The days of D batteries and bulky Maglites are over thanks to that handy little device in your pocket called a smartphone. Everyone has one, and thanks to the Control Center in iOS 7, your iPhone now has an easy-to-access flashlight, no matter what screen you're on. Just swipe up from the bottom of your home, lock, or app screen and tap on the flashlight icon. As easy and quick as this is, there's one problem.
Candles can be pretty expensive, which is why most of you probably resort to flashlights during a power outage. But when your batteries run out, you're out of luck, unless you know one of these methods for making a DIY emergency candle out of household junk.
Have you ever noticed how your home screen and lock screen wallpaper moves underneath your notification, app icons, really anything on display? It's a cool effect, but to some, might be a bit jarring. On top of that, it also uses up precious battery life. If you're sick of seeing this parallax effect on your iPhone, here's how to turn it off.
The NVIDIA Shield is essentially a game controller with a screen attached so you can take your music, movies and games wherever you go. It lets you stream the PC games you already have over Wi-Fi so you don't have to be in front of the computer to play them. LinusTechTips was supposed to receive a Shield to test, but it was late getting there, so they decided to make their own using an Android phone and an Xbox 360 controller. They've dubbed the project "Ghetto Shield."
Ubuntu isn't just a cool sounding name, but pegs itself as the world's favorite free operating system. It gained its popularity for being lightweight, fast, and visually appealing, and now that great look and speed can be placed right on the lock screen of your Samsung Galaxy S3.
You can find a ton of live wallpapers for your Android device on Google Play, but the more alluring interactive ones are a harder to come by, which can bring your home screen to life using a few finger swipes and taps.
There are a ton of cool features available on your Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but if you're a softModder, you can make your phone do just about anything.
Not having power sucks. It can be fun for the first few hours, but if it lasts any longer than that, most people run out of things to do pretty quickly (i.e. the batteries in all their devices die).
As with practically any other device, the Samsung Galaxy S3 has its fair share of complaints. Some have workarounds, some can be solved with mods or apps, and some seem to have no fix at all.
If you've recently jailbroken your iPhone 5, there's a likely chance that you're overwhelmed by the huge numbers of themes, add-ons and tweaks littered throughout the Cydia directory.
Samsung unveiled their new flagship device, the Galaxy S4, at a live event in New York City today. Here's a quick rundown of the specs and all of the new features that you can expect when you finally get your hands on one (whenever that will be). The GS4's Specs
Although it's been several years since Angry Birds first came out, it's still going strong in the App Store, currently third place on the Top Free Apps chart. The new Angry Birds Star Wars is sixth place on the Top Paid Apps chart. What does this show us? Those pesky birds can't be shooed away.
Most of the time, if you're actually using your computer, it won't just go to sleep on you. But when you're reading a long article or watching a video and don't move the mouse or use the keyboard for a while, the screen automatically dims or goes into sleep mode.
There are many ways you can protect your computer from unwarranted access. For instance, you can use Lockscreen Pro to lock your Windows 8 computer and then have the program snap a photo of the culprit using your webcam.
If you ride your bike or motorcycle a lot, especially in a large city, you've probably had a few close calls. No matter how safely you're driving, you never know what other people are going to do, and being on a smaller vehicle makes you difficult to see.
Since the emergence of GoPro, the company's cameras have been been on a steady incline for the past several years. Adventure enthusiasts had difficulty recording their extreme activities without a huge price tag before the GoPro came along in 2002.
Warm water is an essential part of life that we sometimes tend to take for granted. Over one billion people, or roughly one-seventh of the world's population, have no access to hot water.
A lot of people text nonstop, but there are situations where it's either not allowed or considered rude to use your phone. Let's say you're in class or in a meeting at work, band you're expecting an important message or phone call. Rather than trying to check your phone discreetly, wouldn't it be better if you could just see your calls and messages on your computer?
Google Play has no shortage of Nintendo emulators: SuperGNES (Super Nintendo)
One of the roles our government has taken on is to provide us with information to be used in making decisions.
Eavesdropping from a distance can be tricky because it usually requires some sort of bug or transmitter. It's easy to transmit audio through lasers, but you can also use lasers to build a microphone that picks up audio from a distance. LucidScience built the Laser Spy System for about $20. To make your own, you'll need a cheap laser pointer, an NPN phototransistor, a headphone amp, and a few other small pieces listed below. A light-to-sound circuit is installed in a small plastic box with the...
Android devices are known for their USB and Wi-Fi tethering abilities—rooted or unrooted—which comes in handy for those that travel and need internet on their laptops in areas that don't have any Wi-Fi networks available, but have a strong cellular signal.
Doorbells are useful and all, but most of them are boring as hell. They use the same old generic sounds to let you know when guests have arrived, as demonstrated below.
There are plenty of ways to mount your camera on your bike, but there's not much you can do about uneven surfaces on the road that cause your videos to end up looking shaky. If you're on a motorcycle, it's even worse because turns force you to lean, which makes your video tilt.
Erasing everything off of your phone and starting anew is a pretty drastic step to take for a little glitch. For most people, system restoring is a last resort option, but there are a few reasons to want or need to restore your device to factory settings.
Thanks to Flutter, it's now possible to control the music on your computer simply by making a few hand gestures. The app is available for both Windows and Mac and uses your computer's webcam to monitor your hand movements. Through the use of a few simple hand movements, you can play, pause, forward or replay your music. Flutter works with iTunes, Spotify, Quicktime, MPlayerX and a few other programs.
There are plenty of tank robots out there, but how many of them can recognize 3D objects and map their environment? Tanky, the tracked mobile robot, can do all that and more while rolling around on his bicycle chain treads. Created as a Master's thesis project, Tanky is made almost entirely of parts you can find at your local hardware store. It was built in two "layers" with the motors, electronics, and batteries on bottom and the processing unit, a laptop, on top. The motors came from cordle...
A couple of months ago at the Black Hat security conference, hacker Cody Brocious gave the hotel industry a nasty surprise when he figured out how to hack the locks made by Onity that are used in millions of hotels worldwide.
Who doesn't love Duck Hunt? It's arguably one of the most popular games ever created for the original NES system, even in spite of the mocking dog that everyone hates. I'm sure a lot of people still have their old controllers in the attic somewhere, so unless you're lucky enough to have an NES that still works, why not put that childhood nostalgia to good use?
Ever been halfway to work or school and suddenly remembered you forgot to log off your computer? A lot of people are constantly logged in to email and social media accounts, so if you have a mischievous roommate or sibling, this situation could be disastrous. That's where TweetMyPC comes in—it's a free Windows application that lets you send commands to your computer just by tweeting. Image by Twittermania
The worst part of moving into a new place is, well...moving. It's tedious, a lot of hard labor, and it can take forever, and don't even get me started on all those labels. It's also one of the only times in your life when everything you own can be stolen at once, since it's sitting in a movable container. Rather than risk losing everything, try this DIY Moving Truck Alarm System by Tim Flint that lets you know when the loading door is opened so you can catch would-be thieves red handed.
Invented by Philadelphia tinsmith John L. Manson in 1858 for canning and preserving perishables, mason jars are experiencing a major resurgence in the DIY community. In addition to being a handy storage device for both food and non-food items, its old-timey, quaintly antiquated look also makes for good drinking glasses, candle holders, flower vases and eye-pleasing decorations.
The new Windows 8 Metro Apps (or Modern UI, or Windows 8 Tablet Style Apps, or whatever you want to call them) are sleek and quick, but unfortunately there's not an obvious way to completely close out of them.
Shooting a photo or video in a car can be rather difficult without a proper mount, and if you want to secure your camera outside the car, it can be just plain expensive. Luckily, there are tons of DIY camera mounts for both inside and outside your vehicle, and most of them are pretty cheap to make. Here are some of the best.
Since most devices these days are mobile and wireless, a lot of people have a bunch of old hardware from a decade or two ago sitting around unused, just wasting away in dusty boxes. Look familiar?
There's no charge for this electricity! All you'll need for this project is... Now, watch and learn how to make your own emergency power if you find yourself in a bind.
Riding your bicycle at night is dangerous on busy streets, especially if you've got no bike lights. In most states, it's illegal to ride your bike at night without any lights because drivers on the road won't be able to see you until it's too late. Plus, how is anybody going to notice your sweet ride without a little illumination?
One of the most annoying things about summer is mowing the lawn. Depending on how big your yard is, it can mean spending hours out in the hot sun while you could be doing something a lot more fun like watching the Olympics or making giant soap bubbles. Reclaim your summer with this remote control lawn mower that does all the hard work for you.
As deeply as smartphones are integrated into our daily lives, it's no surprise that people are finding ways to use them to stay healthy. From detecting cancer and radiation to diagnosing STDs, phones have come a long way, baby.
Dogs make great best friends, but anyone who's had one knows they can be the most high-maintenance friend you've ever had. Bathroom breaks, feeding schedules and walks are only the beginning. Even if you make your dog organic treats and teach it neat tricks, it still needs to play. And after that fifth game of fetch, your arm can get pretty tired.
