Gadget Hacks Features
Instagram 101: How to Use Nametags to Quickly Add New Friends
Instagram is no stranger to stealing features from Snapchat. Stories, originally a Snapchat invention, feels more at home with Instagram today. Now, Instagram is attempting to repeat this feat with nametags, a way to quickly add new friends akin to Snapchat's Snapcodes.
How To: Make the world's simplest homopolar engine
Learn how to make the the simplest homopolar motor there is with just a regular battery, a small watch battery, and a formed copper wire. This is really as simple as a homopolar motor gets. Two batteries and some wire... that's it!
How To: The Easiest Way to Find a Halfway Spot Between You & Someone You're Meeting Using Your Nexus 7
Back in college, there were many instances where I'd have to meet up with a partner that I was randomly paired with in order to work on a project or to study for an exam. Besides the awkward interactions, the most difficult part was always figuring out where we would meet off-campus. I live here and they live there, so what's reasonably halfway?
How To: Copy and paste text on a Google Android smartphone
Often, it's much quicker to copy and paste text than to retype it completely. Fortunately for Droid users, it's easy to copy and paste text on Android phones! So easy, in fact, that this home-computing how-to from the folks at Butterscotch can present a complete, step-by-step overview of the process in just two minutes' time. For detailed instructions, and to get started using copying and pasting on your Android phone yourself, watch this free video tutorial.
How To: Erase personal data from your Apple iPhone 4
We all have our reasons for erasing personal data from a phone. Whether you just ended a bad relationship whose face you never want to see again (lots of text messages) or just want to restore your privacy on the cell phone, erasing may be your only option.
How To: Prepare Your Phone for a Trip Abroad with These Tips
So you're finally ready to head out on that big trip you've been planning for months, huh? It's an exciting time, but there are plenty of things you'll need to prepare before you head out. For instance, it's hard to imagine life without a smartphone these days, and with useful traveling apps like Google Translate and maps, you'll almost have to make sure that you have a working smartphone when you arrive at your destination.
News: iOS 12 Dev Beta 2 & Public Beta 1 Hit iPhones
Right on the heels of the iOS 11.4.1 beta 3 release, Apple pushed out iOS 12 beta 2 to registered developers on Tuesday, June 19. Public beta testers received the same version, labeled as iOS 12 public beta 1, six days later on Monday, June 25. Last year, the iOS 11 public beta opened up just five days after the release of iOS 11 developer beta 2, so iOS 12 is pretty much right on track in that regard.
How To: This Google App Makes Sure Your Device Runs Smooth All the Time
Google has a lesser-known Android app called Device Assist that might just be one of the most useful programs the company has ever published. It offers interactive guides and general tech support for Android, plus it can diagnose your device and help you fix any issues it finds.
How To: Binance Trading Pairs Help You Keep Track of Your Favorite Coins' Values
With the sheer number of alt-coins that you can buy and sell on Binance — Ripple (XRP), Stellar (XLM), and NEO to name a few — keeping track of coins you're interested in is a hassle. But with the tap of a button, you can mark trades and alt-coins that are on your radar for quick access on your Binance account.
How To: Disable or Mute Annoying App Notifications on the Apple Watch
With audible alerts and subtle vibrations, the Apple Watch makes it difficult to miss incoming notifications. But soon enough you'll realize that not every notification is worth receiving on your Watch and can ultimately render the experience annoying under particular circumstances—like when your popular Instagram post floods in notification after notification.
How To: Make your UPS battery last a long time
Systm is the Do It Yourself show designed for the common geek who wants to quickly and easily learn how to dive into the latest and hottest tech projects. We will help you avoid pitfalls and get your project up and running fast.
How To: 8 Tips for Securing a Red iPhone 7 Before They Sell Out
Apple just unveiled a red iPhone and iPhone 7 Plus, dubbed the iPhone 7 (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition, to commemorate the ongoing global fight against AIDS. Apple fans the world over are sure to swarm in and gobble up the initial stock shortly after the new color is released at 8:01 a.m. (PDT) on March 24, 2017, so we'll go over some tips to help you secure a red iPhone before it's sold out.
How To: Take a screenshot on your Android phone by shaking it using the screenshot app
Shake it like a Polaroid picture is out. Shake it for a screenshot on an Android phone is in. Watch this video to learn how to download and install the screenshot app for your Android phone that takes a screenshot when you shake the phone.
How To: Get the Nextbit Robin's Camera & Gallery Apps on Any Android Device
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, a new smartphone manufacturer named Nextbit emerged, then released its first flagship device—the Nextbit Robin. The headlining feature of this colorful gadget is its cloud-based app storage, but the phone itself comes with a very polished and sophisticated suite of software.
News: 11 Years Later, FreezeCrowd Finally Unleashes Its Photo Sharing Social Network to the World
You may not know him by name, but Eric Leebow is the man we can all thank for inventing social networking. At least, that's what he thinks.
News: Apple Releases iOS 12.4 Public Beta 4 for iPhone
While iOS 13 is not ready for public beta testers just yet, Apple is still testing iOS 12.4 out, and you can install that right now on your iPhone. The latest version, iOS 12.4 public beta 4, was released June 12, a day after its developer version.
How To: Look up word definitions on an Amazon Kindle
See how easy it is to use the Amazon Kindle eBook reader. This Quick Tips video from CNET shows you how to use the built-in dictionary to look up those hard, mystifying, multi-syllabic words. Finding defintions has never been easier while reading a book.
How To: Turn Your iPad Mini's Box into a Free Stand and Charging Dock
You can make a dock for an Apple device out of almost anything, even the box it comes in. People have been turning Apple's product packaging into DIY docks for a few years now, including the iPod nano, iPod touch, and iPhone 4. So, it's no surprise that the newly released iPad mini already has one, too. Obviously, if you ever anticipate selling yours, modifying the box probably isn't a good idea since you get more money for used devices with original packaging. But, if you plan on keeping it ...
News: The One Deadly Command That You Should NEVER Run on a Nexus
There are two types of bricks ("brick" as in "bricking your phone")—soft and hard. Soft bricks are recoverable—something has probably gone wrong with some critical system partition, causing a bootloop or inability to boot in some way. Fine. Re-flashing everything should fix that instantly. Hard bricks are not recoverable—if you manage to hard-brick your Nexus, you are in trouble.
How To: Play Tom Clancy's ShadowBreak on Your iPhone or Android Before Its Official Release
Tom Clancy games, like Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon: Wildlands, are famous for their realistic and immersive gameplay that focuses on covert, low-intensity warfare. Ubisoft now appears to be testing the overcrowded waters of mobile gaming with the release of ShadowBreak, and has soft released the game for both iOS and Android in Canada for further development, which means that with a little tinkering, you can play ShadowBreak in any country.
How To: Get the Chrome Experience on Android Without Google Tracking You
If you're tired of Google tracking you, but love how Chrome works, CyanogenMod has you covered. Their browser is called Gello, which is based off Chromium, Chrome's open-source counterpart. It's basically a souped-up version of Chrome—without all of the intrusive Google stuff. So if you're uncomfortable with Google displaying personalized ads based on your browsing history, or using your location to bring the "Physical Web" to your phone, you won't have to worry about any of that with Gello.
How To: Block a website using a Linksys Router
In this tutorial, we learn how to block a website using a Linksys Router. First, go to your web browser and type in "192.168.1.1" into the address bar. After this, you will need to enter in your username and password to the pop up window. From here, go to the tab that says "access restrictions" and look for where it says "policy name". Type in 'blocked website' to the bar and then click 'enable'. From here, go down to the bottom of the page and enter in the URL of the website you want to bloc...
How To: Get the 2020 iPhone SE's Exclusive Wallpapers on Any Phone
The new iPhone SE packs the power of the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max inside the chassis of the iPhone 8. But that's not all that's new on the 2020 SE. Apple has also included six new wallpapers, exclusive to the Special Edition model, but the internet makes it tough to make anything truly exclusive anymore.
How To: Get free ringtones to your cell phone
Follow along as we learn how to get free ringbones for your cell phone. -To begin you are going to go to myxtertones.com/make. This site will be used to email your ringbones to your cell phone.
News: T-Mobile Helps You Dodge All Those Annoying Phone Scams with New 'Scam Likely' Warnings
T-Mobile just unveiled two new services—Scam ID and Scam Block—which specifically target those pestering robo-calls that reach out to 2.4 million Americans every month.
How To: Play Facebook Messenger's Secret Chess Game
Facebook just keeps coming up with more and more diversions to help you ignore your responsibilities. At least this diversion is a little more intellectual than most of the other things that can easily distract you on Facebook.
How To: Access Apps, Settings, & More Anywhere on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with This Customizable Sidebar
As things begin to clutter on your device, navigating through it can become much more difficult than when you first got it. The sheer number of added apps and mods that build up after time take its toll not only on the quickness and memory of your device, but also on your efficiency to access everything easily.
How To: Repair a cracked or broken circuit board
Step by step guide to repairing circuit boards Yes, I know, my hands are shaky.
How To: Preview New Google Hangout Messages from the Home Screen on Your Galaxy Note 3
Like what iMessage is to iOS, Google Hangouts is to Android—allowing users to share messages instantly, as if quickly wasn't good enough. With Google Hangouts, you can share locations and send maps, receive and send SMS, share animated GIFs, make video calls, and chat not only with your phone's contacts, but also your Google+ and Gmail buddies.
News: Windows Holographic Lands in Windows 10 Insider Build 14971
Windows Insiders running Build 14971 of Windows 10 in the Fast Ring can now look for the "Windows Holographic First Run" app to check to see if their PCs are up to the task of running Windows Holographic. It won't detect your VR headset yet, but at least you'll be able to see if your computer will be compatible.
How To: Secure Your Instagram Account by Adding 2-Factor Authentication & Managing Privacy Settings
The photo-centric Instagram app is a great way to share "evergreen" pictures and videos when compared to Snapchat and Facebook's new Messenger Day feature. But like all social media, keeping the account secure is an essential aspect, as it restricts unwanted viewers from seeing your content and can prevent unauthorized users from accessing your account. Instagram has several methods for locking down the account including a new two-factor authentication (2FA) mechanism.
How To: Add Bluetooth Capability to Corded Over-Ear Headphones for Wireless Listening
Headphone cords are one of those things we all deal with because it beats the alternative (no music). But they can be so obnoxious—they're always getting caught on things, and they seem to be perpetually tangled. If you have ear buds, you can make a simple a cord container to keep them organized, but over-ear headphones are a little more tricky.
How To: Make your computer a webserver using XAMPP
XAMPP is a free install program you can use to turn your computer into a web server. This video also has a installation guide for XAMPP
How To: Enable and fix AirPrint on any iOS 4.2 device (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch)
With the new iOS 4.2 (and 4.2.1) firmware for all mobile Apple devices, printing from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch has become easy… well, maybe not. Despite the new AirPrint software in iOS 4.2, it can still be difficult to print papers and photos from your mobile device since Apple removed AirPrint from the Mac OS X 10.6.5 software update, due to some kind of legal dispute.
How To: Access Facebook at school using 3rd party software
For all you Facebook-addicts out there (or anybody else that needs to access blocked websites anywhere they want), this is a video that you will want to watch. In just a minute and thirty seconds, any ordinary person can learn how you can access any website they want anywhere they want, bypassing any blocks and firewalls that the network administrator has put up to stop users from getting to their desired website without using complex computer commands or other complicated methods.
How To: Float Multiple Widgets Over Any Android App on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
Running multiple applications at the same time is one of the Samsung Galaxy S3's and S4's biggest advantages over Apple devices, and it's a fact that Samsung certainly harps on constantly in their well-targeted commercials.
Warning: These 5 Psychedelic Wallpapers for Your Nexus 7 Will Trip You Out
It's time to trip out with your tablet. If you're not looking to drain that precious battery life with a fancy-looking live wallpaper, then apply an optical illusion that appears to be moving on your Nexus 7 (or any other Android device) instead.
How To: Get the Galaxy S9's New Wallpapers on Any Phone
The Galaxy S9's new wallpapers look fantastic, but you don't need to buy one to know that. Whether you have an iPhone X or a Pixel 2, Samsung's updated wallpaper library is yours for the taking, thanks to an S9 system dump released today.
How To: Unblock a Facebook firewall at school
In this video, we learn how to unblock a Facebook firewall at school. First, you will need to try to go to the website you want to go. If you try this and you can't reach the site, go to the top of the bar where you typed the website in at. Once here, you will find where it says "http". Type in an "s" after the "http" so you end with "https" then type in the website that you want to visit. After this, you should be able to go to the website you want to go to without any trouble, just make sur...
How To: Make Your Screen Automatically Adjust to Eye-Friendly Color Tones
If you're like me, you spend a lot of time on your computer, which can be damaging to your eyes in the long run. Studies have shown that staring at a computer screen or television up close for extended periods of time can have harmful effects on your vision.