Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: 18 Sneaky Privacy-Betraying Settings Every iPhone Owner Must Know About iOS 7
You saw our post on the 18 coolest new features of iOS 7, but now that you've had a chance to play around with your updated iPhone, it's time to lock it down.
How To: The Coolest 18 Features in iOS 7 That You Probably Didn't Know About
Now that iOS 7 is out, what can you do that you couldn't do before? In this softModder guide, I'm going to cover all that's new and noteworthy about iOS 7. I've been playing around with it on my iPhone 5 since the first beta came out, so I'm excited to show you some of the secrets that are lurking within Apple's newest mobile operating system.
How To: Add App Shortcuts to the Pull-Down Notification Center on Your iPhone—Without Jailbreaking
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but the shortest way to launch an app on an iPhone can be a much more complicated process.
How To: Use Hashtags in Texts to Quickly Share Locations, Music, & Other Info on a Galaxy Note 2 or Other Android Phone
If you're a Twitter user, it's a safe bet to assume that you've used a hashtag. On all social networking sites that have the capability, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Google+, the pound (#) symbol is used to mark and designate specific keywords or topics in order to make it effortless for users to connect with one another.
How To: Hide That Pesky NFC Icon from Your HTC One's Status Bar (Root Required)
If you turned on your HTC One for the first time and wondered what that weird icon that looks like an N is, it indicates that NFC is on. It seems strange to me that HTC wanted to waste Status bar space on an NFC indicator, but sometimes we just have to deal with it. However, if you're a softModder, you don't have to just deal with it. The icon can't be removed permanently, but there is a very easy way to hide it forever.
How To: Make the Simplest Motor Ever
For this project, you will need a magnet, two AA batteries, two keys, a metal plate, and a copper wire coil.
How To: Monitor System Resources Right from the Notification Tray on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
Anyone who uses a computer on a regular basis probably knows how to access the task manager to check system resources and usage stats. However, on a Samsung Galaxy S3 or other Android device, it may not be so obvious. There's no equivalent to Control-Alt-Delete, but it's still fairly easy to monitor running processes and battery usage.
How To: Charge Your Phone Without Its Charger
When you forget you charger,you can use this dynamo charger to charge the phone with your hand. I convert the dynamo LED flashlight into charger just adding bridge rectifier, capacitor and USB female plug.
How To: The Easiest Way to Share Your Complicated WiFi Password with Friends & Family—No Typing Required
One of the first things most people ask for when staying with a friend is the password to the Wi-Fi network. Even if you trust your friends to the end of the earth, a super secure password can be a pain to share with them, especially if it's just a bunch of random characters.
How To: Unlock the "All Your Game Are Belong to Us" Achievement on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
In old-school Konami fashion, there's an Easter egg lurking inside your Samsung Galaxy S3, and I'm not talking about gingerbread men, robots, or jelly beans. In fact, it's actually an achievement, like those you would unlock in Black Ops on your Xbox 360, and it's pretty easy to find.
How To: Root & Gain Superuser Access on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 Using a Mac (The Easy Way)
To really customize your Samsung Galaxy S3, you'll need to be rooted, because most of the coolest mods and hacks require root access. If you haven't rooted yet, you're just barely touching the surface of what your GS3 can do for you.
How To: Play Pokémon FireRed & Other Game Boy Advance Games on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
The first film I saw without any parental supervision was Pokémon: The First Movie. At the time, there wasn't a 5th grader around who didn't know who Pikachu was or what Pokémon was all about. The franchise was one of the most popular video games of all time, right after Mario.
How To: Customize the Home Button Shortcut on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 for Any App You Want
As mentioned before, the Home button is one of the most important keys on your Samsung Galaxy S3, and pretty much all Android devices for that matter. However, when it comes to customization, it's rather tame.
How To: Use Your Samsung Galaxy S3 Without a Functioning Home Button
Dorothy had it right: "There's no place like home." This is especially true when it comes to using your Samsung Galaxy S3, or pretty much any other smartphone, whose most vital button is the Home key.
How To: Find & Eradicate Android Apps Maliciously Tracking You on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2
A wave of shock and anger swept across the country after Edward Snowden released private documents recounting the U.S. government's secretive mass surveillance programs. Although some of the fear was unwarranted (they don't read your emails or listen to your calls), many scrambled to find privacy of new heights for protection from the all-watchful eye. While the government may not be tracking you down, there are a myriad of other candidates that fill that Big Brother role—and I'm not talking ...
How To: Make a Universal Phone Battery Charger with Paper Clips
Paper clips and any kind of power adapter that gives 5 volts will do the job for charging your phone battery.
How To: The Easiest Way to Install a Custom Recovery on Your Nexus 7 Tablet
Android is constantly being refined, and the tools used to root and install custom recoveries are no exception. Earlier methods to root and install custom recoveries were very long and complicated. Any misstep along the way and you can end up with a bricked tablet.
How To: Convert & Play Your Old PlayStation 1 (PS1) Games on Your Nexus 7 Tablet
After upgrading to a new system, video games for old consoles are usually forgotten about, wasting away in the back of a closet somewhere. Just recently, I found an old stash of PlayStation 1 games boxed up and hidden beneath a pile of clothes.
How To: Customize LED Alerts for Specific Notifications on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (No Root Required)
While the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has an integrated LED for notifications, it only works for a few things, like charging and low battery, and it only flashes two main colors (red and blue) when the screen's off. As someone that usually has their phone on silent or vibrate, it's hard to tell when I receive important messages or notifications. Sure, I could set a specific vibration or ringtone for individual apps, but that can quickly get annoying and distracting, especially at work or school.
How To: Change the Text Color & Default Blue Facebook Theme for a More Swaggy Profile
My favorite color is blue, but if everyone I knew said the same thing, I'd probably switch to red—there's nothing cool about uniformity. One place I'm guaranteed to see plenty of my favorite hue is on Facebook. The social network has gone through many redesigns, but its signature color scheme has never changed. While Facebook introduced cover photos, which allows for a little more creativity on your Facebook page, everything else is pretty much the same across all one billion plus profiles. B...
How To: Sideload & Install Open Source iOS Apps on Your iPhone Using MacBuildServer—Without Jailbreaking
Apple is widely known for keeping a tight grip on iOS, disallowing open-source and third-party downloads. While there are many reasons for this, the three most frequently referenced are quality control, malware prevention, and of course—money.
How To: Block Any Unwanted Text Messages or iMessages on Your iPhone in iOS 7
With iOS 7, Apple is finally fighting back against spam, offering the option to block certain phone numbers from sending you text messages or iMessages (plus, phone calls and FaceTime too).
How To: Completely Close Out Running Applications on Your iPhone
If you're anything like me, you'd like the ability to fully exit your iPhone apps to help free up memory, improve battery life, stop background processes, and fix unresponsive apps. The thing is, you can, with the help of the app switcher. Force-closing apps also helps keep your app switch clean and organized.
How To: Turn Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 into an Intelligent Flashlight That Turns On & Off Automatically
There's absolutely no shortage of flashlight apps on Google Play, so when one comes around that sports uniquely different features than the rest—it should definitely be noted. That's why I bring to you Ambient LED Flashlight, a new app for your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 by Android developer Jie Huang.
How To: Make the Stock Weather Widget Transparent on Your Samsung Galaxy S4
The stock weather widget preloaded on your Samsung Galaxy S4 is really great, but there's one thing that's missing—options. The weather widget shows just the right amount of information at a glance, and it's not too shabby looking either, but for us softModders, it'd be really nice to have more options. Well, today I'm going to provide you with a couple. Interestingly enough, this is a topic I first covered on the Samsung Galaxy S3.
How To: Get Out of Your AT&T Contract Early Without an Early Termination Fee (ETF)
Earlier this month, AT&T quietly introduced a new "Mobility Administrative Fee" which levies a $0.61 monthly charge to all postpaid contracts. While it's a seemingly small amount on an individual basis adding up to $7.32 per year, with its huge customer base, AT&T stands to make around half a billion from the tight-lipped move. AT&T has stated that the fee will "help cover certain expenses, such as interconnection and cell site rents and maintenance" that's consistent with other phone carrier...
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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Transfer iPhone Contacts Over to Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or Other Android Device
Why is transferring contacts from an old smartphone to a new one still insanely difficult? I can check my bank account, upload a picture to Instagram, email someone across the globe, and check the weather forecast on my phone—all in under five minutes.
How To: Install MS-DOS on a Modern Computer
For those needing to replace old controller hardware on cutting mills, those into native retro gaming, or for those who want to see what all the fuss was about in the 1980's, or for those who just want a play with old but great technology, this tutorial shows you step-by-step processing getting the breakthrough desktop operating system running on the latest greatest hardware.
How To: Enable the Hidden Developer Options on Your Samsung Galaxy S4
There's something missing on your brand new Samsung Galaxy S4, and if you're a softModder like me, you know exactly what it is already. If you don't know, keep reading, because you should—anyone who wants a better Android experience should.
How To: Make Photo Time-Lapse Videos of Yourself Using Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 or Other Smartphone
In early 2000, at the age of 19, Noah Kalina began taking a photo of himself with the same facial expression—every single day. Six years and over 2,000 photographs later, Kalina turned his project into a time-lapsed montage on YouTube. In just one day, his video received over a million views.
How To: Connect Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to Your TV for the Ultimate Viewing Experience
As we all use our smartphones for more and more things, we constantly want to share and view those items on a larger screen, especially when it comes to media. While phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and tablets like the iPad do make watching Netflix on a portable device pretty legit, bigger is always better. Newer iPhones may have Retina displays, but watching Avatar on your phone is like being forced to drink a delicious mango tango smoothie with a coffee straw. Plus, if you want to sho...
How To: DC Versus AC and the Diode
Direct current (DC) by definition flows in one direction. Alternating current (AC), on the other hand, periodically changes direction, or reverses polarity. It is indeed possible for a portion of a circuit that is normally DC to periodically change direction, or reverse polarity like an AC circuit.
How To: Play Almost Any PSP Game Smoothly on Your Nexus 7 Tablet
Remember that PSP you had? I pretty much dropped mine when smartphones became more prevalent in the mobile gaming scene. Why would I want to carry around a huge PlayStation Portable when I've already got an Android in my pocket?
How To: Mod Real Racing 3 for Higher Quality Graphics on Your Nexus 7
Real Racing 3 is by far one of the best racing simulators available on Google Play, and best of all—it's free! If you're playing this game on your Nexus 7, you've probably noticed that the graphics just don't look anywhere near as good as the in-game screenshots floating around on the web.