Gadget Hacks Features
How To: Browse & Play Your Entire Music Library Directly from the Notification Center
Since Apple released iOS 8, many third-party apps have taken advantage of one of its more resourceful features: Notification Center widgets. These widgets have made it easier to interact with features and settings that would otherwise require launching an app itself, instead offering functionality through the native pull-down Notification Center.
How To: New iPhone 6S, Apple TV, iPad Pro, & More—Everything You Need to Know
Apple's special September event just wrapped up with the company unveiling several new products, including the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPad Pro, and the new Apple TV set-top box. In addition to hardware, Apple also discussed a couple of its latest software platforms, iOS 9 and watchOS 2. Check out everything that Apple unveiled below.
How To: Create a double pendulum out of polycarbonate plastic and skateboard bearings
While single pendulums can seem orderly, a double pendulum can be extremely chaotic. This tutorial shows you how to build your own double pendulum out of polycarbonate plastic, skateboard bearings and a few various pieces of hardware. Then follow the tutorial to get your own crazy chaotic double pendulum.
News: Epson Adds Two New Moverio Augmented Reality Headsets
At the 2017 Augmented World Expo (AWE) in Santa Clara today, smartglasses maker Epson introduced two new augmented reality headsets from its Moverio line of products.
How To: Install Cydia 1.0.3366-1 on an jailbroken Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch
Speed up Cydia by downloading and installing the latest version, 1.0.3366-1! This video will teach you everything you need to know. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to try the new, speedier version of Cydia for yourself, watch this hacker's how-to.
Instagram 101: How to Change the IG Story Summer Ice Cream Sticker to a Magnum Bar
Although Instagram's summer stickers will only be here for the summer, the ice cream cone is still currently one of the most fun ones to play around with in Stories. It's also one of the stickers that lets you pick your preferred flavor of ice cream, rather than forcing just one type of flavor on you.
News: ShakeCall App Lets You Answer and End Calls Agitatedly
Android users aren't required to answer and end phone calls by pushing buttons, thanks to ShakeCall by YSRSoft. It's a free application available in the Android Market, which links the answer and end functions to the motion of your smartphone. If someone calls you, shake to talk to them, or leave it alone to ignore. To end your conversion, shake again.
News: Google's Newest Nexus Phones Return to Record Low Prices (With Freebies!)
A handful of retailers have put the newest Nexus smartphones on sale again, so you're in luck if you missed out on picking one up during the discount period last month. Actually, you might be better off since some retailers are giving away freebies with some models, too.
How To: Create a New Movie Project in iMovie on Your iPhone
While the iMovie application for Mac has a few more bells and whistles, Apple's mobile version of its video-editing program is jam-packed full of features and more intuitive than its big brother. Still, before you dive right in to become a movie editor on your iPhone, it's good to know the basics first.
How To: Set up and use a Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7 WP7 smartphone
Learn everything you need to know about using a Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7 (WP7) smartphone. This video guide presents a general overview of the phone's hardware and software. For all of the details, and to get started using your own Focus, watch this video guide.
How To: Make sounds with circuit bending
Circuit bending is when you take an old sound producing machine and change the circuitry to make new sounds. Make Magazine's Bre Pettis and circuit bending expert Justin Gerardy discuss the various tips and tricks of circuit bending.
News: Jeep's New AR Experience Lets You Interact with a Car That Isn't Actually There
Jeep has now jumped on the AR-retail trend with their introduction of the Jeep Compass Visualizer. Customers can now view and customize a Jeep Compass to their liking, all without a real Jeep even present.
How To: Disable ads in Mozilla Firefox with Ad Block Plus
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to disable ads with the Ad Block Plus add-on in Mozilla Firefox. Begin by going to the Firefox add-on site and search for "ad block". Then click on "Add to Firefox" to install it. Once installed, users will be able to block out any advertisements. Users are able to add a filter subscription. To block an image, right-click on the image and select "Ad Block Image". Users are able to customize their ad block filters to only allow certain advertisements. ...
News: Listen Up! Before You Buy The iPad- 20 Biggest Complaints
Before you go running off to the Apple store, you may want to educate yourself. DVICE is kind enough to compile the 20 biggest complaints about the iPad from a whole slew of reviewers.
How To: Set random themes in Gmail using your current location
There a ways to personalize your Gmail experience, and one of those is picking personalized Gmail themes which make emailing funner. But if you're not sure what kind of theme you want to use from all the available Gmail theme choices, there's an option called "Random" which provides you a random theme based on your geographical location, and will change when in a different location.
How To: Disable the Facebook news ticker in Google Chrome and Firefox
If you're tired of the Facebook news ticker, get rid of it for good with the Unannoying Facebook extension for Google Chrome or the FB Purity extension for Mozilla Firefox users. Get rid of that annoying status update feed in the top right corner of your Facebook page for good!
News: The Biggest Bugs & Performance Issues in the Essential Oreo Update
We've been running the Essential Oreo Beta on our PH-1 over the past week and compiling a list of important changes. If you're interested in getting the Beta yourself, we even put together a quick guide on how to do that. Now that we've ran down the best new features, let's take a look at all of the bugs and performance issues in Android 8.0.
News: Play Pac-Man Around the World in Google Maps
It's that time of year again. Each spring, Google likes to have a bit of fun with April Fool's Day. Pranks have ranged from a fake email printing service called Gmail Paper to a search engine for smells. It's all fun and games, but this year, they've taken that mantra rather seriously with a Pac-Man game baked right into Google Maps.
How To: Use the messaging features on a Samsung Intensity II phone
Looking for instructions on how to use the various messaging features available on your Samsung Intensity II mobile smartphone? You're in luck. This free video tutorial will see that you need everything you need to know to send and receive email and SMS text messages. For thorough instructions, watch this cell phone guide.
How To: Calibrate your stylus with your Tablet PC
Check out this instructional education video to learn how to calibrate your stylus with your Tablet PC. It is important to calibrate in the position that you will be using it. You will want to calibrate your stylus after every reboot or when you change screen orientation to ensure best optimization. This will ensure proper cursor position when touching the screen. This tutorial video can help you better utilize your Tablet PC. Calibrate your stylus with your Tablet PC.
How To: Make a fire with batteries and a headphone
Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to make a light a toothpick on fire with just a few household items. The materials you will need for this process are a roll of tape, two AA batteries, any kind of headphone jack, and any type of aerosol spray. To start this process, you'll want to ducttape the headphone jack and tape it to a batter from the negative end. Take the other battery and tape the positive end to the headphone jack. Afterwards, take you toothpick and spray the en...
News: Holy Pac-Man! DIY Light Painting Saber Is Pure Awesome
A few months ago, we showed you a pretty awesome light painting project that visually captured invisible Wi-Fi signals around town using a Wi-Fi detecting rod filled with 80 LEDs. With some long exposure photography, the results were pretty amazing. This project was inspired by those crazy Norwegians, but this build lets you do something even more amazing—capture pictures of colorful written text and drawn images, frozen in midair.
How To: Android's Quick Reply Can Turn Your Notification Tray into a Chat Window
Most people are aware that you can reply to messages within notifications. The "Reply" button has been a feature in Android since 7.0 Nougat, saving precious seconds needed to open the app and respond there. But did you know the convenience doesn't stop there?
How To: Motorola Shows You How to Unlock the Bootloader on Select Android Phones and Tablets
Motorola launched a new webpage on Friday that tells Android users how to unlock the bootloaders on a limited number of new Motorola smartphones and tablets. This new 'Unlock My Device' page helps demystify the process and make it easier for users to customize their phones.
News: Rooters Beware, Google Will Soon Start Locking You Out of Apps
Yep, Google just put in place a new thing called the dun dun duuuun .... "Device Catalog!" No, not like the Macy's catalog of your smartphone dreams. This is quite the opposite.
News: New Moto X Packs AR Features in Its Camera
Lenovo has been no stranger augmented reality, both in products for consumers and services for developers.
How To: Find all of the golden eggs in Angry Birds
Need help figuring out how to find all of the golden eggs in Angry Birds for iPhone, iPod Touch or Android. See how it's done with this gamer's guide, which presents a complete walkthrough of the process. With the right technique, you'll find it quite easy to beat. For more information, and to get started winning all of this whimsical puzzle game's golden eggs yourself, watch this helpful video guide.
PhoneExpander: A Faster, Easier Way to Free Up Space on Your iPhone
Deciding what to remove from your iPhone in order to free up space isn't the easiest thing in the world. You've got to decide which apps, videos, and photos are worth keeping, even though in a perfect world, you couldn't have to part with any of them.
News: Pixel 3 XL vs. Galaxy Note 9 — the Best of Android Compared
The Pixel 3 XL versus Galaxy Note 9. Stock Android versus Samsung Experience. When I began this comparison, I thought the Pixel 3 XL would be unfairly outmatched. But after looking at the specs side-by-side, you'll see a different picture. This year, Google delivered a worthy alternative to Samsung's best offering.
How To: 6 Reasons You Might Actually Want to Give Google Your Location Data
Google collects an enormous amount of personal data. While some of this data is used for targeted ads, others tidbits of info such as our location are used to improve our mobile experience. While it is natural for us to distrust Google's intentions, by allowing their data collection, we can add new functionality to our favorite apps.
How To: Install Installous on your iPhone
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to install Installous on the iPhone. Users will need to have their iPhone jailbroken before install Installous. Open Cydia, click manage, then sources and then add. Type in this source: Click on it in sources and let it load. Find Installous and install it. Now users are able to download applications from the App store for free. This video provides a visual demonstration and step-by-step instruction for viewers to easily un...
How To: Use the hidden features of the Apple iPad virtual keyboard
In this clip, you'll learn a trick for accessing special characters from the Apple iPad's virtual keyboard. It's an easy process and this video presents a complete guide. For more information, including a full demonstration and detailed, step-by-step instructions, watch this helpful home-computing how-to.
How To: Jot Down a Quick Reminder Note Instantly from Anywhere on Your iPhone
Jotting quick notes can be a pain. There have been countless occasions where I've needed a pen and paper to quickly write something down, but either didn't have them near me or was doing something on my phone and neglected to remember.
Gift Guide: The Best Android Accessories to Buy for the Techy Person in Your Life
Need a unique gift idea for the techy person in your life? Look no further than that phone they always have in their hand. There are plenty of great accessories, apps, subscriptions, and other smartphone-related goodies that will improve their quality of life, and thoughtful gifts like that are always the best-received.
How To: Make an almost free multitouch pad
A simple multitouch pad made from a plastic bag, some dyed water, and a camera.
News: Snapchat Lens Brings Bumblebee Transformer into Your Home & Baidu's Facemoji Keyboard Lets You Become the Robot
Fan favorite Transformer Bumblebee returns to theaters on Friday in a spin-off of the film franchise, so Paramount Pictures is bringing the car-robot back into the homes of fans via augmented reality.
How To: Hungry for a Light Snack? Try Making These Gummy LEDs (aka Nerd Candy)
LEDs have slowly become the standard for DIY lighting projects because they consume less power and last way longer than regular light bulbs do. Light-emitting diodes have no filament, meaning they generate their light solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material.
How To: Block Ads in Microsoft Edge
Although they're often times the primary source of income for websites, on-site advertisements can annoy even the most tolerable reader. That's why ad blockers have been some of the most popular downloads on Firefox and Chrome for some time now, demonstrating that when it comes down to it, most people just want nothing to do with ads shoved in their face.
News: Everything You Need to Know About the New iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus
The big day has finally come—the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have been officially unveiled. Apple debuted their new flagship devices at a keynote event in San Francisco on September 7, and as we've grown to expect, there are tons of changes in store for the world's top-selling smartphone.
News: Control a Video Game by Swapping Spit
Once there was Spin the Bottle. Then there was the embarrassing adult version of Spin the Bottle—on Wii. And then there was artist Hye Yeon Nam, who decided to skip all pretenses and go straight for the spit-swapping, no foreplay necessary. Hye Yeon Nam devised a method for controlling a bowling video game by French kissing. It works like this: "One person has a magnet on his/her tongue and the other person wears the headset. While they kiss, the person who has the magnet on his/her tongue, c...