Common Ill Search Results

How To: Make Sticky or Stubborn Wooden Drawers Slide More Smoothly

When I was moving into my current apartment, I had to store some of my things in my ex-roommate's garage for over a month while I was getting settled. One of those things was my dresser. Upon moving it into my new place, I realized something was horribly, horribly wrong—none of the drawers seemed to fit quite right anymore (if they fit at all). The combination of the differences in temperature and humidity in the garage caused them to swell and change shape. Several months later, they fit bet...

How To: Don't Get Burned! How to Prevent Your iPhone from Overheating

A few months ago I was driving around trying to find a store using Apple Maps (a terrible situation in and of itself), when my iPhone decided to shut off in the middle of giving me directions. I had no idea what happened, and when I looked at the screen, I saw this: My phone had never overheated and I really didn't know what to do. Needless to say, I couldn't really get to where I was trying to go without those directions. I pulled over and waited for the phone to cool back down, which took a...

How To: Make Your Nexus 7's Brightness Auto Adjust to Your Preferred Levels in Different Environments

When it comes to our smartphones and tablets, we're always on the lookout for ways to beat the oh so common rapid battery depletion problem that affects practically every mobile device. We'll do anything and everything to keep our battery life at an optimum, from turning off certain features (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) to removing widgets and applications that use an exorbitant amount of CPU. One of the most popular and efficient ways of saving battery is to lower the screen brightness. Usually, we...

How To: Download and Change Your PlayStation 3's Wallpaper Without Using Your Computer

The PlayStation 3 is a sweet gaming system, and even though Blu-ray discs didn't really live up to all the hype and there is still no HBO GO app available, I love my PS3. One of the coolest things about it is that you can customize it to look however you want. One of the most common ways to do this is by changing the wallpaper, but most people use their computers to transfer wallpaper images over.

How To: Repurpose Your Old LEGO Bricks into a Functional Hanging Key Holder

LEGO may no longer be in its heyday, but those colored building blocks of joy can still make some really cool and creative things. I mean, take a look at these pieces from LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya. While making something like that is undoubtedly impressive, it could be just a little too difficult for the common LEGO enthusiast—and expensive (LEGOs aren't cheap these days). So, for the regular LEGO-builders, usefulness is more important that extravagance.

How To: 3 Free Alternatives to Apple's iPhoto

Firstly, I'd like to say that I have nothing against iPhoto; it's a great application that works wonderfully in Mac OS X. Unfortunately, when you no longer have iPhoto on your MacBook—and you don't want to pay for it—looking for an alternative is a necessary endeavor. I could sit here and try to explain to you how I updated to Lion and then inexplicably dragged the iPhoto application into the trash—and proceeded to empty said trash. I could tell you guys that story, but I fear you might judge...

How To: Break into Almost Any Gun Safe with Straws, Paper Clips, Coat Hangers, and Even Children!

At the recent DefCon conference in Las Vegas, researchers opened many of the top commercially available gun safes with simple tools like a straw or a paper clip, and in one case, just by shaking it a bit. The investigation began after the researchers, Toby Bluzmanis, Marc Tobias and Matt Fiddler, learned that certain Stack-On safes, issued to some law enforcement officials to secure their firearms at home, could be opened simply by jiggling the doorknob.

How To: TAP Card Dissolved! How to Use Acetone to Transfer an RFID Tag to Your Phone

RFID cards are becoming a fairly common way to purchase goods, but they're already widely used to pay fares on buses, trains, subways, and trolleys across various cities. TAP cards are quick and reliable, but it can be a real pain to remember to bring them with you, especially if you weren't planning on using public transportation that day. Luckily, an intrepid tinkerer at Adafruit has managed to find a way to embed an RFID card into her phone, something you're far less likely to leave at home.

How To: Troubleshoot a car that has a high idle

Does your car idle high and make an obnoxious racket every time you are stopped at a light, drawing dispproving looks from your fellow motorists? If you are into home car maintenance, you may be able to diagnose the cause of this problem yourself. This video illustrates how to test for one common problem that leads to a high idle, a faulty throttle position sensor, the contacts on which have been worn down by the throttle. You will need an analog multimeter to test the ohm load from the senso...

How To: Curl short hair easily

The great thing about having long hair, is the ability to do almost anything to it. You can flatten it, cut it short, place it in a ponytail and of course curl it. There are so many ways to curl hair, but one of the most easiest and common ways is by using a curling iron and some basic hair products such as hair spray, a comb, and of course, patience. Sit back and find out how to curl short hair easily in this tutorial. Enjoy!

How To: Fix a broken click wheel, select button on your iPod

In this tutorial video, hosted by harrymedan, you will learn how to fix a broken or nonfunctional select button on your iPod, as well as the common causes of the select button no longer working. According to the host this problem is usually caused by the battery in the iPod itself. He suggests opening up the back of the iPod and replacing the old battery, which is usually swollen from being charged so many times, and puts pressure on the select button causing it to become inoperable. If you a...

How To: Beat a drug test

When you are tested for drugs, the drugs can be found in your hair and blood. There are three types of tests: hair test, blood test and urine test. The urine test, being the cheapest, is the most common drug test. Some ways to beat this unwanted drug screening is by drinking x-amount of water, this dilutes the drug within your system. The second method is to inform them that you are a user, or that you attend frequent rock concerts. (This method isn't recommended because of the outrageous amo...

How To: Get more power out of your golf drive

It's time for some golf! What's an 18-year-old know about distance? Justin James can belt it 400 yards and more, and with his power tip, you too can tack on a few extra yards. Well, maybe not 400 yards, but you get the idea. See how to get more power out of your golf drive.

How To: All the Sites You Can Check for Coronavirus Testing Locations

One of the scariest things about the COVID-19 virus is that you can show no symptoms but still be infected (and contagious). Naturally, we all want to know whether we're carrying the new coronavirus, but if you're showing signs of COVID-19, how can you be tested to know for sure? Websites are popping up to help with that, screening for symptoms, and directing you to a testing site if needed.

How To: Block Notifications While You're Using the Camera on Your Android Phone

Imagine this: you have your finger poised to take the perfect picture — a once in a lifetime opportunity, like a solar eclipse — and you are suddenly caught off guard by a buzz, then "ding!" You look down at your phone to find your perfect pic ruined by distortion from the vibration, all because of an ill-timed notification. It's enough to make you crazy, especially when you find out it could have been prevented.