Drawback Search Results

How To: Make a lithium thionyl chloride battery

Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make a lithium thionyl chloride battery, which is capable of generating 2.8v with enough current to power a LED.

How To: Create animated titles using layers in Sony Vegas

Windows Movie Maker has some pretty cool text effects. One of them is a layered effect for titles. Here is basically the same thing in Sony Vegas.

News: The HoloLens Might Have a Small Field of View, but That's Actually a Good Thing

Microsoft's HoloLens is certainly a leap into the future of mixed reality interfaces, but it's not without drawbacks.

IFA 2014: Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 & Galaxy Note Edge

Today was a big day for Samsung at IFA 2014, with announcements of two new devices as successors to the Galaxy Note 3: the Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge.

How To: New iOS 6 Jailbreak Makes Installing Cydia Easier on Your Old "A4" Apple Devices

For those interested in jailbreaking their A4 Apple devices (iPhone 4, 3GS, and 4th Gen iPod touch), a new update has been released that makes things a little easier. Unlike the previous Redsn0w iOS 6 jailbreak, the newest version, 0.9.15b1, comes with full support of the Cydia App store.

News: Apple Watch vs. Fitbit — What's the Best Bang for Your Buck?

In the case of Apple Watch v. Fitbit, the winner comes down to the judge at hand. Apple currently offers two smartwatches — the Series 5 and the Series 3 — while Fitbit offers three models — the Fitbit Versa 2, Fitbit Ionic, and Fitbit Versa Lite. Whatever your assumptions about these devices are, throw them out the window, as each has something unique to bring to the table.

How To: Run USB Rubber Ducky Scripts on a Super Inexpensive Digispark Board

The USB Rubber Ducky is a famous attack tool that looks like a USB flash drive but acts like a keyboard when plugged into any unlocked device. The Ducky Script language used to control it is simple and powerful, and it works with Arduino and can run on boards like the ultra-cheap Digispark board.

How To: Stop Others from Adding You to WhatsApp Groups You Don't Want to Join

Thanks to its encrypted messaging, WhatsApp can be a platform for secure communication with friends and family. One drawback, however, is that the app would let anyone add you to a group chat, regardless of if you approved it or not. This lack of control over your own account is over, as WhatsApp now lets you decide who can add you to a group chat.

News: Wonder How Wristwatches Look No Longer with AR App from Formex

Thanks to augmented reality, fashion companies can let customers try on cosmetics, clothes, more cosmetics, and sunglasses from the comfort of their homes and through the non-judgmental eyes of their smartphone camera.

News: It Looks Like iOS 10 Will Finally Let You Remove Apple's Crappy Stock Apps

It looks like Apple is finally going to do something to address all of the complaints about their unremovable stock apps clogging up people's home screens. While bloatware is a bigger problem on Android where you have to deal with apps from Google and carriers, an iPhone can still get pretty cluttered with all those stock Apple apps. I mean, just look at all this crap... AppAdvice noticed two new keys in the iTunes metadata that strongly suggest that you'll be able to get rid of stock apps on...

News: Microsoft Announces Acquisition of SwiftKey

Microsoft announced Wednesday morning that it has entered into an agreement to acquire SwiftKey, makers of the SwiftKey predictive keyboard and its SDK that runs on over 300 million Android and iOS smartphones, for about $250 million.

How To: Adjust Display Brightness Right from Your Android's Status Bar (No Root Required)

Adjusting the brightness on your Android device is a simple but highly utilized action. For the most part, aside from the Sprint LG G3 variant, the brightness slider can be conveniently found nestled in your notification panel. And though it is easy to access, there is a small drawback to this feature.

How To: Get Quick Access to Media Apps When You Plug in Headphones

As soon as you plug a set of headphones into a Samsung Galaxy series device, a bar pops up in the notification tray that lets you select from a list of "recommended apps" for earphones. It's a convenient little feature that shows the apps you're most likely to use based on previous activity.

How To: Light Hard-to-Reach Candles & Pilot Lights Without Extra Long Matches or Lighters

One of my least favorite tasks is crouching in front of the kitchen oven or gas heater, and burning my fingers as I try to restart the pilot light with regular matches. I end up cursing the fact that I don't own extra-long matches or a stove lighter, but then I never go out and buy them, even though I know this issue will come up again. What can I say? I'm cheap. Now, instead of risking life, limb, and burned fingertips to reignite your pilot light or to kindle the wick on hard-to-reach candl...

How To: Access Running Apps Without Exiting the Current Screen on Your Samsung Galaxy S3

I like to hop between apps pretty often, and luckily my Samsung Galaxy S3 let's me do that fairly quickly. By simply holding the Home button for a few seconds, it will bring up my most recent apps, and I can switch between them with a simple tap. So if I am playing Injustice: Gods Among Us and want to switch the song currently playing on Pandora, I can bring up the recent apps menu to navigate there. While this default app switcher is more than adequate, it takes up the entire screen and coul...

How To: Activate Siri on Your iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR

This year marks the first for Apple to exclude the Home button from any new iPhones. If you're going from a Home-button iPhone to a new XS, XS Max, or XR, you might be a bit stumped when trying to perform basic tasks, such as activating Siri. While you can't hold down the Home button any longer, there's a new method that's just as quick.

News: Galaxy S8s Are Experiencing Screen Burn-in & It's Not Just the Home Button

Last week, the internet was ablaze with talk about the Galaxy S8's home button, because it subtly changes positions without the phone alerting you. This feature was included to stop burn-in issues with the screen, and the general consensus from tech sites was the screens would not experience any burn-in at all.

How To: This Weird Chopping Technique Helps Veggies Cook Faster

Chopping veggies is pretty straightforward: grab the right knife and start slicing. Nothing to it! However, the way you cut your food does affect the length of time it takes to cook, as well as how evenly it cooks. So the next time you need to get your vegetable from hard and crunchy to perfectly soft in mere minutes, give the oblique cut a try.

News: This Cable Can Charge Both Androids & iPhones

We've all been there—you're away from home, your phone's battery is quickly nearing zero, and you forgot to bring your charger. "Hey, does anybody have an iPhone charger?" you ask. Crickets. If you could understand cricket-speak, you'd know that they too were saying "Sorry, bud. We're all on Android."

How To: Recover Forgotten Wi-Fi Passwords in Windows

I spend a lot of time helping friends and family with their tech problems, like clearing a browser's cache, scanning a Windows computer for malware, and speeding up a Mac. However, the issue I deal with most frequently revolves around forgotten network passwords.

How To: Float Videos from Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, & Other Media Sites Anywhere on Android

We've previously covered an app called YouTube Floating Popup Player which let you watch YouTube videos anywhere on your Android device, but it has since been removed from the Google Play Store due to infringement of certain policies.

How To: Swap Heads Up Notifications for the Old-Style Ticker in Android Lollipop

With Android 5.0, Google introduced a new "Heads Up" notification system for incoming calls and messages. While the new incoming call interface seems to be a rousing success, the rest of the Heads Up system has been met with much less enthusiasm from users.

How To: Control Volume Directly from the Notification Tray in Lollipop

If there's one gripe I have with Android Lollipop, it's the new volume menu. When Priority mode was introduced, the stock volume panel was revamped to accommodate it, and somewhere along the way a bit of functionality was lost.

How To: Facebook Undo Gives You 5 Seconds to Think About What You’re Actually Posting

While it's currently impossible to go back in time, there is something wonderful about being able to undo the stupid stuff that you just did. While this is only really possible in the digital world, it does save you from real-life repercussions. If you've ever sent an email to the wrong person or sent some not-so-genius text messages, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

How To: Email & Text Multiple Photos Faster in iOS 8

As it is right now, you can only send 5 images by email at the same time from your Camera Roll in iOS 7. There are some workarounds to increase that number, but a new feature in iOS 8 is finally making them unnecessary.

How To: Add Menu & Search Soft Keys to the Navigation Bar on Your Nexus 7

Many of our everyday apps include a menu tab or search bar, like Chrome and Twitter. In fact, a lot of times those are the first things we go for, as search is universal in most apps, and app settings are just about always accessible through the menu.

How To: Peek at LinkedIn Profiles Anonymously

Log in to your LinkedIn profile, and you'll immediately be prompted to check out who's peeked at your profile. With one click, you can discover how many recruiters, companies, and random people have viewed your online resume.

News: Microsoft Is About to Revolutionize How We Watch Sports at Home

Obviously this is just a teaser, and who knows how soon we'll see something like this in real life, but just go ahead and watch the video first before you continue reading.

How To: This Hack Lets You Touch Your Galaxy's Home Key Instead of Pressing It

Samsung's Galaxy series of devices have one common design theme that ties them all together—the physical home button at the bottom of the phone. This button can wake the phone, take you to your home screen, and even scan your fingerprint to securely unlock your device.

Food Tool Friday: The Cutting-Edge Allure of Ceramic Knives

A good chef's knife is a thing of beauty and, with proper care, a joy forever. It can totally change the way you cook and turn even the dullest prep work into a glee-filled task.

How To: 4 Ways to Clean Up the Status Bar on Your Galaxy S6 (Without Rooting)

The Galaxy S6 might just be the best Android phone on the market right now. From a hardware standpoint, Samsung truly knocked this one out of the park with its finely-crafted build quality and amazing screen.

How To: Turn YouTube into a Free Music Streaming Service

When streaming services like Spotify or Pandora compete for customers, the main differentiating factor is the size of their libraries. While these and comparable services usually run somewhere around $10 per month, a completely free alternative may actually have the most expansive library out there.

How To: Banish Multi-Page Articles & Slideshows Forever

So, you're scanning the internet for some cool articles to read during your lunch break and you come across something pretty interesting—"The 50 Most Incredible Things Every Person with a Brain Should Know." That sounds interesting, so you click, and boom, you are hit with the utterly obnoxious Page 1 of 50. Really?

Hacking WhatsApp: How to Schedule Messages to Send Automatically

Great ideas often strike at random times, but messaging friends and loved ones at an inopportune hour not only risks their wrath, but also increases the chances of your message not being paid proper attention to. Thankfully, there's an app that lets you create and post WhatsApp messages at the time you wish for maximum effect.

How To: Get the OnePlus 5T's Face Unlock on Any Phone

The OnePlus 5T was just released, and it's packing several new useful features. While many OnePlus 5 buyers are feeling frustrated with the quick release cycle, lots of fans are still clamoring to buy the new device. Aside from the larger screen, most of the buzz around the 5T has centered around the new face unlock method. Thanks to a clever hack, you can now get this feature on almost any phone!

How To: Force Switch to T-Mobile or Sprint on Project Fi

If you own a Pixel or Nexus device, Project Fi is a great alternative for cellular service outside of the four major US carriers. Project Fi is a Google-managed MVNO, providing service primarily through the T-Mobile and Sprint networks. One of the biggest mysteries on Fi is which network you're connected to at any given time, but there's a simple solution.

Review: Altered Beast — The Standard for Porting Games to Mobile

When I booted up my second Sega Forever title, I wasn't sure what to expect. Sonic 1 was fun, but the controls weren't great. Touch screen controls can be excellent when the game is designed for them, but retrofitting a game designed for a physical controller to be played on a smartphone, well, sometimes is a bit disastrous.

News: Scientists Are Using Targeted Light to Help the Immune System Track Down Tumors

We fight cancer in a variety of ways, but no matter whether drugs, biologics, or our immune cells are part of the battle, they can do a better job fighting back cancer if we can help them find the tumors.

News: Anthrax Outbreak in Tanzania Brings a Dangerous Bioterror Threat Back to the World Stage

An outbreak of anthrax from contaminated meat in Tanzania sickened dozens of people and moves the danger of this deadly bacteria back into focus.

News: Augmented Reality Surprised Sundance Film Festival with a Journey into the Human Brain

The largest and arguably most widely known event of its type, especially in the US, the Sundance Film Festival is an annual celebration of independent film—ones made outside the Hollywood system. This year, a new type of experience appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in an installation called "The Journey to the Center of the Natural Machine." This mixed reality presentation offered the user the newest type of storytelling in a long and important line—continuation of the species kind of im...