Gadget Hacks Features
How to Beat Cut the Rope: Ultimate Stars Guide for iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch
If you've played the addicting game Angry Birds on your iPhone, chances are you've heard of a newer game called Cut the Rope. Chances are you're playing it right now.
News: OnePlus 5 Revealed — 8 GB RAM, Snapdragon 835, Dual Cameras & More
The OnePlus 5 just made its official debut, so we now have all of the juicy details. From the announcement, this device definitely sounds like it's going to be another flagship killer, following in the footsteps of its predecessors.
How To: Create a new folder on your Android phone
Is your Android phone's home screen a mess? One of the salient advantages of a Google Android smartphone over, say, an Apple iPhone, is the inherent extendibility of the open-source Android mobile OS. There are a seemingly infinite number of settings to tweak and advanced features to discover and use. This free video tutorial will show you how to create and use file directories on your Android device.
News: Android App Saves Driver from Speeding Ticket
Owning a smartphone can be costly. But, then again, not owning a smartphone can be costly too! Take, for example, the tale of Sahas Katta, a driver ticketed by police for exceeding the posted speed limit by 15 miles per hour.
How To: New Google Now Launcher Makes Your Old Android Feel Like It’s Running Lollipop
These last few months have been a Lollipop lovefest, and I'm not talking about the candy. Android's latest OS has been exalted for its embrace of Material Design, and we've certainly given Lollipop its fair share of coverage as well; check out all its new features and ways to make older devices get some of the new look and feel of Android 5.0.
How To: Stop a friend from seeing your Facebook updates
Elijah from 360 Degree Social gives a tutorial on how to block specific people from seeing your Facebook posts. When someone you don't have in your inner circle, sometimes you don't want them to see everything that you do on Facebook. You go into the upper right hand corner and click on Account, then click on Profile Information. It used to say Status updates, but now says Posts by Me. After choosing the Custom options, you can type in a "friend's" name and they won't see any of those status ...
News: Snapchat Gives Movie Fans Augmented Reality Superpowers with Voice-Activated 'Shazam!' Lens
When the titular hero of your superhero movie activates his powers with a catchphrase, it would be pretty neat if your augmented reality promotion for that film could react to the user's voice.
How To: Turn a PDA into a wall projector
A hack for your PDA. Use your PDA as a 13" LCD Wall Projector. Use Pocket PC, videoPod,PSP or others! Watch Youtube clips if you have wireless! Step by Step. Make in under 5 mins!
How To: Turn Your Apple Watch Case into a Charging Dock
For all that money spent on a new Watch, Apple could've given us more than just a charger and its case. I mean, the case is nice and all, but what realistic use is there for it? In all honesty, it'll probably find its way onto a shelf high above in the closet—but it doesn't have to.
News: How to Make a $25 Touchscreen
In this episode of Mike's Lab, we will be creating our own touchscreen! Video: .
How To: 10 New Features & Changes for Your iPhone in iOS 14.4
Outside of iPhone releases, software updates are arguably the most exciting aspects of iOS life. It's like Christmas morning when your iPhone installs an update, as you dive through your device to find all the new features and changes Apple thought to include. With iOS 14.4, there are at least 10 such new additions just waiting for you to explore.
News: Massive Gawker Hack Reveals the Web's Most Stupid Passwords
This past Sunday, a group called Gnosis launched a massive hacker attack on Gawker media, one of the web's most popular blog networks (Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Jezebel, io9, Jalopnik, Kotaku, Deadspin and Fleshbot). 1.3 million registered users' passwords were compromised, and 188,279 of them were decoded and made public. The biggest takeaway? Many Gawker denizens use downright dumb passwords. (Guess they didn't see their own Lifehacker's story on avoiding such a thing.)
How To: Search Amazon to find wish lists and wedding registries
Someone you know have a birthday or wedding coming up? Search Amazon to see if they've set up a wish list (wishlist) or registry! It's easy. And this brief video tutorial from the folks at Butterscotch will teach you everything you need to know. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started finding wish lists on Amazon yourself, take a look.
How To: Convert Your 6 Second Vine Videos into Animated GIFs
I recently wrote about Twitter's super now app called Vine, which lets people create 6 second video clips that can be embedded in a tweet. Those videos have their own proprietary extension, but if you want to turn those 6 second videos into an animated GIF, you can now do so thanks to developer Esten Hurtle, who created VineGifR, a seamless way to transform your (or someone else's) Vine movies into GIFs.
How To: Use Drawing Gestures on Your Galaxy S4’s Lock Screen to Perform Actions Faster
Lock screen apps are a dime a dozen, but every now and then one pops up that defies expectations. We've already covered some good ones for the Samsung Galaxy S4, including Picture Password Lockscreen (which gives you secret unlock gestures), SlideLock (which improves notifications), and TimePIN (which gives you a more clever PIN).
How To: Unblock Facebook at school with Google
This video will show you an interesting trick which you can use to access Facebook or other web pages on a school server or other place where Facebook is normally blocked with the help of Google. You will need to first go to the Google homepage and find the button at the top of the toolbar which says "more" and go to the pull-down option of "even more" options. This will open up a new web page. You should then go down to the "translate a webpage" option on the right hand column of results and...
News: Meet the Nokia 8 — The First Android Flagship from the Iconic Brand
Long before Apple and Android became household names, Nokia dominated the mobile industry. The Finnish company was one of the first to develop smartphones, and their classic N95 with 2G "high-speed" internet connectivity was declared the "best smartphone ever" by some in 2007. Outside of the US, before the iPhone became all the rage, owning a Nokia phone was a status symbol akin to wearing a Rolex or Omega watch.
How To: Make a stepper driver power supply for a CNC router
A CNC router machine is probably the most useful tool a hobbyist can own, but the price for a CNC machine on the market is way more than the average hobbyist is willing to spend. You can build your own CNC with very basic tools, little knowledge of machinery, mechanics, or electronics, but be warned, these machines are inherently dangerous, so wear the proper protection and use common sense. At the very least, read the instructions and precautions on every tool you use.
Ranked: The 3 Best Gaming Phones
Mobile gaming still isn't on par with video game consoles or PCs, but we've come a long way from Snake. Modern games running on the latest smartphones boast downright impressive graphics—even more so when you consider how compact the system has to be in order to fit in people's pockets.
News: Augmented Reality Tattoo—Holographic Skin Art
Another innovative use of augmented reality - we've seen transparent walls, t-shirts that play Rock, Paper, Scissors, an iPhone operated video game drone; and now, a tattoo that comes to life. Just tattoo a simple "barcode", point a webcam at it, and a flying animated dragon will appear, hovering.
News: Galaxy S4 Group Play DEMO!
One of the coolest features on the all-new Samsung Galaxy S4 Android smartphone is the Group Play feature that allows you to wirelessly connect multiple Galaxy S4 smartphones together to create an instant, surround-sound boombox or play multi-player games like Poker
Safari 101: All the 3D Touch Tricks You Should Be Using
Introduced on the iPhone 6s, 3D Touch is just about the closest thing to a "right-click" that we have on iOS. Apple and app developers utilize this feature to give us helpful options that might otherwise clutter the overall app experience, as well as opportunities to "peek" into an action without committing to it. Safari on iPhone is no exception.
How To: Create & Access Location Bookmarks on Your Galaxy Note 3 with a Single Tap
I passed a cool looking bar the other day that I wanted to check out. When the weekend came around, I was ready to go, but for the life of me couldn't remember where it was. Not wanting to retrace my steps or drive around aimlessly, I gave up.
News: You Can Now Grab Free TV Show Episodes & Songs in iTunes
Apple is offering free full episodes of popular TV shows and free songs from artists with its most recent update to the iTunes Store. In the Music section, "Free on iTunes" seems to have replaced "Single of the Week," which used to give lesser-known independent artists a chance to give their music away in hopes that it would increase their popularity.
How To: Break your iPhone software
This is a terrible prank to pull on a friend. Destroy their iPhone software with a couple of quick hacks.
How To: Make a Free Capacitive Stylus for a Touchscreen Device
In this how-to video, you will learn how to make your own stylus for a touchscreen. You can use an antistatic material such as those used for protecting screens in order to create your own. All you have to do is cut out the material and roll it into a cylindrical shape.
HoloLens Dev 102: How to Make Physical Objects Come to Life on HoloLens with Vuforia
It seems to me you can't swing a dead cat near an augmented reality developer without hearing the word Vuforia escape their lips. PTC's software solution has become the go-to for most developers in the mobile AR space, and since they recently added full support for the HoloLens in Unity, I figured it was about time we learn to make something with it.
Compared: The Best Antivirus & Security Suite Apps for Android
The Play Store hasn't been the most secure place for apps lately. A quick Google search for "Play Store malware" will give you a taste of some of the malicious apps that snuck their way onto Android's official app store. Google is aware of the problem and they're tying to fix it, but their new Play Protect program doesn't have a great track record, so you might want to look elsewhere.
How To: Android Nougat's Quick Reply Feature Already Looks Dated Next to This App
When Android Nougat is released sometime this fall (or sooner), a new feature called "Quick Reply" will allow users to respond to incoming text messages directly from the notification. It will definitely be nice to carry on a conversation without leaving the screen you're currently viewing, but unfortunately, most of us won't get that Android Nougat update for quite some time.
How To: Switch Between Running Apps on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 Without Ever Lifting a Finger
I've covered a few multitasking app switchers before, but none of them are as sleek and smooth as the aptly titled Switchr, a new app developed by Mohammad Adib that lets you move from one app to another quickly and smoothly—just like how I switch between my women. Well, not really, but I would.
How To: Bypass school web filters
Learn how you would bypass a school’s web filters so that you can go to content sites that are always blocked in examples of YouTube. Click the ‘Start’ button and then click on ‘Run’ and type in cmd and hit enter on your keyboard. This will bring up a command prompt where you type in ‘ping’ and then when that populates the next prompt you enter in the website to bring up the IP address. By entering the populated number you can get into a website from the search field of a web browser. It incl...
News: iOS 10.2 Update for iPhone Snuck Star Ratings Back into the Music App
When Apple released the iOS 10.2 update to the public on December 12, 2016, iPhone users got a slew of new features, including new emojis, a brand new TV app, the ability to save camera settings, and more. But out of all of these new features, the one that interests me the most is something they didn't even include in the release notes—star ratings are back in the Music app!
Google Play Music 101: Finding & Adding New Music to Your Library
We covered how to upload your library to Google Play Music, but now it's time to delve deeper into the platform. In this article, we'll discuss how to discover new music through a myriad of methods, by using your existing library as a foundation.
Hands-On: Occipital's Bridge Headset for iPhones Has Magical Spatial Mapping Abilities
In the tech world, when you're a small startup going up against the Goliaths and their massive marketing budgets, you're forced to find and produce something almost magical to help your product stand apart from the rest. And that's exactly what Occipital Inc. has done with their Bridge headset.
How To: Make an exploding confetti cannon with Kipkay
Make a cool confetti cannon that's great for concerts, parties and special events! Kipkay demonstrates how to hack together this high powered cannon. Confetti bombs are super fun, pay attention to learn how to make your own confetti cannon.
How To: The 10 Best New Features in iOS 12's Photos App for iPhone
Apple's own Photos app received some pretty amazing updates in iOS 11, but does iOS 12 have what it takes to one-up last year's Photos improvements? We think so.
How To: Build a solar powered bedside lamp
This is a simple "take home" solar energy lamp project, based around a dirt cheap solar garden lamp, which suits enthusiastic ten-year-olds (with modest adult help).
How To: Change Your AirPods' Name to Something More Unique — Right from Your iPhone or Android Phone
AirPods are starting to show up everywhere, and with more and more people owning them, it can be fun to make yours a little more personalized. One way you can do that is by giving your AirPods a unique name, something a bit more fun than "John's" or "Jane's AirPods." With just a few taps, you can change your AirPod's name right from your iPhone or Android phone.
News: How Skype Video Chatting Works on the HoloLens
When you wear a holographic computer on your face, you gain some things and lose others. That's certainly the case when using Skype in Microsoft's HoloLens. Some video chats will work better because your caller can see what you see, rather than your face—but others just feel weird.
How To: Make an immersion heater while in prison
Prison isn't really the place to snuggle up to your prison inmate. Learn from the once incarcerated Angelo how to keep yourself warm with a homemade immersion heater.