Gadget Hacks Features
How To: Turn a mouse into a powerfake multimedia controller
MAKE and Kipkay brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life. Make Magazine celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will.
Galaxy S8 Oreo Update: Notification Channels Bring Granular Controls for Alerts
This week, Samsung officially kicked off the Oreo Beta Program for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ in North America and several other markets. The full list of changes is quite substantial, so we'll be running through them in a series of posts detailing what's new. First up, the Galaxy phones inherit notification channels from Android 8.0.
Messages 101: How to Send a Friend a Map to Your Current Location or Let Them Track You While Moving
You're at the bar, but your friend can't find you. You could call them, but that wouldn't feel very 2018. Instead, let your iPhone do the talking. Right in the Messages app, you can easily send your friend your current location — all without interrupting the friends you're hanging out with.
How To: Google Will Replace Your Damaged Nexus 5 for Free
If you purchased your Nexus 5 from Google Play in the United States, we've got great news for you. In an unprecedented move, Google has started offering customers the chance to exchange their broken or water-damaged Nexus 5 for a new or refurbished unit—free of charge.
How To: Change the default notification sound in the TweetDeck Twitter app
Is the default TweetDeck notification sound driving you crazy? Change it to something of your liking. It's an easy process and this video presents a complete, step-by-step overview of what you'll need to do. For more information, including detailed instructions, and to get started changing the TweetDeck notification sound yourself, take a look.
News: It's Official — New iPhone 8 Coming September 12
It's official! This year's iPhone release event is scheduled for September 12 at Apple's new campus.
How To: Use an internet browser on a Blackberry Curve
The Blackberry Curve can be used for internet access any time, anywhere. The internet browser can bet set up to with bookmarks and can be updated with popular feeds, to increase ease of use. Watch this video cell phone tutorial and learn how to access an internet browser on a Blackberry Curve. Use an internet browser on a Blackberry Curve.
News: Essential iPhone X Tips for the 6 Million Lucky People Who Got One on Black Friday
Cyber Week 2017 is still upon us. If you're looking for an iPhone X deal, you might still have time to score one. But maybe you already have — a reported six million people purchased the newest iPhone over the Black Friday weekend. If you're one of those lucky millions, there's a slight learning curve to using the X over other iPhone models.
Apple vs. Samsung: How Do the iPhone 8 & 8 Plus Compare to the Galaxy S8 & S8+?
Now that the the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have been revealed, we've been eager to see how the new devices will stack up against top-of-the-line Android phones like the Galaxy S8 and S8+. We can't compare real-world usage right now since the new iPhone models haven't been released yet, but we can see how they stack up on paper to get an idea of which one is the better buy.
How To: Import, Transfer, & Password-Protect Photos & Videos on Your iPhone
Thanks to a couple of photoshopped images that made rounds across Twitter last year, iPhone users were duped into thinking that iOS 8 included a security feature that would lock individual apps. Of course, none of it ended up being true, but we covered other features and apps that could accomplish roughly the same thing.
How To: Enable internet tethering on an iPhone 3G or 3GS
Interested in turning your Apple iPhone 3G or 3GS into a wireless modem? This clip presents a very quick overview of how set up tethering on Apple's popular smartphone. What's more, it's easy! So easy, in fact, that this home-computing how-to can present a complete, step-by-step overview of the process in about ten minutes. For details, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started turning your own iPhone into a WiFi hotspot, watch this helpful video guide.
How To: Dropped Your Phone in Water? Here's How to Keep Your Wet Android or iPhone from Being Water Damaged
When it comes to busted smartphones, liquid damage ranks right up there with shattered screens as one of the most common issues owners have to deal with—as well as the most embarrassing. Thankfully, though, with the rise of waterproof phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and even the iPhone 7, this is becoming less and less of a worry. But not everyone has a waterproof device.
How To: Launch Note 4-Style Floating Windows from the Multi Window Tray on Your Galaxy Note 3
One of the Note 3's best features is Multi Window mode, which allows users to display more than one app on the screen at the same time, taking advantage of the large and high-resolution display.
How To: Make an LED sign using flatheaded LED strips
This OzLabs video demonstrates how to build an LED sign using their flatheaded LED strips.
News: This Smart Paper Notepad Saves Everything You Write on It
Pretty much every note you save on your computer, phone, or tablet can be uploaded to your cloud and viewed on any of your devices. But what about those notes you write down on actual paper? Well, those notes can also be cloud-friendly, thanks to the Rocketbook Wave.
How To: Unlock and Root the Verizon Droid DNA by HTC
Last week, HTC released their new Droid DNA smartphone in hopes of gaining more traction in a smartphone world currently dominated by Apple and Samsung with their popular iPhone and Samsung Galaxy lines. The new Droid DNA boasts a 5-inch 1080p display—the highest resolution for any smartphone on the market. It runs Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean with HTC Sense software, and has may other typical features, such as NFC and wireless charging.
How To: Connect an Apple iPad to a TV with an HDMI cable
In this clip, you'll learn how to use a dock-to-VGA converter cable and a VGA-to-HDMI adapter to connect an iPad to a TV with an HDMI cable! Whether you're the proud owner of an Apple iPad or perhaps just considering picking one up, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial. For more information, including a detailed overview, watch this iPad user's guide.
How To: Create a System Image Backup of Your Entire Windows 8 PC
There is nothing worse than losing valuable information or programs on your computer. And if you've ever accidentally deleted a file or document, you know how agonizing that entire process can be.
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: Organize Emails Better with Your iPhone's Hidden Flag Colors
The latest update to Apple's Mail app introduces a suite of new colors for flags, unique amongst even the best email apps on the App Store. The problem is they're hard to find — if you try to flag an email the old fashioned way, it'll use the default orange color, with seemingly no way to change it. Of course, there is a way, it's just a little out of the way.
How To: Send text messages to cell phones from Gmail
G-mail can do a lot of things. It is a state of the art, awesome e-mail system, and to top it all off now you can learn to send text messages through it - for free!
News: Try These 5 Hot New Snapchat Lenses — Fortnite Victory, Apyr & More
With April coming to a close, there's a fresh group of augmented reality Snapchat lenses you should try out while they're still hot. We've got a prank lens, gamer-oriented ones for Fortnite and Fallout, and ones for the memesters out there.
News: The Revolution of the Hacked Kinect, Part 1: Teaching Robots & the Blind to See
In 2007, Nintendo introduced the world to motion control video games with the Wii. Microsoft and Sony built on Nintendo's phenomenal success and released their own motion control products for the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 late in 2010: the Kinect and the Move. The Move is basically an improved Wiimote that looks like a sci-fi Harry Potter wand, but the Kinect just might be the most important video game peripheral of all time.
News: Here Are All the New Emojis in the Galaxy S8 Oreo Update
New emojis are coming with the Android Oreo update for Galaxy S8 and S8+. Samsung Experience 9.0 has been updated to Emoji 5.0, adding 239 brand new emojis when you take into account gender and skin tone variants. While there are minor changes across the board, we wanted to focus on the newly created emojis so you'll know what's available to you.
How To: Theme the Nav Bar on Your Nexus 5 for a Fresh Look
The fact that we own a Nexus means we get to experience the Android interface exactly as Google intended it. But that doesn't mean we can't make a UI tweak here and there, does it?
5$ Voice Modulator / Changer : Batman Arrow
Its a voice modulator which can be used to change your voice instantaneously so you can disguise and pull pranks etc.
How To: Create Pen Window App Shortcuts on Your Galaxy Note 3 Without Using the S Pen
As an added functionality to the S Pen, the Pen Window enables you to create floating application windows on your Samsung Galaxy Note 3—a tool that's extremely useful when it comes to multitasking.
How To: Root a Samsung Epic 4G Google Android smartphone
In this clip, you'll learn how to gain root access on a Samsung Epic 4G mobile phone. Whether you're the proud owner of a Sprint Samsung Epic 4G Google Android smartphone or are merely considering picking one up, you're sure to be well served by this video tutorial. For more information, including a complete demonstration of the rooting process and detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started rooting and running custom ROMs on your own Samsung Epic cell phone, take a look.
How To: Hide Photos & Other Files on Android Natively Using This Easy Trick
Have you ever noticed that some Android gallery apps display every last photo that you have stored on your device? This is particularly annoying when most stock gallery apps don't provide an option for hiding certain folders from your filmstrip view. Then there are music players that load up ringtones and video players that queue every video on your device, regardless of whether you want them there or not.
How To: Remove a battery, sim card, or SD card from a Motorola Droid Bionic
If you need to replace or remove the battery, sim card, or SD card from your new Droid Bionic by Motorola, take a look at this walkthrough on how to remove the back of the case and gain access to all three pieces of the Android smartphone. Yes, you heard right. The Verizon Wireless phone does use a sim card because of its 4G connection.
News: Galaxy Note 10+ Hands-on Review & Spec Sheet Overview
The hugely successful S10 series of flagships may be a tough act to follow, but Samsung has proven that it's up to the task with the Galaxy Note 10. The latest phablet bearing the Note name is the first of its line to come with an even larger variant, and boasts an eye-pleasing design with impressive performance to boot.
How To: Cut a circuit board
Sometimes there is a part of a circuit that you need but it's on a huge circuit board. This is one technique to cut it out. Take out the PCB part that is necessary. This is a great DIY electronics technique.
News: No, You Won't Accidentally Buy Apps Just by Looking at Your iPhone X
For those worried that a lustful gaze at a new app on their iPhone X will authorize its purchase, we have great news for you.
News: Price, Pre-Order & Ship Date for Magic Leap One Creator Edition
With the big reveal of the Magic Leap One: Creator Edition in December 2017, and now the update on Feb. 13, 2018, we no longer have to speculate as to what the augmented reality headset will look like or when (in general) it will be available.
How To: Safeguard Your Facebook User Information from Third-Party Apps and Websites
Facebook is at it again. First they invaded your privacy with Instant Personalization, now they plan to take it a step further with their controversial plans to share users' home addresses and mobile phone numbers with third-party developers and websites.
How To: The Easiest Way to Get Android O on Your Pixel or Nexus Right Now
Earlier this year, Google rolled out the first developer preview build of Android O. The new version added tons of cool features, but the downside was the fact that you needed to use Fastboot to manually install the update if you wanted to try it out. Thankfully, things just got a lot easier.
How To: Trick Verizon into Thinking You Never Modded Your Samsung Galaxy S III
One of the main reasons why the Samsung Galaxy S III has dethroned Apple's iPhone 4S as the best-selling smartphone in the world is due to Android's open-source operating system. The vast spectrum of customization that comes with Android has become one of its focal points, allowing n00bs and programmers alike to build and destroy. The open-source OS has allowed rooting and modified ROMs to flourish within Android community. The only problem with this is that rooting and installing your own RO...
How To: Get the Nextbit Robin's Launcher on Any Android
We recently covered a set of ported apps from the new cloud-based smartphone, the Nextbit Robin. These ported APKs brought two of the Robin's slick new stock apps—Camera and Gallery—to any other device, but the launcher was conspicuously absent.
News: What Every Phone Gained by Adding a Notch
If bezel-less was the goal of OEMs in 2017, 2018 seems to be the year of the notch. Thanks in no small part to Apple's iPhone X, more and more smartphone manufacturers are designing their displays with this polarizing cutout. While many are frustrated with the trend, it's worth taking the time to consider what each phone gains with the unique design.
How To: Turn an ordinary hardback book into a PDA notebook
Check out this video from Make Magazine! Forget the Macbook air, there's a new lightweight portable in town - join our new video Maker (Kip Kay) as he shows you how to turn a modified hardback book in to a PDA powered "laptop" with keyboard. This will make you the cool guy in school. Just wait and see. Everyone will be your friend.