Gadget Hacks Features

How To: Fast Search Gives You Quick Access to Everything on Your Android

Google Now is great for looking up movie times or finding your parking spot, but if you need to track down a file you downloaded, you're relegated to using a file explorer and, depending on your organizational skills, this can either be extremely easy or a huge pain in the ass. Unfortunately I land in the latter category, which is why I started using Fast Search by developer Mohamad Amin.

Limited Time Only: Google Play Apps & Games on Sale for a Dollar

Now is the time to act if you've been in the market for some must-have Android apps but felt like the price was a little out of your range. The Google Play Store is running a sale so you can pick up some high-quality paid apps—including the popular Nova Launcher Prime and Poweramp Music Player, among many others—for just $0.99 each. While there are quite a few solid apps here you should try—and with a two-hour refund window, why not try them all—here are our favorites you should seriously con...

How To: Prevent Snoops from Accessing Private Messages, Photos, Videos, & More on Your Nexus 7

My friends can be pretty shitty sometimes, but they're my friends nonetheless. On various occasions, they've secretly taken my device and made me look foolish by posting crude and embarrassing posts to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. With friends like these, who needs enemies, right? And it's because of these types of friends that we need to substantially upgrade the app security on our devices.

How To: Add Documents, Downloads, Pictures, & Other Folders to the Windows 10 Start Menu

The Start menu has definitely seen many changes over the years—from the traditional menu that was present from Windows XP to 7, to the Start screen in Windows 8, to the hybrid of the two in Windows 10. And while the return of the Start "menu" has received near-universal praise, there are still some aspects old Windows 7 users will miss. Namely, the User folder and content folders (like Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos).

How To: Access the secret ninja mode in Google Reader with the Konami Code

Google is the biggest and best search engine on Earth, and if you are a webmaster and want your website to be a big success it would really behoove you to know as much about how it works as possible. The Google Webmasters series of videos and website were created to teach webmasters, SEO professionals, and others how Google works by answering their questions and giving them insights into how they can best integrate and utilize Google's functionality to improve their business. This video will ...

Coming Soon: Call & Message All Your Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp Friends from One App

You're in constant communication with your friends and family. The only issue? Nobody uses the same app. Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp — you have contacts spanning all three, and the resulting balancing-act to keep in touch can be overwhelming. That's why Facebook — who owns all three apps — is coming out with a way to call and message friends across all three platforms from one place.

News: Night Mode Is Coming to Android!

For years, users have been clamoring for a "dark mode" theme in Android, but it has always seemed like Google is so committed to the white motif from their web services that such an option would never become a reality. But in a stunning turn of events, Google is finally embracing the idea with a night theme that will work in any app, and I'll cover all of the specifics below.

How To: You Don't Need a New iPhone to Take Live Photos

Since Live Photos are nothing more than a glorified, built-in GIF generator on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get this "exclusive" feature on an older iPhone. While taking a Live Photo does eat up a lot of processing power, which the A9 chips can handle perfectly, older iPhones can still manager fairly well—no 3D Touch needed. You just need a jailbroken iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to do it.

News: Apple Just Released iOS 13.5 Public Beta 2 for iPhone, Includes COVID-19 Exposure Notification API

If you're a public beta tester, you woke up this morning with your iPhone running iOS 13.4.5. Today, Apple released the second beta for iOS 13.5. No, Apple didn't skip a version — 13.5 public beta 2 is essentially 13.4.5 public beta 2. So why the name change? Apple included the first API for its joint COVID-19 contact-tracing and exposure notification program with Google.

How To: Embed code into Blackboard 9.1 to display iFrames

If you want to embed an iFrame into a Blackboard 9.1 page, you'll need to grab the code from whatever source you want (YouTube, Vimeo, Google Docs, etc.) and use the Build Content option in Blackboard. Select "Item" under the "Create" menu and turn off the Text Editor so that you can properly paste the code in. Take a look at this tutorial to see all the steps in action.

How To: Install Android 7.1.1 on Your Verizon Nexus 6P

Android 7.1.1 stock images for the Nexus 6P were released last week on December 5, 2016. However, Verizon users seem to have been excluded from the update. Google's factory image page states "All carriers except Verizon" next to version number NMF26F. This doesn't seem fair, especially since Verizon Nexus 5X users received the latest Android Nougat update.

How To: Use Vonage anonymous call blocking feature

If you are looking for a way to prevent telemarketers and nothing else is working, consider signing up for Vonage's call blocking feature. In this tutorial, brought to you straight from the professionals at Vonage, learn how to set your phone to block any incoming call without a number attached to it.

Coming Soon: Share Instagram Comments in Direct Messages, Stories, or Other Apps

Sometimes, you'll see a comment on Instagram that you really need to share. Maybe it's something funny, possibly offensive. Whatever the case, the only thing to do is screenshot it and share that, right? Hopefully, not for long. Instagram is currently testing a feature that would allow you to share comments with others via a direct message and maybe even to stories and other apps.

How To: Commit Facebook suicide

Fed up with irritating applications, moronic group requests and unwitty Facebook status comments? Why don't you do the good thing and throw in the Facebook towel? Just admit it and say it out loud, 'I hate Facebook!' You don't have to suffer anymore, just follow this advice to quit and commit Facebook suicide!