Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: Block Your Phone Number from Appearing on Any Caller ID
Caller ID is great to have, but there are certain situations where you don't want the person you're calling to have your number. People who sometimes use their personal phones for work may not want clients knowing where to reach them outside of work, and anytime you're dealing with Craigslist, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Open Sesame: Make Siri Open Your Garage Door via Raspberry Pi
You can make Siri do all kinds of things it was never designed to do. From installing it on older jailbroken iDevices to using it to bypass an iPhone's lock screen, people have managed to come up with some interesting hacks—and that's only the beginning.
How To: Make a Dandelion Lamp Using LEDs, Optical Fibers, and Straws
Albert Einstein once said, "We know less than one thousandth of one percent of what nature has to reveal to us."
How To: Download Your Twitter Archive for Every Single Tweet You've Ever Sent
A few weeks ago, Twitter announced that they would be creating an archive feature for its members, which they've been slowly rolling out to select users. After signing in today, I noticed the feature was finally available for my account, so I went to test it out.
How To: This DIY Deathly Hallows LED Clock Is Perfect for Any Harry Potter Loving Muggle
In the Harry Potter world, there was a character by the name of Beedle the Bard, who told a story about witnessing the three Peverell brothers building a bridge out of magic and successfully crossing a very dangerous river that had claimed many lives.
Deal Alert: StackSocial's Freebie Bundle Sale Gives You 8 Totally Free Mac Apps
I love my Mac just the way it is. Well, minus the fact that I accidentally deleted iPhoto and would now have to pay $14.99 to get it back. Other than that, my Mac is pretty sweet.
How To: Disable the Face Tag Feature on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2
If you've got a Samsung Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note 2, you probably either love or hate the Social Tag feature. Using facial recognition, much like Facebook does, it scans your photos and lets you tag a name to a face. If your device recognizes the face by itself, it will automatically tag it for you. If the person is in your contacts, it will give you the option of calling, texting, or emailing them. While it's a great feature for some, it doesn't always work perfectly. If the flash from the ca...
How To: Resize the Browser Windows on Your Samsung Galaxy Tab 2
Since the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, many of its features have been replicated by Android developers for other devices. The most popular feature, aside from Smart Rotation, on the Note 2 has been the multitasking multi-screen/multi-window feature, which allows you to run several apps at the same time.
How To: Sick of Your Cell Phone Provider? Go Prepaid with Ting and Skip the ETF for Breaking Your Contract
Prepaid phones are becoming more and more popular, and tons of people can see the benefits of switching now that some companies are offering prepaid services that are on par with the big players. For a lot of folks, the only thing keeping them from switching is the huge early termination fees that service providers charge to break a contract early.
How To: Add Tabs (And Other Cool Things) to Finder in Mac OS X
Your Mac's Finder is an essential tool to doing all kinds of useful things, but as all the other functions on OS X get more and more complex, it seems like the Finder pretty much stays the same. It does have a simple, intuitive interface, but many users wish it could do more.
How To: Still Using Notes? Here Are 3 Better Word Processing Apps for Writing on Your iPhone
As someone who writes an extreme amount, it's a necessity for me to have an organized and multifunctional text editor. The stock iPhone Notes application is useful to an extent, but it sorely lacks in features and design. Writing and text editing applications are nothing new to the iPhone, but many of them are overloaded on features, making it even harder to keep organized. Here are just a few alternatives that I find helpful in my day-to-day writing.
How To: Know If Someone Is Blocking You on Google Talk
I can certainly say that I don't like be ignored, and you're probably right there with me on that. Also, if you're like me, you don't like being blocked on an instant messenger, either. There's something about being shafted like that that can really cramp your style.
How To: 15 Minutes? Right... Tell Your Friends How Late You're Actually Going to Be with Twist
Every group of friends has that one person who's always late. Luckily, I've never had to deal with that issue because all of my friends are always late. Never fashionably, either. I'm talking hours late. Oh, we're having lunch at noon? Nah, it's at 3 p.m. now.
How To: Facebook's Messenger App Now Lets U.S. iPhone Users Make Free Phone Calls
If you use Facebook's Messenger app on your iPhone, your cell phone bill might just get a little cheaper. After recently adding voice chats to Messenger, the company just rolled out its new Free Call feature on the latest version of the iOS app, which allows users to make calls over Wi-Fi or a cellular data connection. The feature only works between two people who are both using the latest version of Messenger and is not yet available on the Android app. Facebook says it "will be rolling out ...
How To: Automatically Delete Stored Site Cookies When You Close a Webpage in Firefox
As with most things on the Internet, browser cookies can be either helpful or harmful, depending on how they're used. On one hand, they make your experience more convenient by storing information about sites you use frequently. On the other, they can help companies track you across the web or cause your computer to be more vulnerable to attacks on public networks.
How To: Switch Internal and External Memory on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note 2
There's a lot going for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2—smart screen rotation, huge HD display, great rear camera—which makes it an awesome device for reading, watching videos, and taking pics. But all of those luxuries will end up hogging up your internal memory, which is one of the few things the Note 2 could use some help in. The device comes with 16 to 64 GB of internal storage, depending on your model, with the option of adding a microSD card for more space. Only problem is, everything automat...
How To: Change Your Android Screen's Orientation Using Your Face Instead of the Device's Angle
One of the coolest things for readers using the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is the stock Smart Rotation feature. While most smartphones use the accelerometer to adjust the screen orientation, Smart Rotation actually uses the camera to detect your face-to-screen angle and adjusts accordingly. Now, if only there was a way that all Android users can continue reading an article or text without sporadic and unexpected 90-degree turns of their screen. Wait, there is!
How To: Always Forgetting Things? This App Gives Reminders Every Time You Pick Up Your iPhone
There's nothing worse than that feeling when you realize you've forgotten something important. Maybe you left an assignment sitting on your desk at home, or forgot to log out of your accounts on the shared family computer.
How To: Convert Your LG Optimus G into a Google Nexus 4
Since the introduction of the Nexus 4 to the Google Play Store last November, the phone's been in constant demand thanks to the low price and sleek design. Even today, the phone is still listed as sold out. LG's Nexus 4 is also the only smartphone in circulation that can run a naked version of the Android operating system; one that does not come loaded with a manufacturer UI running over top of it.
How To: Is Facebook's New Graph Search Creepy or Cool?
Facebook has been looking to launch a new product for a while now, and it seems they've finally realized what they're best at—being as creepy as possible. If you thought your boss checking out your girlfriend's beach photos was weird, Facebook's new Graph Search has only upped the ante. Now, I don't want to be an alarmist, because I'm sure there are a bunch of great things a Facebook search would find. If you're single, perhaps you could search "Girls that are single that like Goodfellas." Th...
How To: 7 Great Music Apps for Windows 8
Everyone listens to music. I've got over 3,000 songs in my iTunes library, but am always looking for more, and I'm sure you are too. You can never have enough tunes to rock out to, right? If you're using Windows 8 like I currently am, these are some of the best apps in the Windows Store right now that will help you find new jams for your collection.
How To: Convert Your Classic Game Boy into a Powerhouse Emulator That Plays Practically Any Retro Game
If you've got old game consoles lying around and aren't sure what to do with them, there's no shortage of projects you can undertake. From turning a Game Boy and Wii Remote into an Android phone gamepad to combining a GameCube and N64 to make a hybrid console, there's something for everyone.
How To: Create Playlists on YouTube
Playlists are a great way to organize and share groups of videos on YouTube. Playlists can consist of your videos, someone else's videos, or a combination of the two.
How To: Scramble Your Facebook Posts and Tweets into Coded Spy Messages
Social media is where we post our thoughts for the world to see, but sometimes a little more exclusivity is needed. And that's where Scrambls comes in.
How To: Turn Your External Hard Drive into a Colossus—Complete with Glowing Eyes
Whether or not you like its minimalist, "puzzle" style, it's hard to argue that Shadow of the Colossus is a gorgeous game. It got rave reviews from critics and players alike, was the 11th highest rated game of 2005, and was so popular that it even has its own wiki.
How To: Stop the Delete Key from Sending You Back to the Previous Webpage in Firefox
For the most part, keyboard shortcuts are great. They save you some time and make it easier to do everything right from the push of a button. But like most things in life, there is always a caveat, and in this case, for me—it's a huge one.
How To: Take Screenshots Directly from the Preview App in Mac OS X
There are plenty of useful shortcuts in Mac OS X, but not all of them are necessarily simple. You can use one of built-in shortcuts to take many different kinds of screenshots, but the shortcuts can be rather annoying to use because they require at least three different keys, which can be a little awkward to perform.
How To: Document the Surveillance State Using Your iPhone
You've seen security cameras everywhere in the public space. How many are there? Where are they? This is information that can be difficult to come by. It's not just criminals that are interested in information on this. It's your fundamental human right to be able to go about your daily life without being monitored and watched at every step. You might think that these cameras are for safety, and they can certainly help make people feel secure. Then it automatically follows that these people sh...
How To: Find Love or Lust on the Down-Low Using the New "Tinder" Dating App for iPhone
Finding love is tough. Movies like The Notebook and Twilight have ruined the expectations of love and relationships for us guys. Some women's ideal love situation is being kissed by a glittery sparkling vampire. "I know we only met a few seconds ago, but I'm deeply in love with you."
How To: DIY Alcohol Monitoring Ice Cubes, Plus How to Make Tetris-Shaped Ones That'll Make You Drink More
If you're like me (and everybody else probably), you probably have a few nights of reckless drinking that you wish your could take back, or at least turn down a notch.
How To: Build a Tablet Mount for No-Hands Reading and Movie Watching in Bed
Reading in bed with a book and bedside lamp is so 1990s. As tablets get smaller and content continues to be digitized, reading on an electronic device is pretty standard.
How To: Amazon's AutoRip Gives You Free Digital Copies of 15 Years Worth of Bought CDs, But There's a Catch…
When was the last time you bought a CD? Most of us listen to music through a number of digital channels—MP3s, Internet streaming services like Pandora and Spotify, and satellite radio, to name just a few.
How To: Run a Really Old Version of Mac OS on Your Android Device
Remember these? Sadly, I don't, but I'm sure someone out there does. Anyone? This monstrosity, called the Macintosh Plus, was introduced in 1986 for the low-low price of $2,599. Wait...what? Almost three grand for that bulky baby?!? With a whopping 1MB of RAM standard?!? Whoa there...
How To: Cycloramic Uses Your iPhone's Vibrate Mode to Take 360-Degree Panoramas All by Itself
We have apps that can silence your smartphone's shutter sound, send self-destructing photos and videos, and even make any innocuous image look like a censored nude photo. But, there's still room to be amazed, like when an app can take a panoramic 360-degree image all by itself!
How To: See Who Has Viewed Your LinkedIn Profile Without Paying
When LinkedIn first arrived on the scene, I thought it was a great resource for staying connected and getting in touch with those people in your desired career path. Keyword: Thought. Like most businesses, money and shareholders seem to have taken over the driver's seat, pushing the company towards a business-first, users-second approach.
How To: Instantly Be Notified When a Must-Have Steam Game Drops to a Price You Can Afford
As an avid Steam user, I'm faced daily with high prices for all of the games I want to download and play. It's gotten to the point where I don't even bother going on Steam altogether because I might end up spending a bunch of money I don't have.
How To: 6 Ways to Access Members-Only Websites and Forums Without Giving Up Your Real Info
One of the most frustrating things on the Internet are sites that make you register just to view content. I'm not talking about paywalls—I mean the sites that make you give them personal information to look at free articles or forum threads. Most people are uncomfortable with this because a lot of these sites either spam you themselves, or sell your information to someone else who will.
How To: Do Fun Things in Notepad, Notepad++, and .Bat Files
Over the last few months I have been getting more and more into computers over the last few months, and I discovered my new favorite thing to do..... notepad stuff!
How To: Hack an Old Game Boy and Wii Remote into an Awesome Android Phone Gamepad
Google Play has no shortage of Nintendo emulators: SuperGNES (Super Nintendo)
How To: Merge Your Windows Live Messenger Contacts with Skype
The time is near—Messenger will finally kick the bucket come March 15th. So, if you're still using Windows Live Messenger for all of your IMing needs, it's time to finally make the move over to Skype, which Microsoft bought back in 2011 for a cool $8.5 billion. If you've been using Messenger, you probably already received the mass email that Microsoft sent out warning of the end date. Microsoft is looking to make the transition as smooth as possible. All you have to do is download the latest ...