Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos

How To: Turn Off Your iPhone's Timer and Alarm Just by Waving Your Hand

Whether it's because you're too startled from a sudden awakening or you're elbow-deep in cake batter, turning an alarm or timer off on your phone can be annoying. So why not simplify the process by eliminating the need to even touch your phone? With these free apps by Augmented Minds, you can turn off your timer or alarm with just a wave of your hand. That means no more fumbling in the dark for the right button, and more importantly, no more worrying about getting food on your iPhone.

How To: Get a Game Boy Advance (GBA) Emulator on Your BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, PSP, Mac, or PC

For those of you still using a BlackBerry smartphone, this article will show you the tips and tricks to installing emulators and playing some classic Game Boy Advanced games on your device. You can find a few tutorials and videos out there on getting Game Boy Color or NES games on an Android device, but the most elusive mobile emulator is for Game Boy Advanced (GBA) on a BlackBerry.

How To: Convert Your Old Apple iMac G4 into a Cable-Ready HDTV

Most of us have traded our desktop systems for laptops, tablets, and mobile devices, meaning there's a lot of outdated hardware sitting in attics. Want to give your old computer a new purpose? Matthew Chappee turned his iMac G4 into an HDTV using the guide by Dremel Junkie. One thing to note before you take on this project yourself is that if you want to use it to watch cable, you'll need a converter box to get around the MPAA's HDCP restriction. But, a converter box is considerably less expe...

How To: Hack Your Mini-Fridge into a Vending Machine to Take Care of Freeloading Friends at Your Next Party

It always sounds like a good idea to throw a party... until the party gets there. Next thing you know, you're running around hiding anything breakable, and once everyone leaves, you're stuck cleaning up the mess. But the worst part is footing the bill for everything, and if you don't charge at the door, your chances of getting anyone to chip in are slim to none once the party starts.

How To: Replace the Boring Stock Tiles in Windows 8 with Your Own Custom Designs

The new Windows 8 is set to launch on October 26th, and developers and early adopters are still getting used to the new interface. Windows 8 borrows a lot of its functionality and look from the touchscreen-friendly Windows phones. As with Windows phones, Windows 8 uses the now ubiquitous tiles as part of the new Metro Desktop. These tiles, much like the vintage iPhone icons, can get a little stale. But unlike the iPhone, Windows 8 users can in fact create custom tiles in their own without any...

How To: Oops! Hit "Send" Too Soon? Here's How to Recall Sent Emails on Almost Any Platform

Send an email prematurely? Forgot to attach a file? Accidentally addressed it to the wrong person? It happens to the best of us. But what can you do to get it back? Hack into the other person's email account and delete the email before they get a chance to see it? Unless you're a hacker extraordinaire, that option is unlikely. So, what can you do? If the email has already been sent, you're probably out of luck. Even if they didn't read it yet, your chances of retrieving it are slim. But some ...

How To: Get Around the Nonexistent iPhone 5 Dock

For the first time in history, Apple has decided to scrap the dock for its new iPhone release. As if the maps fiasco wasn't enough, users took to the web to complain not only about the dock ordeal, but why Apple decided to make it obsolete. 9to5mac first posted about a concerned iPhone user who decided to email Phil Schiller, Apple Senior VP of Marketing, to ask why there were no docks included in the iPhone 5 package. Schiller replied with,"We do not plan on making a dock for the iPhone 5. M...

How To: Upgrade to Mountain Lion from Leopard (OS X 10.5 to 10.8)

Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) is out today, available in the Mac App Store for just $20. Unfortunately, installing Mountain Lion requires that you already have a Mac running Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) or Lion (OS X 10.7). If you're currently running a Leopard system, you're out of luck, and need to pay $29 to upgrade to Snow Leopard, and then an additional $20 to upgrade again to Mountain Lion. That sounds like way to much trouble to me. But why exactly is Leopard incompatible? Turns out it's not—m...

How To: Convert PDF Documents to JPG Images Online for Free

PDF is a convenient format for documents that can embed text and pictures and can be read by almost any device—personal computers, laptops, smartphones, etc. However, PDFs are mostly read-only files, so sometimes it's necessary to convert them to JPG images, a universal format for pictures. JPGs can be modified by software such as Adobe Photoshop or posted on Facebook.

How To: Insert a SIM card into the Samsung Galaxy Tab

Adding a SIM card to your Samsung Galaxy Tab is easy! If you have this new Android tablet and are looking to see how to install the SIM card, this video will clearly show you how it's done. Simply remove the slot's cover, insert the SIM card, making sure it's secure and snug, and then closing the cover. That's it!