Cool Things to Do with a Laptop

AON is moving to Wednesdays! There are lots of things going on this week in the skies above, so be sure to observe. As usual, there's a lot to see around Jupiter, with its moons eclipsing and transiting. Also, a star from the Virgo constellation will be in conjunction with our ...more

With portable devices being a necessity in modern everyday life, they may be subject to overuse, improper charging, or normal wear and tear. For those people who carry around their smartphone or iPod with them all of the time, how many times have you been out and about just to ...more

Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our advanced tutorials and come play on our free server. A hidden bridge can be both a cool part of your home and a defense against your enemies in PvP! The design is simple, you can use it to create lava traps, and it ensures that no red ...more

This recipe will be a bit time consuming and may seem a bit lengthy—it can take up to an hour to complete depending how big of a batch you are making—but the end result is fantastic. That being said, here are the few things you will need. 3 or more large potatoes (any variety ...more

Word's been out that there will be a new app coming from the people who brought us Hipstamatic. Well now, those rumours have been confirmed as Synthetic, the developers of Hipstamatic, have just announced a new social sharing app in the form of a disposable camera called D-Ser ...more

As we all know, security is a big thing here in Null Byte. We've talked quite a bit about ways to encrypt traffic and become anonymous on the internet, some of which entail using proxies, VPNs, and SSH tunnels. We've also talked about preference using SSL pages in practice for ...more

Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our advanced tutorials and come play with us on our free server. One of the easiest ways to get your creative juices flowing in Minecraft is pixel art. Pixel art uses various blocks in Minecraft to create pictures. These pictures are typi ...more

Welcome to another Community Byte announcement! In the past two sessions, we have coded an IRC bot in Python capable of issuing commands. Since it can issue commands and most of you are new to programming, that project will stay idle for a while. Other commands such as voice a ...more

Welcome to the second Goonight Byte! Our second coding session was kindly hosted by th3m, so props to him for letting this happen. Our task this time was to hack the bot that we made the week prior, which was only capable of connecting to the channel and then printing message ...more

Natural processes often create objects that have a fractal quality. Fractal branching patterns occur in plants, blood vessel networks, rivers, fault lines, and in several electrical phenomena. Many of these processes take lifetimes, or even occur on geological timescales. But ...more

Often times when staying at a hotel or anywhere for that matter, you'll whip out your laptop and check the local area for Wi-Fi. I know you've all been in my shoes when you find an unsecured network that appears to be public Wi-Fi belonging to the hotel or airport, and you con ...more

Oh, yeah. I was a skeptic, too. A few things are worth noting, though. 1) This stuff is cheap. You can get started on a project for very little money. Even advanced fabrication tools are reasonably priced. 2) This stuff is a global standard. You can develop a system here tha ...more

Most kids who play video games will never become professional gamers. Those that do are part of a very select group— it's like being a professional actor or athlete. It's nice work if you can get it. For everyone else, the sad realization usually arrives sooner or later that t ...more

Behavioral ad targeting companies are diving deeper into the realms of your subconscious with a new approach to serving adverts to you online—and they're using your television. Many web surfers peruse the internet at home while they're watching television. You might even be d ...more

Google+ Hangouts are proving to be a proficient platform for teaching and communicating in real time with others. If you're someone who creates instructional content online, you may want to consider using the platform for your next project. Below, how to record your hangouts ...more

(Difficulty Level: from Newby to Expert) Digital cameras can produce freaky sharp images—it’s one thing that sets them apart from film cameras. A DSLR doesn’t have grain, it has noise—and that sounds a lot less charming for a reason. If you shoot at a low ISO, high f-stop and ...more

Earlier this month, game developer David Braben and his Rasberry Pi nonprofit foundation revealed a $25 USB PC. The computer can connect to an HDMI monitor on one end, and a USB peripheral on the other (such as a keyboard or a USB hub). You can use the USB hub to connect multi ...more

Have you been thinking about joining a local Belly Dance Class? Many people are curious about Belly Dance but are unsure of what to expect in a class, or may be worried about not being the "right" body type, weight, or age. When I tell people I meet that I am a professional B ...more

In terms of internet, faster = better. We all want faster internet, but how exactly do you get a fast wireless connection? Believe it or not, the answer is quite simple. Here are 4 things that may be slowing down your connection. Interference from Other Devices Interference ...more

BEST PICTURE, ACTRESS, DIRECTOR, FILM EDITING, CINEMATOGRAPHY: I would go to the ballet all the time if it was this cool! 2008's The Wrestler was a huge stylistic left turn in director Darren Aronofsky's work. It moved abruptly away from the fantastical, painterly style he a ...more

Despite the fact that you may not find this as a necessity, if you do follow this quick guide, you will wonder how you ever managed before. This tutorial is based on the assumption that you're using Google Chrome, so if you aren't, I advise you to download and install it. Furt ...more

Running this World has prompted me to think about MTG on a deeper level than I ever have before. In attempts to contextualize it, explain it, research it, and understand the parts of it that I don't yet understand, I have come to an unexpected conclusion: I'm old. I know I'm ...more

What's more important in maintaining a healthy body weight? Eating healthy food or simply reducing your calorie intake? You may think a human nutrition professor would encourage the former, but instead Kansas State University's Mark Haub proved the latter. CNN reports that Pr ...more

Japan's Shoichi Uchiyama is a hardcore advocate of insect cuisine. His selling point? A heavenly nutty flavor, the delicious texture of shellfish, AND high in nutritional value. Via The Telegraph: "Uchiyama traces his interest in insect cuisine to his boyhood in the northern ...more

The Fake Adult Website Prank is an incredible trick if you happen to have the necessary access and work in the internet industry. Luckily, I had both. The objective of this prank is to fool your boss or co-workers into thinking you've accidentally sold out the site to a adult ...more

JUAREZ. PH33R. SUX0R. If you know what these mean, then you probably spend way too much time on the internet. If you're as bewildered as I was, these words actually mean something in leetspeak. JUAREZ n warez (pirated software) PH33R v -S fear SUX0R v -S the leet way to say ...more

Well, why aren't you? They're all the rage in pop culture right now, what with The Avengers blowing away audiences and the finale to the Batman trilogy coming out soon. Not to mention that Marvel is remaking Spider-Man! The original is only like, what, less than ten years old? ...more

I read Timothy Keller’s The Reason for God on the recommendation of a philosophical friend and before I had finished it I was adding Keller’s The Prodigal God to my list of books to read. Keller has a gift for succinct and wise writing. I believe he truly has his finger on whe ...more

Christian Cantrell, Adobe's Air Product Manager and Evangelist, has released a video to demo websites that take advantage of the motion sensors in a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop via JavaScript. Now, let's take a look through the code and break down the core pieces that you' ...more

If you know anything about search engine optimization and online marketing then you know that having as many links going into your site from good sources is very important. And if you’re not really experienced at building links or SEO in general then you might not know the bes ...more

It's almost time for the new year and whether or not you believe that the world is coming to an end in 2012, you'll probably still want to document the momentous occasions that are to come. Here are five different types of photography apps that are available for both the iPhon ...more

Shortening URLs has become a necessity in this age of Twitter and limited-character status updates. It not only allows us to cram more words into our oh-so-important Twitter statuses, but it also helps us with a few other things. Some Benefits of URL Shorteners We can create ...more

When it comes to social engineering, Null Byte is here to show you how it's done. Social engineering is the key fundamental to unlocking tons of possibilities and opportunities in your everyday life. So, what is social engineering? Social engineering can be called many things. ...more

File Transfer Protocol, or FTP, is a network protocol made for transferring files in a client and host fashion over a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) network, such as the internet. FTP is integrated into most browsers, and you have probably used it before. It is a common w ...more

Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our advanced tutorials and come play on our free server. For about the past month, the folks at Mojang have been leaking pre-releases of Minecraft 1.9 and they've added many exciting things. Additions to the game include: potions, new mob ...more

Things have been a bit quiet on the Google+ Insider's Guide this week. With the launch of the new Facebook, Google+ is finding itself a bit on the defensive. However, recent data shows that by making Google+ available to the general public, their traffic has jumped 13-fold, ac ...more

If you haven't had a pile of pipe and fittings to play with before, it's hard to see what is so cool about a plain, plastic pipe. All it does in the house is carry the poop away. Really, who cares? It's hard to even decide where to begin here. The first chance I personally ha ...more

If you’re unfamiliar with League of Legends, you’re either not into PC gaming or you haven’t spent much time on the internet. Riot Games officially released League almost two years ago, and since then it’s become a huge hit. In fact, the Santa Monica based company recently ann ...more

Oh, teenagers. Maybe you would be better off planning a scavenger hunt for the screaming toddlers. Just kidding! Despite the mood swings, teens will enjoy a scavenger hunt more than younger kids. Some things to keep in mind, though: 14 to 16 years of age: Most of what pertain ...more

See how to bake without butter, sugar, eggs, dairy milk and more. If you think it’s impossible to bake without butter without losing flavor and texture, then keep on reading. Even if you already substitute butter in your cakes and cookies, there may be some things in this art ...more

Steam has been a game-changer in the PC indie game market over the last eight years, making smaller games available to millions of users at lower prices than ever before. And few times in those eight years have there been as much indie awesomeness on sale for as little money a ...more

Last week in New York, I saw the new show Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities at the Museum of Arts and Design, at Columbus Circle near the edge of Central Park, between Broadway and Eighth. Below is the museum’s description of the show: “Otherworldly: Optical ...more

Solar Shades Looks like it's going to be another hot summer and this time of year, I always get questions about the best kind of Shades for the home! I may be a little bias in my opinion because I'm going through a more minimalist "less is more" style in my life right now. Ta ...more

The joys of summer are many! If you, like me, live in a place where the summer is short, you’re going to want to maximize your fun in the sun by doing as many awesome things as possible before the sun goes back to wherever the hell it hibernates during the cold and dark times. ...more

People get excited when summer comes around: it gets warmer, there’s sunshine, and the seasonal affected disorder that persists through those long, dark, grey winters starts to lift. This is pretty exciting, especially in my part of the world, where winter is VERY long and col ...more

Sure, you go online to email and shop and do research. But have you ever been curious about how the internet actually works? Don't worry, you don't need a degree in computer science to get a handle on how your info gets from point A to point B. Learning the basics of the inter ...more

Here, ladies and gentlemen, is my main deck. The youngest card in it was printed in 2000. It makes me feel a little crusty and old for one of the first times in my life. But it does mob pretty well against all of the mostly pre-2000 decks I've played it against (none of my fri ...more

Guitar Essentials My friends and I would secretly scribble tab in the darkly lit practice rooms in our university even though we were educated musicians. So, being able to read tablature, or tab, is essential for beginning guitarists. Tab is a curious way to write down music ...more

Videos Marketing is always going to grab a hold of any individuals interest and attention a good deal faster and more effectively in comparison with any kind of written copy or even photographs would or could. So why not give online video marketing a chance. Lay your fears t ...more

Polymer clay is an exciting arts & crafts medium. Actually, "clay" is a misnomer; it contains no true clay, but rather consists of tiny particles of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) combined with plasticizer, which is what makes it malleable like clay. What makes it so "exciting? Wel ...more

Editing with the Canon 7d and Final Cut Pro couldn't be easier, here are some tips to help you get started. Get the Canon E1 Plugin: The link provided gives you some basic info to get started. The main reason for using this plugin with FCP, is to convert the footage quickly t ...more

Heat Illness in Young Athletes: Detection and Prevention From recreational activities to free-play to team sports to camps, outdoor activities during the summer have one thing in common--the heat... Heat related illness is responsible for thousands of summer emergency room ...more

Review: Marmaduke I liked the part where the fake dogs danced. The funniest joke in the long-awaited live-action/CGI adaptation of everyone's second-least favourite comic strip Marmaduke is actually intentional, which is kind of impressive. Of course, it's not funny in the w ...more

Three-dimensional printing is one of the many wonders of modern technology. It's the first step towards real life Star Trek replicators and Timeline-esque teleportation chambers. While we aren't at the level of reconstructing strands of DNA, it's already possible to make tons ...more