French fries, like mashed or roast potatoes, are the type O blood of the food world—they're compatible with just about everybody. That's why it's so sad to bring home leftover frites (that's French for French fries) and have to toss them out the next day because they don't tas ...more
Null Byte is looking for moderators! In today's Null Byte, we're hacking Netflix. As most of you know, Netflix is a subscription service that streams movies and TV shows to your devices over the internet. A common stance amongst my Xbox Live friends is that Netflix isn't wort ...more
The new iOS 11 was just released by Apple, and you can install it right now. Overall, it's got some great features, but how does it fare battery-wise on your iPhone? And how can you increase daily battery life for more juice and less charging every day? No matter the iOS vers ...more
The iPhone has a feature that lets you see how much juice is left in your Bluetooth headphones, but most Android phones are lacking this ability. Thankfully, there's a simple app that'll close this gap in functionality. To be clear, some custom ROMs and manufacturer-skinned v ...more
The battery in the Samsung Galaxy S4 may pack 500 more milliamps per hour than the old S3 battery, but that doesn't necessarily mean more battery life. High-powered devices need lots of juice, and the S4 is definitely more powerful than its predecessor. The new battery can han ...more
Just because a problem is small or superficial doesn't mean it can't annoy the living crap out of you. Others may think you're overreacting, or even have the audacity to roll their eyes, but you're in your own personal hell. First-world problems, white whines—call it whatever ...more
Removing the thin aluminum foil wrapping from a Hershey Kiss isn't necessarily a difficult thing, but even the easiest of things can be annoying sometimes. For instance, getting chocolate under your fingernail when you're trying to peel the wrapper off, or making a wrapper mes ...more
There are so many things to love about the Nexus 5, from timely updates to newer versions of Android to a terrific blend of price and specs. But while mobile phone tech keeps churning along, battery technology isn't quite up to snuff yet, and I find myself wishing that my phon ...more
Android has a single text file named build.prop that determines tons of various system-wide settings on your device. You need root access to edit this file, since it's stored on the system partition—but the various lines of codes it contains are actually fairly easy to interpr ...more
The new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are supposed to last a lot longer in your pocket with improved battery life, but that doesn't mean that iOS 8 will be that friendly on your older iPhone model. All of those awesome new features could be killing your battery, but with some simple twe ...more
There are many instances where a zipper on a bag, purse, coat, etc. will fail to function or jam. It may be that the zipper needs replacement, but oftentimes it can be fixed using a simple technique. YouTube user MediaMason shows how many zipper problems result from a simple c ...more
Americans consume over 1.2 billion pounds of potato chips each year, making it one of the most popular snack foods in the United States. If the entire population were addicted, it'd be about 4 pounds per person each year. Not everyone does, though, so it'd be more realistic t ...more
Dreams are like an internal human holodeck. Inside your mind, anything is possible, from your grandest wishes to your worst nightmares. This is all well and good, but what if you could control your dreams and become the omniscient god of a handpicked reality whenever you go to ...more
With Sprint already rolling out their Jelly Bean updates to Samsung Galaxy S III owners here in the United States, international users have already had a chance to check out Android's newest OS on their S3, but all is not gravy. It seems that folks have been noticing an incre ...more
There's a 2800mAh battery powering the Samsung Galaxy S5, but even it's no match for the constant day-to-day torture you put it through. Taking photos, watching videos, and playing games can make your fully charged S5 powerless in no time. While there are some features built- ...more
Performance boosters generally get a bad rap, but that doesn't mean they should all be dismissed—particularly when they're as well thought out as the latest work from developer Danijel Markov. After recognizing a few inefficiencies in the way Android handles memory management ...more
Everyone loves sharing pictures and quick video clips with Snapchat, but while the service itself is tons of fun, the Android app is one of the worst on the market. For one, Snapchat takes terrible photos even on high-end Android phones. And to make matters worse, the app is a ...more
Like most Android devices, the Nexus 7 suffers from its fair share of battery gripes. Nobody wants to see that dreaded "connect charger" warning pop up on their screen. NOBODY. Yet it probably happens to you every day nonetheless. What can you do about it besides charge, charg ...more
So, you've gotten (or are getting) a shiny new iPhone 8 or 8 Plus. Congratulations! It's got great new features including the new A11 Bionic chip, wireless and fast charging, and portrait lighting. And let's not forget a much better battery ... right? Wrong. The iPhone 8 mode ...more
You may have heard that Samsung Push is an incredible service that all Android users absolutely love. For one, Push provides extremely useful notifications for Samsung apps to assist you in all aspects of your life. For instance, after Samsung Push's March 21 update, Android ...more
Check out this video palmistry tutorial to learn how to read the life lines on your or someone else's palms. There are lots of interesting and good tips that you can do right now while sitting at your computer. No need to go to a psychic, read the life line on your palm by fol ...more
The subject at hand takes the prize for the best girl costume of 2009. Classy, pretty, and comic book related. Check out this Roy Lichtenstein-esque makeup job. Amazing.
Everyone enjoys summers more than I do. At least, that's how it seems. While I take pleasure in the decline of clothing covering up my lady friends, I could definitely pass on the heat and absurd air conditioning costs. However, one summer staple that balls above all else is c ...more
It's no secret that Google is all about AI. In their eyes, machine learning is the future of software development, and you can see evidence of this all over the last couple Android updates. They've used it to power all sorts of features in their Pixel phones, and they've even ...more
Greenify is a terrific app that allows you to put battery-hogging apps into "hibernation." Effectively closing the problematic apps and preventing them from running until you explicitly launch one of them, hibernation is a great way to save battery life while you're not using ...more
In one of my previous articles, I showed off how to make water freeze into ice instantaneously. In this article, I'd like to elaborate on this, and show how a glass of water can turn to ice instantly on command. What exactly is this supernatural power? Discover the secrets to ...more
Newer smartphones are more power hungry than ever before, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a mighty appetite for amps that only Jenny Craig could possibly curb. On average, your Note 2 (or other Android device) lasts for what, a day, maybe two days before dying. Mine barely l ...more
We've already shown you how to dunk a regular-sized Oreo cookie while keeping your fingers pristine, how to upgrade Oreos into different desserts, and even make them into lazy ice cream sandwiches. Now we're going to introduce you to a few other essential Oreo hacks that will ...more
Whether you just got a brand new laptop or you've had an old notebook for several years, it's in your best interest to maximize your laptop battery life so you get the most out of your computer. Make sure you "work" the juice in your laptop batteries by unplugging your laptop ...more
Apple gave its Photos app some serious muscle in a new update, and it's time to start flexing. Photos has so much power now that it may finally be time to ditch all your iPhone's other photo and video editing apps. You won't even need any third-party apps to remove background ...more
While the iPhone XS actually comes with a smaller battery than the iPhone X, Apple claims it, along with the XS Max and XR, offer users longer battery life than last year's first Face ID model. While that may be true, your new iPhone still ships without meeting its full batter ...more
When you have to take four different freeways to go twelve miles, Google Maps becomes a very close and dear friend—especially in Los Angeles. Without my trusty Samsung Galaxy S3, I seriously don't know if I could make it back home half of the time. Of course, you'd probably ge ...more
Life hacks are tips and tricks to help make life easier. Shortcuts and clever workarounds for life's daily problems. Sometimes common sense isn't so obvious until you've actually seen it. In this video, I'll be sharing with you 10 life-changing hacks you can use right now, fro ...more
The Nexus 6 is one of the few devices on the market that sports a 1440p "QHD" display. This means that the amount of pixels displayed is higher than almost any other smartphone, which sounds great on the surface, but is not without its drawbacks. For one, most apps and games ...more
Smartphones have otherworldly specs these days, so it's relatively uncommon that you hear someone complaining about display resolution, build quality, or general speed and performance. At best, these are secondary concerns, with the number 1 issue almost unilaterally being bat ...more
The battery on your iPhone can go from 10% to completely dead in a matter of minutes, or at least it can feel that way. Apple does prepare you with an alert when you hit the 20% and 10% mark, but it's easy to forget to charge your iPhone before it dies even with those notifica ...more
Figuring out exactly which apps on your phone are eating through resources and battery life can be a difficult task. Though some information can be found in Android's battery menu, the charts and graphs provided here pale in comparison to what's offered by the GSam app. If you ...more
Despite newer phones having larger batteries, after a few months, my battery life drops significantly. I started researching solutions after my third phone. No matter who I asked, the most recommended solution was always Greenify. And unlike other solutions, you don't need roo ...more
If you ever find yourself in a car that's submerged under water, your first instinct should be to try and open either the window or the door in the first few seconds of touching water. Unfortunately, if you wait any longer than that, the lopsided ambient water pressure subject ...more
9GAG's infographic teaches us all sorts of conveniences and short cuts to daily life, urawaza style. Some aren't complete revelations (the first hanger trick below), but others are pretty cool (if they work!). A few I wouldn't mind trying: free wifi at the airport ice cold dr ...more
It's a rare person who enjoys swallowing pills—and equally rare to find those who can toss a pill back easily and effortlessly without gulps of water and coughs. The transition from liquid medicine to pills, tablets, and capsules can be a rough one, and some of us still strugg ...more
Take a minute and think about how many times a day you press the home key on your iPhone . . . a lot, right? It is quite literally the most important button on your device. If the home key stops working, you won't be able to multitask or back out of apps to go to your home scr ...more
Art nerds rejoice. With the aid of Photoshop, the folks at Artcyclopedia have doctored Van Gogh's paintings to give the effect of a three dimensional model (the same effect used in tilt-shift photography). Artcyclopedia says: "The effect is simulated in Photoshop, by adjusti ...more
The build.prop file in an Android device is home to many system-level values and settings. Everything from screen density to video recording quality is covered in this file, and people have been editing these entries to get new functionality and better performance since Androi ...more
Apple's MacBook line of laptops is quite famous for their extensive battery life, thanks to various technologies that Apple has utilized. However, all things must pass, and over time your MacBook's battery will degrade. Certain use scenarios can accelerate the degradation of t ...more
If your new 2020 iPhone SE is frozen, unresponsive, or won't load the system, and a standard power down and up procedure didn't work, there are few more things you can try. Force-restarting the device may do the trick, recovery mode is a last-ditch option, and DFU mode is your ...more
You don't need to be a robot to be overly concerned with battery life, especially if we're talking about Terminators, which have nuclear or hydrogen fuel cells that keep them running for years straight. It will be a long time before smartphones get that upgrade, so in the mean ...more
Of all the new features in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, an automatic battery-saving function called "Doze" might just be the most interesting. What it all boils down to is that if you set your phone down on a flat surface, the device uses internal sensors to detect that it's motio ...more
Today's fancy cars come with all sorts of options, from power mirrors to working seat belts. Some of us condemned to live in the reality of capitalist recession have no car, or perhaps a very modest one. But your modest car can still have some cutting edge technology wedged in ...more
Many modern Android devices use a display technology called AMOLED. These screens differ from traditional LCD displays in that each pixel emits its own light, so a backlight is not required. Even better, when rendering a black element on the screen, AMOLED displays simply don' ...more
Performance and stability improvements, as well as new features, are just some reasons to install iOS 12, but new changes mean new battery health challenges. It can be difficult to boost battery life while taking advantage of everything this update has to offer. Luckily, there ...more
As seen in "Avatar" (sort of), the Tree of Life represents all the connections we have to one another as life forms, past, present, and future. It's really quite a deep concept, and is one explored in a beauteous way in this wire wrapping project. Called the Tree of life pend ...more
You might be sitting there thinking that I'm crazy, but the truth is you're only partially right. You can get free text messaging for life, all for a cheap, one-time fee. But, how can that be possible? An exploit in AT&T's prepaid GoPhones is the culprit behind this sweet, oh- ...more
Cleanliness is next to godliness. My interpretation of that age-old adage means that keeping your house clean is just as un-fun and boring as being a goody two shoes. That's why they call things like laundry and doing dishes "chores," I assume. Yuck. Lucky for you, though, we ...more
An app can request a wakelock to prevent your Android device from entering sleep mode so that it can sync data in the background. This obviously drains your battery, because instead of running in low-power sleep mode, your processor is fully activated while it performs its tas ...more
Are you a messy burger eater? Ants and fruit flies invading your home? Hate drinking warm drinks? Find out the quick and easy DIY solutions to these problems with these 10 amazing tips and tricks for the summer. Video: . I had seen pictures of some of these useful ideas on the ...more
While the Apple Watch does have up to 18 hours of battery life each day on a full charge, your results will vary depending on how often you use it and what you're actually doing with it. If your Apple Watch isn't lasting all day long, we've got some battery-saving tips you ca ...more
Early in the morning, there's almost nothing worse than discovering your razor is dull midway through your pre-work routine. No matter how hard you try to preserve those precious blades, it can seem like they're dull every time you reach for the razor. With one, seconds-long s ...more
A short life line on someone's palm doesn't necessarily mean your subject is going to have a short life. Palmistry guru Peter John explains the relationship between a short life line and the mount of Venus when giving a palm reading.
By combining years of web search advancements, natural language processing, and even DeepMind's artificial intelligence, Google Assistant hopes to change the way you interact with your devices. If you're familiar with Google's previous services, Google Assistant is like Google ...more