Life of Your Samsung Galaxy S4
The battery in the Samsung Galaxy S4 may pack 500 more milliamps per hour than the old S3 battery, but that doesn't necessarily mean more battery life. High-powered devices need lots of juice, and the S4 is definitely more powerful than its predecessor. The new battery can handle a third more in standby days, and over twice as much in talk time hours. But, when you live on your phone all day long, that means nothing. You're battery is still going to have a hard time keeping up with you.
How To: Play 4 Videos at the Same Time on Your Nexus 7 Tablet
According to Nielsen, the average American spends about 34 hours per week watching television. That may sound like a lot, but when you factor in multi-screen viewing, it could be even higher—81 percent of Americans use their smartphones or another device while watching TV. It's the new picture-in-picture.
How To: Remove OEM Skins & Carrier Bloatware on Your HTC EVO 4G LTE with CyanogenMod
Sense appears on over forty Android devices, but HTC's notorious GUI was actually designed with a completely different mobile OS in mind—Windows.
How To: Set Exotic Photo Spheres as Panoramic Live Wallpapers on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
"We all want to escape our circumstances, don't we?" Benedict Cumberbatch may have been talking about acting, but the sentiment rings true for all of us at some point or another. Whether it's work, school, or just boredom at home—we all wish for an escape sometimes. If only.
How To: Stay Updated on All the Latest News for Your Samsung Galaxy S4 with Drippler
Written news was first delivered by an elaborate courier service used by the Pharaohs nearly 4,500 years ago. About 2,300 years later, Romans would post public announcements via bulletins carved in metal or stone. Fast forward 1,600 years to the first monthly handwritten gazette published in Venice, the forefather of modern newspapers, which didn't become commonplace until the early 17th century.
How To: Forget Remembering! Schedule Recurring Texts, Emails, Tweets, & Facebook Posts on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
I'm sorry your mom hates you now, but it's pretty hard to forgive someone who forgets to say "Happy Mother's Day." Your poor ole ma could've spent anywhere from 10 to 20 hours popping you out, so the least you could do is set aside two minutes every year to say thanks. If you live to be 90 years old, that's only 3 hours over your entire lifetime!
How To: Completely Back Up Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Using Kies, Helium, or the Note 2 Toolkit
An average of 140,000 hard drives crash in the United States each week, according to online backup service Mozy. Additionally, 70 percent of Americans have lost a laptop, smartphone, or tablet, and the average person now loses 1.24 devices each year—less than half of which are ever recovered.
How To: Play Almost Any Retro Video Game on Your Nexus 7 Tablet
Arcades, Nintendo, Sega, and 16-bit graphics ushered in a new level of gaming that was leaps and bounds ahead of the early Pong days. I remember loading quarters into the machines and playing 2D fighting games until all my money ran out. When I wasn’t in school, you could usually find me at the arcade playing Street Fighter, The King of Fighters and Marvel vs. Capcom. At home, I had my Super Nintendo and Super Mario World keeping me glued to the television until the next boss stage.
How To: Root Your HTC EVO 4G LTE Using TWRP & SuperSU
Your HTC EVO 4G LTE has been lying to you. It will tell you when you're connected to a 4G network, but it will say 3G even if you're connected on 1X, which is a 2G CDMA network!
How To: The Real Story Behind Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S4—And Its New Secured Kernel
Rooting a mobile device may not be a big deal these days, but not being able to root definitely is. Even the Library of Congress, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and White House can agree on that.
How To: Get Google's Latest Play Store Redesign on Your Nexus 7 Tablet Right Now
What's the most installed Android app in the world? Facebook? Gmail? Maps? While those all have well over 100 million installs, the one that takes the cake—and always will—is Google Play.
How To: Make Your Car Read Texts Out Loud the Moment They Arrive on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
Last month, Alexander Heit drifted into oncoming traffic after being distracted from the road. His sudden correction forced his vehicle to roll and flip over. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly thereafter. All because of a freaking text message. He was only 22 years old.
How To: Make the Scariac (A Poor Man's Variable Power Controller)
Mixing water and electricity is extremely risky and potentially lethal, yet that's exactly what I did with the Scariac. In its simplest form, the Scariac is just a glorified version of two wires in a bucket of water, but it's actually one of the cheapest power controllers you can make.