Several major web services—most notably Facebook—have horrendous Android apps that occupy way too much space and drain battery life at an alarming rate. Such issues have led to a new trend where third-party developers create minimalist "lite" apps that are essentially the mobile website bundled into a native Android wrapper, freeing up storage space and saving battery life without sacrificing many features at all.
Got some seriously sensitive information to keep safe and a spare-no-expenses attitude? Then the new Solarin from Sirin Labs is the smartphone for you and your $17,000.
When it comes to Android automation apps, Tasker has never had much competition. But considering how difficult it can be for a novice user to get the hang of things, and factoring in Tasker's drab and complicated interface, there's definitely room for another developer to step in with a Tasker alternative.
Slowly but surely, Microsoft is pushing more and more options out of the Control Panel and into a new menu simply called Settings. This new Settings menu debuted with Windows 8 and mainly focused on touchscreen-related options, but starting with Windows 10, you'll find quite a few general options residing here as well.
Nothing else quite sums up my childhood like Super Mario, the Italian plumber who constantly had to defeat Bowser to save Princess Peach (aka Princess Toadstool) from danger. While it's easy to relive the classic gameplay on your Android with Nintendo emulators, not everyone has time for lengthy quests. Instead, you can get your Mario nostalgia fix with a live wallpaper for your home and/or lock screen.
The problem with striving to be on the bleeding edge of what's new for your smartphone, or really anything else in life, is having to constantly check websites and forums for new content. And with lots of that browsing happening on our phones, the aimless page loading and refreshing is not just annoying when there isn't new content, but can lead to wasted data usage, not to mention time.
Believe it or not, but people are actually texting less than they did before, and that's all thanks to Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and other split-second communication services. However, one communication method that is still going strong—and dominating—is email.
Although your friends might roll their eyes every time you talk about playing Clash of Clans, Call of Duty, or Candy Crush Saga, your excessive gaming habits might actually be making you healthier than everyone else.
It seems like custom Google Now commands are a dime a dozen these days. With Commandr for Google Now giving non-rooted users their first taste of custom voice commands just a couple weeks ago, you may wonder why we're covering this subject again.
Normal wear and tear, combined with unfortunate accidents, can take a toll on any smartphone leading to scratches, cracks, and breaks that can leave physical buttons useless. One of the first buttons to usually go is the power button, since it's the main way to turn your phone (and screen) off and on.
Toast notifications are a type of pop-up alert built into Android, letting us know when an app has performed a certain action. Whether it's Gmail saving a draft or Firefox opening a new tab, toasts are meant to be informational while not being totally intrusive.
One thing almost every Android launcher has in common, from stocks to skins, is the way they handle organizing and launching apps and widgets. Tap an app icon to open the app. Drag apps together to create a folder. It's simple, it works, and it's what we know.
This year, like every year before it, Black Friday sales are starting earlier than ever. A lot of stores will be opening their doors as early as 5pm on Thanksgiving to get a head start on the madness (and it really is madness). As we've discussed in the past, one of the keys to emerging victorious on Black Friday is to plan, plan, plan. So, we've compiled some of the best deals in tech, gadgets and appliances to help you prepare for battle.
Like the buttons on your computer's mouse and keyboard, the Home key on your Samsung Galaxy S4 serves a vital function in navigating through your device. It can get pressed dozens of times a day, going through hours of use and abuse.
There's two things I'm always looking for in my Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Efficiency and quickness. So, like any other softModder, I tend to download a bunch of apps and tweaks that help speed up my device's overall performance. In doing so, I often come across the "Complete action using" popup, which is oddly enough, one of the most inefficient features ever. You'll see this popup whenever you click on something that can be opened with more than one option. If you click on a link in Google sear...
I've taken a few photography classes back in the day, so I'm pretty confident in my abilities with a DSLR, but my iPhone is a completely different story. Lighting makes all the difference, so unless you're outdoors in the sun, it's hard to take a good snapshot with a mobile.
Indy Mogul's Backyard FX series has another great video for making high quality props and special effects. In this installment, you'll learn how to make a destructible wall, perfect for the big action sequence in your next low budget film project.
If you're a fan of "Avatar" - the animated Nickelodeon series, not the M. Night Shayamalan epic fail of the movie - or any sort of supernatural action series, then you've probably witnessed the awesome flash of lightning effect before. Whether emanating from the hands of a superhero - or supervillain - or shooting out of a mutant's eyes, the lightning effect is super cool and also super doable at home using Apple iMovie.
Assassin's Creed is back and you're going to want to brush up on the new fighting abilities with this little walkthrough. Improve your killing skills with new weapons and actions to make sure you're still king of the heap. Yo!
Add a little animation to your live action shots! This tutorial shows you a few alternative techniques, such as adding in backgrounds using a greenscreen or incorporating light painting into your film. Make sure you shoot at the highest megapixel setting possible.
A hardened Alistair makes it easier for you to achieve your goals - whether it's making him king, having him marry Anora or marrying him yourself. He also disapproves less of certain actions. Here's the right dialogue options to pick when you're meeting Goldanna.
Stop using the same button sounds everyone else uses! Create your own custom button sounds with Fruity Loops Studio 9, then incorporate them into your Flash buttons using Action Script 3 and Adobe Flash CS3 (or any other version of Creative Studios).
Add a background .mp3 file to play music when visitors come to your website. You can also build buttons to allow users to pause, mute or play the file while they're on your website. This tutorial shows you how to build this system using Action Script 3 and Adobe Flash CS4.
A Data Grid lets you organize information on your website or other Flash project. Create lists or schedules, like concert dates, by using the Data Grid component included in Adobe Flash CS4, and then modify it using Action Script 3.
Facebook has provided developers with a whole library of code usable for creating applications. This tutorial shows you how to get the code, and then how to use it so you can start developing your own Facebook apps using Adobe Flash and Action Script
Allow visitors to your website to leave comments and feedback on your website with Flash and Action Script 3. This tutorial walks you through the process, also using PHP and MySQL, to create your guestbook and then add it to your website.
A style sheet can ensure a uniform appearance for your website, as it gives you the ability to standardize font appearance, layout and spellings of unusual words on your website. This tutorial shows you how to create a style sheet and then import it into the Adobe Flash CS5 program using ActionScript 3.
If you don't want to use a preloader bar, you can use the circular animation instead. This tutorial shows you how to code a circular preloader and have the animation go either clockwise or counterclockwise using a mid-level masking technique in Action Script 3.0.
Aimed at Flash developers who like making games or other applications, this tutorial shows you how to use keyboard mapping so users can control the game using specific keys. This is also useful for photo galleries or slide shows, so users can navigate using their keyboard.
This tutorial shows you how to import an external image into your Adobe Flash CS4 animation project using Action Script. Choose any image you like and incorporate it into your current project using the steps outlined in this tutorial.
This is a custom particle effect, coded using ActionScript 3, that will recreate the effect of a rocket and fireworks explosion. The effect is also randomized, so you'll never get the same animation twice. This tutorial shows you how to code this effect using Fireworks.
In this clip, you'll learn how to log into a Blackboard course and upload files, edit and manage files. Whether you're new to Blackboard's popular content management system or CMS or are a seasoned web instructor just looking to better acquaint yourself with the features and functions of versions 9 and 9.1, you're sure to be well served by this free video software lesson.
In this clip, learn how to put together popular Japanese actions figures, Gundams. This video will show you how to unbox, assemble and paint your warriors so that they look their best! Good luck!
Drawing the human body making dynamic poses is a massive challenge for most artists. This video demonstrates how to sketch some different poses in the Photoshop with a tablet pen. They obviously need to be elaborated to be called final art works, but these sketches teach you how to capture the basic forms that are really the trickiest part of capturing ourselves in action.
Mark Donovan of Home Addition Plus goes over the key features and benefits of the Rockwell reciprocating saw with active vibration canceling technology. A reciprocating saw is a type of saw in which the cutting action is achieved with a push and pull reciprocating motion on the blade. A positive feature of the Rockwell is that there are no tools needed to replace the blade and it acts great with all materials including wood, metal, plastic, and/or aluminum.
This video is on how to install the LED light kit onto your Axon Racing anti-gravity razorback racer hover.
Origami is the timeless art of Japanese paper folding. Watch this origami how to video to learn how to fold fireworks. Origami is a fun craft and your models make nice, homemade gifts. Practice makes perfect.
Check out this music tutorial video that demonstrates how to play a simple guitar boogie in G. This instructional video provides fret diagrams and live action to show how to play a simple boogie in G. This video is aimed at budding fingerstyle guitar players, but can be adapted to a pick. Advanced beginners are also encouraged to watch and learn. Play a simple guitar boogie in G and improve your guitar playing skills!
Check out this instructional tennis video that demonstrates how to hit an angle shot. Angle shots are hard to hit in tennis. Learn how to hit angle shots in tennis with this video clip.
Want to improve your tennis skills? Check out this instructional tennis video that demonstrates how to hit a tennis ball across the court in this video tennis lesson.
