Naps provide some serious mental and physical benefits, but not if they last too long or occur too late in the day. Ideally, you want to awake from a nap feeling alert and refreshed enough to attack the rest of your tasks with renewed zeal, but not energized to the point where you can't get to sleep at night. Alas, most of us don't know these tricks and end up messing with our sleep cycle (guilty).
Last week's tech roundup featured iPhone 6 clones, an all-in-one sleep tracker, Xbox One updates, and other cool gadgets. This week, there's a lot more to show off, and a bunch of stuff that I need to get my hands on! Everything from app updates to putting stickers on your favorite items, I can't help but squeal at how much the "future" is right now.
A huge chunk of my life revolves around my computer, and whenever I'm on my laptop and get a text message notification on my phone, I find it extremely distracting to stop whatever I'm doing to hunt it down. That's why I'm a big fan of text messaging via my computer.
You hand your iPhone to a friend to show them a picture. What happens? They swipe. Left, right, it doesn't matter. You don't remember what lies in either direction of the photo in question, and you don't want anything compromising exposed to the unassuming viewer. Luckily, Apple includes a safety net in iOS to prevent this scenario from ever happening, so long as you set it up ahead of time.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you're probably well aware that the Android world has been buzzing with excitement over the recently debuted Android L preview build that was released for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 at Google's I/O conference.
Coffee is a topic that everyone has a strong opinion about, especially when it comes to brewing the perfect cup. Even if you buy the best beans and grind them yourself, chances are you're skipping one necessary step to make sure your coffee tastes the best it can: cleaning your coffeemaker the right way.
When it comes to squeezing as much battery life as possible out of our smartphones, most people aim for software solutions, or ones that can otherwise be easily managed right from the touchscreen.
The newest version of iOS 8 beta is now out. Almost three weeks ago, in the iOS 8 beta 2 release, we saw podcast integration, full-screen caller ID, new assistive touch toggles, and a "disable all" button for app notifications, among other things.
If you have a hard time remembering what you've just read on your iPad or Kindle, try changing the font next time. The typeface you use to read books, newspapers, and online articles is either hurting or helping your memory, and you'll be surprised which ones are killing your brain cells.
Admit it, you wish Siri was on your Mac, and so do I. She stole my heart on iOS, and now every time I open up my MacBook, I feel something missing. Wouldn't it be great if we could, I dunno, hack Siri onto our Macs? Yeah, it would!
Beef aficionados love a medium-rare burger, but many people are wary of meat that's on the pink or red side since it might contain bacteria. Is it possible to enjoy a burger that's perfectly juicy and yet also cooked thoroughly enough to destroy all traces of salmonella, E. coli, and other microbes that cause foodborne illness? Absolutely! You just need to know a trick (or three).
It's been over two whole years since the Samsung Galaxy S3 was released, so let's face it—our beloved GS3, once an iconic heavyweight in the tech arena, is almost as washed up as Sylvester Stallone.
Admit it: you haven't talked to more than 70 percent of your Facebook friends in the last year. Whether you barely know the names crowding your friends list, or have vague memories of high school Spanish class with them, Facebook friends are easy to find and difficult to get rid of.
As a species, our cells are designed to use sugar for energy. Is it any wonder that as humans evolved, we grew to love the taste of sugar?
You've probably seen someone in your family truss the turkey on Thanksgiving before roasting it, even if you don't recognize the word. To truss a bird or roast just means to wrap it up as compactly as possible before placing it in the oven, and it's usually done by tying it with string. Trussing a bird is a tradition that's been around for a long time, and a lot of home cooks do it religiously even if they don't know why. It's a highly debated topic with fierce supporters on both sides, but f...
Last week, we covered a new, open-source live wallpaper (LWP) called Muzei, and less than a week later we have no less than twenty beautiful add-on extensions to the app.
Recently, Google unleashed the Chromecast development kit, which lets developers add Chromecast streaming functionality to their own apps. However, there aren't many apps with Chromecast capabilities yet, and big companies and devs are still working on polishing their final products.
What do Hulu Plus, Pandora, and YouTube all have in common? Ads—and lots of them. Sometimes, an advertisement or two isn't a big deal, but when you're bombarded with them daily on your iPhone, they can get old really quick, and might even lead you to delete the apps entirely.
Starting towards the end of January, all you see is pink and red hearts for a few weeks every year, and food is no exception. Heart-shaped cookies, candies, and cupcakes are everywhere, but it doesn't stop there—you can find heart-shaped food for every meal of the day.
When you enter the softModder realm by rooting your Nexus 5, you open up an exciting world of possibilities and deep customizations for your device. Among other things, it gives you the ability to flash custom ROMs which, individually, act as entirely different operating systems that can vastly alter your user experience.
Texting can be difficult sometimes. When you're browsing the web or playing a game on your iPhone and need to respond to text message real quick, you have to exit your current app to do so. Not exactly efficient, especially if a quick "K" is all you need to say.
It's no surprise that Costco has great deals, and that's why millions pay annual fees for the privilege to shop in their wholesale outlets. Just take their hotdog and soda combo for $1.50—it's the same price now as it was 27 years ago.
I have literally played Madden, watched YouTube videos, and listened to music on my phone all at the same time. Some would call this pathetic, but I call it talent. Life is way too short, so I need to get the most out of it when I can. Thank goodness for multitasking, which should be a key feature when you're looking into a new tablet or phone.
Sometimes, you just don't want to hit the Power button to turn your screen off. In the current age of touchscreens, you've got to wonder why we even have physical keys anymore.
Ever since the early days of their existence, cell phones have been reducing the common wristwatch to nothing more than a fashion accessory. I'm not exactly a watch aficionado, but I do own a few that I wear on a daily basis. Since I have family in different parts of the world, I love my watches that have a second time zone, allowing me to see what time it is where they are.
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 sound I get when receiving a new text message is the camel from that Geico commercial yelling "Hump Day!" Sure, I could find a less obnoxious notification sound, but it makes me laugh every time, and that's important.
My standard text greeting to friends is something along the lines of "Wazzup biznitch?"—but apparently the auto-correct function on my Samsung Galaxy S3 has a problem with that. Time after time I have to retype it or just add all my made-up words to the word list—and I use a lot of made-up words, because that's what bosses do. But texting isn't the only way I communicate. I also use email, chat, and social media on a daily basis—and I don't always use my phone. So, wouldn't it be awesome if m...
"What is dead may never die." That's easily one of the best lines (and episode title) from HBO's Game of Thrones series. While the saying may ring true for the Ironborn, it's not quite as catchy when it comes to batteries.
Writing longhand may boost learning and goal achievement, but that doesn't mean squat if you don't have pen and paper on you.
In a previous article, I pointed out a few criticisms of the Google Play Store, mostly about how unpolished and inefficient it is. To give you a better idea of what I mean, here are just a few of my complaints with the Play Store:
The art of persuasion is a very crucial characteristic that anyone can learn, and it has countless benefits. Whether it's at work, home, or in social situations, the ability to be veritably persuasive can have an unheralded impact on your daily life.
We frequently associate plastics with the modern era, starting at around the 1950s with the prevalence of bakelite. However, for all of you "you can't use plastic in Steampunk" purists out there, I have bad news for you:
The number of passwords I have for different websites and emails is easily in the triple digits. And if I had to actually remember all of those individual passwords, I would be locked out of accounts on a daily basis.
"Cheating is for losers" is only something that losers like to say. If you want to smash your friends and fly up the leaderboards, though, sometimes you have to go that extra mile.
A man once told me to never complain about gas prices. With the average price of regular unleaded gas at $3.34 a gallon, it's hard not to, even if it is the holiday season. Since my car averages about 22 mpg, the man offered me this proposition: "If I offered you $3.34, would you walk 22 miles?"
It can be incredibly frustrating to take closeup shots with an iPhone camera—or any smartphone camera for that matter. Even if your phone's camera is top of the line, you'll still get a fuzzy picture if you get to close to your subject.
The cost of movie tickets in North America are currently at an all-time high, but with so many great films coming out, just not going doesn't seem like a probable option. Luckily, there's more than a few resources on the Internet to help you mitigate some of those costs.
Chopsticks are very easily reusable, yet they always get thrown away. You use them when you get Chinese takeout, then toss them out without even a backwards glance.
Hello! This post is not about craft, it's about cyber bullying. If you ever had such an experience, that an unknown hacker was bullying you for no reason at all, please follow my words. Thank you! Step 1: Let All the People You Know That Your Are Being Harassed.
