It's no secret that exercise is good for you, but you may be surprised to know that a good workout can actually boost your memory, too. They key to giving your body and your brain muscles a good workout is by adding more weight and pushing hard for an extra 20 minutes. Accord ...more
One of the first orders of business after purchasing a new smartphone is to load up your shiny new toy with phone numbers, email addresses, and general contact information for all the important people in your life. Don't Miss: Android Basics: Get Started with Your New Smartph ...more
The art of taking secret photos is one that requires keen awareness and skill. Not only do you need to ensure that your subject remains oblivious, but you also need to make sure that no one near you notices what you're attempting to do. It's great when you buddy is acting a fo ...more
For 365 days of the year, our mothers show their love for us by driving us places, cooking us food, doing our laundry, and being our number-one cheerleader. But for one day of the year, we all get up early in the morning and show our love for our favorite women. Often, that me ...more
Believe it or not, there was a time when smartphones weren't the primary tool for taking photos. People actually walked around with bulky film-based cameras on their necks, and some even used cheap disposables. While photography wasn't introduced to the world when smartphones ...more
With Mobile World Congress right around the corner, we're all left to patiently await the unveiling of two Android flagship smartphones—HTC's One M9 and Samsung's Galaxy S6. We already have a great look at the M9, courtesy of images and promo videos that were leaked by upleak ...more
Nowadays, protecting your valuables can be challenging especially when you're on the go. That's why I decided to make a little secret compartment inside my car. Only you'll know it's there because nobody will be able to find it. Not only that, but you'll have easy access to it ...more
The internet is forever. When you put something out there, it can easily be re-shared, floating from server to server indefinitely with no way of taking it back. It's a scary thought when you consider that a young adult's grandchildren will one day have access to their drunken ...more
Injustice: Gods Among Us is one of the most popular games to come out over the last couple of years. It was a hit on video game consoles, and it's got a solid 4.5 rating on both Google Play and the iOS App Store, with almost 2 million people rating the game combined. The game ...more
Google's music offerings have been on a roll lately. First they announced a new music video streaming service called YouTube Music Key, offering ad-free playback with background listening. Then they stated that the new offering would be rolled in with their Google Play Music s ...more
Practically every kid in the '80s would rush home after school to put in some time on the first-gen Nintendo before their parents got home. Games like Super Mario Bros. and Super Smash Bros. were synonymous with fun times, and to this day, call up a wave of nostalgia amongst G ...more
In late 2012, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom made a sudden and controversial change to his social media service when he removed Twitter Card support. This was seen as a move not only against Twitter in their supposed "feud" against competitor Facebook (who bought Instagram earli ...more
It's becoming more and more apparent that Siri continually drops the ball when it comes to lock screen security. In the past, Siri was exploited in iOS 7.0.2 to send messages without needing a passcode. Then in iOS 7.1.1, Siri was use to bypass the lock screen again to access ...more
Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 6 on September 9th, and shortly thereafter carriers like AT&T and Verizon Wireless will begin selling them online and in stores. So, if it's time in your contract for a device upgrade, it's time to start thinking about trading your current iPh ...more
We've had the pleasure of test driving the ASUS Transformer Book T100T for the last couple of weeks, and for a $400 Windows 8 machine, it's impressive to say the least. Now don't get me wrong, a Surface Pro this is not. But unless you plan on heavily gaming or doing other pro ...more
Transition animations are an essential element of any mobile operating system. They give the user a sense of what's happening on the screen, where the apps are coming from, and where they're going. The stock transition animations on the Nexus 5 are some of the most boring one ...more
The Galaxy S5's screen is truly a feat of modern technology. It uses what is known as an AMOLED display—an acronym for Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emmitting Diode. In short, this technology means that every individual pixel on your phone's screen emits its own light. This is a ...more
Thanks to the steady increase in quality of smartphone cameras, it's easier than ever to take amazing photos or video without thinking twice. If you've been to a concert in the last five years, you undoubtedly know what I mean. But it turns out that using your camera as a new ...more
A recent security risk exposed by software engineer Szymon Sidor has raised a few eyebrows amongst the Android community. Work outlined in a blog post by Sidor depicts an ultra-secretive exploit that apps can utilize to film you without showing any indication on your device—e ...more
If you have Android KitKat, you're fortunate enough to be able to use the new Google Camera, which has tons of great features, including Photo Sphere, Tiny Planet, Panorama, and Fisheye. With so many photo options and no additional hardware needed, it's hard to not to like thi ...more
Just over a month ago, Google made its camera app available to all devices running Android 4.4 and higher. Originally exclusive to Nexus devices, the app got a UI overhaul and a new Lens Blur mode, but lost some features in the transition. A few weeks ago, Google began adding ...more
Video games have come a long way over the last 30 years. In the late-'80s, Atari, Nintendo, and Sega were taking gaming from arcades to living rooms. Back in 1994, the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis were in bedrooms everywhere, and over the next couple of years, were slowly ...more
Your beloved Samsung Galaxy S3 is nearing the end of its life cycle. Sure, it can do most of what newer devices can, especially if you were lucky enough to receive the KitKat update, but your diminishing battery and scratched up screen have seen better days. When you upgrade ...more
Whether it's bad timing, or some trying-to-be-funny photobomber, it sucks having a photo ruined by someone or something getting in the way. While you can always retake the photo, it's simply impossible to capture the moment you intended, no matter how much restaging you do. Bu ...more
The late, great writer Laurie Colwin once wrote that if she were allowed to have only one fruit in her kitchen, she would always choose lemons (or limes, since they can often be used interchangeably). Any dedicated home cook would agree wholeheartedly. Lemons add dimension t ...more
Your status bar is a hub of essential information, displaying things like battery life, signal strength, and missed calls and texts. Many of you have probably had your Samsung Galaxy S3 for almost two years now, so I'm sure looking at this same old status bar layout can get p ...more
After lots of waiting and anticipation, the OnePlus One Android smartphone has been unveiled, and it's ready to take down the Nexus. Video: . This CyanogenMod based device comes in with high-end features and a killer price point, and is set to go on sale in May. The OnePlus O ...more
While it may be impolite to play around on a smartphone at dinner, having it consume my attention while I'm on a deadline or trying to study can prove disastrous. With Netflix and social media just a tap away, it's a dangerous game of wills, one that the phone usually wins. F ...more
In today's dog-eat-dog world, every minute matters. Whether you're in school or working for the Man, a huge amount of your day is consumed by tasks, assignments, and other kinds of work. Then there's the time you spend playing video games, watching TV, or screwing around on yo ...more
Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers! After the disaster that was Windows Vista and the limited and reluctant adoption of Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows 7 has become the de facto standard operating system on the desktop/client. Although the most valuable information to the hacker ...more
Streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video have been available on game consoles for a while, but if you're in a country where they're blocked, it can be hard to find a way around. There are apps and extensions like Hola Unblocker and Media Hint and that to bypa ...more
Amazon.com has been around for a long time now, but there are still a few things most people don't know about when it comes to buying products from them. Here's a quick roundup of tips to help you get the most out of Amazon and save some money in the process. The holidays are ...more
Snapchat was created for the sole purpose of removing evidence from your mobile that a photo or video ever existed. That way, snoopers can't find any of these questionable selfies in your photo gallery. Of course, there are plenty of ways around this safeguard, but it's still ...more
Point-and-shoot cameras are practically extinct these days now that every new phone on the planet has a camera built right in. This makes the smartphone market highly competitive, because the camera specs and features are a big selling point. Your Samsung Galaxy S3 actually h ...more
Rooting is usually the first thing on the to-do list whenever one of us softModders gets a new Android device. Unfortunately our efforts are sometimes hindered by certain obstacles; a common one is a locked bootloader. What Is a Bootloader? A bootloader is the lowest level s ...more
Why do we still need to plug in our phones to charge them? Wireless charging exists, and has for quite some time, but most manufacturers don't include it in their devices. When it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S4, you can buy a QI-compatible wireless charging kit, but between th ...more
We've gotten pretty close to a Google Experience before, and even played around with the actual Google Play Edition build. However, the devs over at XDA have a much better solution: actually converting your HTC One into a complete factory-fresh Google Play Edition. Since most ...more
Many of you are ready to capture the litany of 4th of July fireworks that will litter the night sky, but if you're using a phone to capture the burst of fire in midair, it can get a little tricky. Don't worry, though — you'll be fine if you use these tips. While pro and semi- ...more
Thanks to its dedicated ImageChip, the HTC One has one of the best cameras out of all the smartphones currently on the market. Their branded UltraPixel Camera can take full resolution photos while shooting video, has superior auto-focusing, and provides great overall quality f ...more
Once when I was a kid, my dad used a glue trap to catch a mouse in our basement. The result was so awful for the mouse that my mom and I made him promise to never use that kind of trap again. Call me a softy, but I'm a firm believer that you don't have to kill pests to get rid ...more
If you have a load of dusty Game Boy Advance games you've been itching to play, load them onto your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for instant gaming anywhere—anytime! Even if you already have a Nintendo GBA, it's convenient to have them on your smartphone so they're always with you, ...more
Some of my favorite games include Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Super Punch Out, and Super Metroid. If you still haven't caught on, I'm a big Super Nintendo fan. Growing up in the '90s meant spending Saturday mornings engulfed in front on my TV with the good old SNES ru ...more
When you upgrade to a new Android smartphone like the HTC One, you can have browser bookmarks, Wi-Fi passwords, and other settings quickly transferred over from your old device using your Google Account backup. However, you'll still have to download apps individually from your ...more
"We all want to escape our circumstances, don't we?" Benedict Cumberbatch may have been talking about acting, but the sentiment rings true for all of us at some point or another. Whether it's work, school, or just boredom at home—we all wish for an escape sometimes. If only. ...more
An average of 140,000 hard drives crash in the United States each week, according to online backup service Mozy. Additionally, 70 percent of Americans have lost a laptop, smartphone, or tablet, and the average person now loses 1.24 devices each year—less than half of which are ...more
I used to have nightmares when I watched Terminator 2. I mean, I didn't step on a playground for a least two months after I saw that movie. There was something terrifying about computers having so much intelligence. Video: . But that was then and this is now. Terminator was wa ...more
Advancements to Android's open source OS come in the form of ROMs and mods, available all over the web for anyone to find. Installing any of these modifications tends to wipe your phone clean, causing you to lose all of the precious data on your device. Remember when you used ...more
Believe it or not, capturing a beautiful shot of a vehicle is more difficult than you think. Sure, you can just snap a photo, but capturing the design, detail, and essence of the car is a whole other story. Lighting, location, settings, and angles are play into how well the ph ...more
Skype is a great way to stay in contact with friends and family over the internet, and people tend to share a lot in their chats, so why not try and find a way to hack it! Once a Skype account is hacked, you can view all conversations within the last three months, see how long ...more
With the ever-evolving technology that imbues photography, we are never short of fantastic awe-inspiring shots. Digital cameras can capture things that the naked eye only wishes it could see, like streaking lights, rapid movements, and faraway objects, and it's fairly easy to ...more
With the microwave oven transformer (M.O.T.) salvaged in a previous project, a simple electrical circuit can be rigged to get high voltage arcs to fly outward and upward along a "V" shaped spark gap. You can look, but don't touch! These arcs of plasma are lethal enough to kil ...more
Your iPhone has a neat trick up its sleeves that gives you total control over the focal plane in all the portraits you've already snapped. This gives you the power to significantly enhance the composition and emotional impact of each image. In some cases, you can even focus on ...more
When they first appeared, smartphones came with a promise to make our lives easier and make us more productive so we could have more free time and energy. But now, the average user spends almost 5 ½ hours daily on their smartphone. If that sounds like you, there are ways to us ...more
If you're not using Control Center on your iPhone, you're missing out on a powerful tool that can streamline how you interact with your device, make certain tasks more efficient, and give you quick access to system tools, switches, and sliders for quick changes no matter where ...more
When you want a helpful task manager on your iPhone or iPad, any of the nine apps in this guide should be at the top of your list. But we'll review each app's features to help you determine which one might be best for your workflow. Using a task manager on your iPhone or iPad ...more
Apple just released its iOS 16.6 update for iPhone on July 24. When you install the new software, it may look like there's not much to it since Apple doesn't include any features in the release notes beyond "important bug fixes and security updates," but a few new features are ...more
Ringtones and text tones can be annoying, so my iPhone is almost always set to vibrate on silent mode. Unfortunately, that causes me to miss phone calls and text messages when the device isn't in my hands or pockets. While I hate missing alerts, I'm still reluctant to switch t ...more
It hasn't been long since Apple released iOS 16.0 with over 350 new features, but iOS 16.1 just came out with even more cool updates for your iPhone. While some of the recent upgrades were expected, others are somewhat surprising — and there's even one that you may not even th ...more
Remember when water and iPhones couldn't mix? Pools, tubs, and toilets would suck down the working iPhones of clumsy and careless owners and spit out expensive paperweights like they were nothing. Times have changed, however, and the newest iPhones can take a swim without fear ...more
With a simple web-based tool, you can hide secret messages for family, friends, and fellow spies inside of plain text communications, and anyone that intercepts the messages will be none the wiser. Steganography is the art of hiding secret messages comprised of text, code, au ...more