Algorithms Analyze Search Results

News: These Apps Know Your Age, Gender, Emotions, & More

I think it was 1986 when I first discovered my love for making computers say stupid things out loud. My older brother got a Commodore 64 for his birthday, which came bundled with software that would speak out any term you typed in—and boy, that computer sure made a fool of itself after my five-year-old imagination got a hold of the keyboard.

CES 2015: Monitor Your Dog's Activity All Day Long with FitBark, a Wearable Health Tracker

Animal lovers, especially dog owners, know that pets are a part of the family, but it's often incredibly frustrating to know if and when something just isn't right with our furry companions. If you're out and about most of the day, your dog will be so happy to see you when you come home that you may have no idea they were tired and listless all day long, which can be a sign of health problems for your pup. This is where FitBark comes in.

How To: Make the Ringtone on Your Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3, or Other Android Phone Auto Adjust to Your Surroundings

Having your phone ring loudly in a quiet environment could be potentially embarrassing for you, but also quite annoying for everyone else that didn't forget to put their smartphone on silent. Whether it's in class, at work during a meeting, at the library, or a movie screening—you can bet that someone's phone is going to ring loudly, pissing some people off. You don't really want to be that douchebag that interrupts a movie or the middle of a lecture with their annoying ringtone just because ...

How To: Want Detailed Flight Data for Your Backyard Rocket? Use Your iPhone

Rockets will always be cool no matter what age you are, and building your own rocket is even better. If you have an iPhone that you aren't afraid to blast off into the sky, then you can try and build your own iPhone Rocket to record and analyze flight data, like Byte Works did. The list of parts is a little hefty, but their blog provides you with all of the information you need to make sure you have everything. The most important thing you need is the sensor tag, so that you can record the am...

How To: Find Out What Personal Data Your Mobile Apps Are Leaking with Mobilescope

If you use apps on your smartphone, chances are you have no idea what those apps are doing with your information. Just this year, there have been several scandals involving apps transmitting user data, like Path uploading users' entire address books onto its servers, HTC's Security Flaw, and Brewster exposing users' personal information (even Ashton Kutcher's). A new service called Mobilescope wants to make sure you always know where—and to whom—your data is going. Lots of apps copy your cont...

How To: Fix Blurry Photos in Photoshop

It's very easy to get a slightly blurry photograph due to a moving subject, camera shake, or just an incorrect auto-focus, but you don’t have to let that ruin an otherwise terrific picture. All it takes is a little finesse in Photoshop or another photo editing software. This guide covers sharpening a blurry image using Photoshop specifically.

Tasty Testing: Artisanal Cheese Reveals Microbial Secrets of Deliciousness

Whether your palate runs to domestic or imported, a piece of cheese can be a real treat for the senses. Its smell, taste, and texture are all parts of its appeal. A big part of what makes that savory wonderfulness comes from the microbes in and on the cheese. Thanks to a team of researchers dedicated to studying those microbes, we have a better understanding of their importance to cheese and us.

How To: Diceware Gives You Truly Random Yet Easy-to-Memorize Passwords

Passwords are everywhere. We use them to unlock phones, computers, websites, encrypted disks, encrypted files... the list just goes on and on. Savvy users will already have a password manager of some sort that can generate a very strong password on a per site basis. However, these password managers also require a password. Not only that, it has to be something memorable.

How To: Calculate your carbon footprint

Watch this video tutorial to learn how to calculate your carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is an equation that estimates just how much you, personally, are contributing to global warming—and all you have to do is plug some info into an online calculator. Figuring out how to make your footprint smaller, of course, is another matter.