Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: Use Your Phone's Camera as an Augmented Reality Viewfinder to Find Places in Google Maps
Alongside the launch of Android 11, Google added a new feature to Live View, the augmented reality mode for walking navigation in Google Maps, that helps you find friends in AR. But even if you're not trying to meet up with somebody, you can easily access the AR mode and orient yourself to any location.
How To: Become an Expert Data-Driven Project Manager for Under $50
Since Motorola engineer Bill Smith invented Six Sigma in 1986, corporations around the world have employed it to eliminate costs and process cycle time while increasing profits and customer satisfaction. These techniques and tools for process improvement were invaluable to famed CEO Jack Welch, who used them to redefine General Electric's business strategy in 1995.
How To: Build Games for Under $40 with This Developer's Bundle
With over 164 million adults in America playing video games — there are only 209 million adults in the country — this industry is one of the hottest around. Game developers and designers are always in need.
How To: Prevent Certain Apps from Using Cellular Data on Your iPhone to Stay Below Data Caps or Avoid Throttling
If you're on a cellular plan with a low data allotment, being thrifty with your data can help you avoid a higher bill. But even if you have an affordable unlimited plan from wireless carriers such as T-Mobile or Verizon, going over a certain amount of data may throttle your connection, leaving you with slow web speeds. One way to prevent hitting these thresholds is to keep certain apps in check.
How To: Sick of the 'Undo Typing' Pop-Up on Your iPhone? Here's How to Get Rid of It
Between sending iMessages, jotting down notes, and crafting emails, you do a lot of typing on your iPhone. No doubt, you've been in the middle of an important task when everything comes to a screeching, obtrusive halt, where a rogue "Undo Typing" pop-up forces you to close it before continuing with your typing. Don't put up with the BS anymore — here's how to stop it.
How To: Become a UX/UI Expert in 100 Hours for Under $50
Adobe has navigated competition for decades. Since the company's founding in a Silicon Valley garage in 1982, Adobe has led the way in design software. Pivoting to Adobe Creative Cloud in 2011, they've remained ahead of the game with an incredible suite of products.
How To: Get Your Own Personal Project Manager for Under $40
We all know how hard it can be to stay productive, especially when working from home. There are many distractions throughout our day. Organizing your workflow is necessary for getting anything done.
How To: Stay Ahead of the Pack with This Dynamic Résumé Creator
While the job market is slowly rebounding, competition remains fierce. Don't get caught behind when a new opportunity presents itself. Preparation is key to landing your new big job.
Warning: Sensitive Info You Black Out in Images Can Be Revealed with a Few Quick Edits on Your iPhone
These days, most images we post online or share with others come from our smartphones. Whenever personal data is in them, such as debit card numbers, addresses, phone numbers, passwords, and other sensitive information, it's easy to jump into your iPhone's markup tools to black out the text before sharing. But a digital marker may not hide everything.
How To: Use Augmented Reality to Find Your Friends in Google Maps
Alongside the launch of Android 11, Google has gifted Pixel users with several exclusive features, including App Suggestions on the home screen. Another exclusive feature involves Live View, the augmented reality walking navigation feature in Google Maps and one of the more useful implementations of AR for the average consumer.
How To: Install Dirty Unicorns on Your Pixel & Get Custom ROM Features Without Losing Motion Sense & Active Edge
If you've ever been into custom ROMs, you likely know the Dirty Unicorns name pretty well. It's been synonymous with unique features and awesome tweaks when compared to stock. Recently, Dirty Unicorns has returned again in a big way with some neat features for Android 10.
How To: 13 Galaxy Note 20 Security & Privacy Settings You Should Double Check Right Away
If it has an internet connection, it's got a huge attack surface for hackers. But what makes your phone even more dangerous is its portability and the collection of sensors it houses that can be just as good at tracking you as the camera and mic.
How To: Use Apple's Translate Tool in iOS 14 to Convert Text, Speech & Full-Blown Conversations Between Two Languages
There have been third-party iOS apps for live conversation translations, and Google Assistant pushed out its own feature for iPhone last year. Still, iOS 14 now has a default translator for real-time multi-language talks in person. So you can finally chat with people who use a different language without missing anything or having to install any complicated apps on your device.
How To: Hate Your Email Signature? We Have a Solution
If you've ever received an email only to focus on the sender's signature — the hi-res image, the sharp design, the vibrant colors — you're not alone. Humans are visual creatures, and with something as ubiquitous as emails, it helps to stand out.
How To: Add iOS 14's New Smart Stack Widget to Your iPhone's Home Screen
One of iOS 14's best new features is the ability to add and stack widgets on your home screen, which lets you check in with your favorite apps without actually needing to open them. Apple takes the concept one step further with "Smart Stacks," where iOS intelligently stacks widgets together based on how you use your iPhone.
How To: New Notes on Your iPhone Don't Have to Start with Big, Bold Text
One thing that always bugged me about the Notes app for iPhone is that every note starts with Big, Bold Text. Relevant in some cases, sure, but most of the time, I'm just trying to jot down some thoughts, and having one giant sentence is just unnecessary. Luckily, it's not that hard to fix.
How To: Quickly Check if Your iPhone Is Still Covered by Apple's Warranty or AppleCare
Let's say that the screen on your iPhone is showing signs of discoloration, which makes the display annoying to use. You'll need a replacement display or a new iPhone as soon as possible. If you have one of the newer iPhone models, the cost to fix it might be more than your wallet can handle, but a warranty may still cover it, and there are ways to check quickly.
How To: Boot Your Galaxy Note 20 into Recovery or Download Mode
If you ever consider modding your Galaxy Note 20 or Note 20 Ultra, you'll need to know about recovery mode and download mode. Even if that isn't your thing, knowing how to how to boot into these modes can help save your phone from a soft brick.
How To: Root Android 11 on the Pixel 4a — Every Step Covered in Detail
If you live in the US, it's pretty simple: The Google Pixel 4a is the best phone for rooting and modding in 2020. Its price keeps the risk-reward ratio nice and low, and its unlockable bootloader makes it easy to modify virtually any aspect of Android.
How To: Do This to Make Sure You're Not Getting Billed by Any Mysterious Subscriptions on Your iPhone
We hardly need to "buy" anything these days since games, music, books, news, movies, and TV are all available on the iPhone with various monthly subscriptions. Just set it and forget it so that your wallet does all the work for you. But if you're on a free trial or two and don't want to commit, you might get an unexpected charge if you forgot or don't know where to cancel. Here's how to avoid that.
How To: 9 Ways iOS 14 Improves Siri on Your iPhone
According to Apple, Siri serves 25 billion requests per month — an enormous number for a feature that was only released nine years ago. But when you think about how much work Apple has put into Siri over the years, it makes sense that the virtual assistant is being used more and more by users with iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, AirPods, and HomePod.
How To: All the Features the Pixel 4a Has That the Pixel 3a Is Missing
When compared to last year's model, the Pixel 4a has upgrades that go beyond the spec sheet. But since it's one generation old, 2019's Pixel 3a can be had for one hell of a discount right now, and it's still got two full years of software updates coming its way. So which one really is the better buy?
Get Up to Speed: Top 10 New Android 11 Features & List of Eligible Phones
After a few months and a couple of beta versions, Android 11 is now ready not only for Pixel devices, but also handsets from OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Realme.
How To: Root Android 11 Using Magisk — The Foolproof Guide
Thanks to Magisk, you don't have to lose root when updating to Android 11. The popular systemless rooting tool already achieved superuser access on Google's latest OS, even before the official release. It's currently in its experimental stages so the process is trickier than usual, but it does work.
How To: Android 11 Changelog — Full List of All 50+ New Features
Android 11 is here. Prior to Google dropping the naming scheme, this would have been a dessert with an R name (maybe Rice Krispies Treat or Red Velvet Cake) — but nope, just plain ol' Android 11. And after months of betas and a global pandemic, it finally debuted a little over a year after Android 10.
How To: There's a Cute Cat Game Easter Egg Hidden in Android 11's Smart Home Controls
It's been a while since Android got a true Easter egg with a new software update. Remember when Google added Marshmallow's Flappy Bird-style mini game? For Android 11, we get a new game, and like Android Nougat, it revolves around the infamous Android Neko cat.
How To: Watch Apple's Special Sept. 15 Event on Your Computer, Smartphone, or TV
For the past five years, Apple has been hosting live media events in September to reveal new Apple products and the stable release for its latest operating systems. This year is no different, and it has a Sept. 15 date, but it may not be the only event coming up before the end of 2020.
How To: Battery Almost Dead? Here's the Best Way to Squeeze More Juice Out of Your iPhone Without a Charger
Your iPhone's almost out of battery power, there's no wired or wireless charger in sight, and you left your portable power bank at home. You don't want your battery to die, but you still need to use your iPhone. This is when Low Power Mode comes in handy, but you could be wasting valuable time and power if you're activating it the wrong way.
How To: Take Your Wordpress Site to the Next Level for Under $30
Wordpress is one of the world's most-loved content management systems (CMS). The user-friendly interface and ease of use have made this open-source system a no-brainer for millions of people. Over one-quarter of the top 10 million websites on the planet use Wordpress.
How To: This Java Bootcamp Will Get You in Prime Coding Shape
Java is one of the world's leading programming languages thanks to its virtually endless array of applications. Since Java's initial release in 1998, this Open Source platform has become beloved by coders for its speed, flexibility, and dependability.
How To: Learn Everything You Need to Know About AWS for Under $30
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the premier on-demand cloud computing platform. Offering a wide range of APIs to companies, governments, and individuals on a pay-as-you-go basis, this Amazon subsidiary pulled in over $35 billion in revenue in 2019 alone.
How To: These 5 Things Will Help You Get the Most Out of Your NordVPN Experience
VPNs add a protective layer between your data and your internet service provider (ISP) or bad actors (hackers), so it makes sense they've become so popular lately. Probably the most common one of these is NordVPN, so we explored its mobile app to find all the options worth checking out.
How To: Skip Intros, End Screens & Other Annoying in-Video YouTube Distractions on Android
Even if you pay for YouTube Premium, you are not exempt from ads. YouTube will stop adding pre-roll and interstitial ads, but content creators still have their own advertisements baked into videos. These product placements can be even worse than ads, and they're not the only annoyance embedded into videos. To put it nicely, YouTube is starting to have a problem with distractions.
How To: Netflix Caps Video Quality Based on Your Phone's Widevine DRM Level — Here's How to Check for HDR & FHD Support
Just because your phone has a high-resolution screen doesn't mean it will play videos at their highest resolution. Most streaming services, including Netflix, use a DRM system known as Widevine for media in their Android apps. But even if your phone has Widevine support, content will be limited to non-HD if your specific model hasn't been whitelisted by Netflix.
How To: KeePass Gets Full Biometrics Support in the Latest Keepass2Android Update
KeePass, the free, open-source password manager, has an excellent Android client in Keepass2Android. Its UI is slicker than many of the other ports, it's packing most of the features you'd find in the official Windows version, and it's completely free. Now, it's even adding native biometrics support.
How To: How & Why You Should Change Your iPhone's Name
You might be giving out your name to every stranger you see, and you don't even know it. That iPhone of yours has a name — generally a combination of your first name and device model — and it broadcasts it to others via AirDrop, Personal Hotspot, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other connections. Sure, it's useful to keep your device name simple and to the point, but there are upsides to changing it.
How To: 7 Apps That'll Pick Up TikTok's Slack if It Gets Banned in the US
The future of TikTok in the U.S. is all but certain. Microsoft, Walmart, or Oracle could save the day by buying the company, TikTok may win its lawsuit, or China's new restrictions could halt everything — but all could fail. Just like Vine before it, TikTok could be on its way out, only for opposite reasons. But will it matter if TikTok gets banned in the States? With the competition heating up, likely not.
How To: Stop iPhone Calls from Ringing Simultaneously on Your iPad, MacBook & Other Apple Devices
You might be using Zoom on your iMac, playing a Steam game on your MacBook, or completing a work assignment on your iPad, when suddenly you get a phone call on your iPhone. If the same Apple ID is used on all of your Apple devices, the call won't ring on your iPhone only — it'll ring on every damned device.
How To: Make Your iPhone Tell You When It's Done Charging
Battery management is a never-ending struggle. To be on the safe side, you likely won't want to leave your home with less than 100% battery, but continually checking your charging iPhone is a hassle. Instead of continuously monitoring your battery's power level, have your iPhone tell you when it's reached a full charge.
How To: Easily Reveal Obfuscated Passwords Hidden Behind Asterisks & Dots for Login Pages in Safari
Enter a password into a password field, and it's a sure bet that black dots or asterisks will obscure the characters. Nearly every website you visit in Safari on your iPhone will do it, but sometimes it helps to see what you're typing or what was auto-filled with iCloud Keychain, LastPass, or a different password manager.