Update (February 2019): The methods below will help on older Android versions, but we've recently revisited this topic. So if you have a newer Android phone and you want to get rid of Google, head here.
Snapchat has built upon the photo-sharing service it once was to become a money-sending, commercial-shelling, video-messaging giant. They improved their user experience by adding Stories, Geofilters, and even the rarely-used Snapcash feature, but why isn't there something as simple as color filters? Yes, they have filters for black and white, saturated, and sepia, but that's it as far as color goes.
Hello, Hackers/Viewers! My name is nullf0x, and I have 4 years of experience as a hacker. You might see everyday that one of your friends or acquaintances get a new virus in their computer. You might think, How cool would it be if I made a virus? or How cool would I be if i could remove viruses from others computers for money or free?
Dolby may have made a lot of Android users angry by only offering their Atmos surround sound equalizer to Lenovo and Amazon, but we all know that exclusivity is only temporary in the Android world. Thanks to worstenbrood, we now have a ported version that can be installed on any device running Android 4.3 and above.
While the Spotify interface isn't overly complicated or confusing, it's not exactly safe to use when behind the wheel. Thankfully, a new app from Navideck is here to make driving with a Spotify premium membership easier and safer for your daily commutes.
Chances are your hearing isn't the same as the person next to you. Personally, I have moderate hearing loss, so I tend to turn the volume nob towards the loud side. For others, it may be that one ear is slightly better or worse than the other, not only in perceiving volume, but tone as well. Considering this, is it possible for smartphone manufacturers to ensure the best sound quality on their devices?
Everyone's a music aficionado these days. Whether you're having a party or on a road trip with friends, someone is always complaining about the music. There's no possible way to satisfy everyone, so instead of having your music drowned out by persistent nagging, turn Spotify into a democracy, allowing the consensus to pick what plays.
Despite CyanogenMod actively working on their CM 12S Lollipop-based ROM, OnePlus has opted to develop their own ROM, and after a few setbacks, OxygenOS is finally out. The OS is the result of OnePlus wanting to ship their devices without needing an outside company to create a ROM to power it. Like CyanogenMod's ROMs, Oxygen OS offers a vanilla Android Lollipop experience tailored for the OnePlus One.
Reddit is one of the internet's greatest sources of funny and interesting videos. Its user base is extremely active, and a system of upvotes and downvotes ensures that the best content always rises to the top.
I've used the flashlight feature on my iPhone more times than I can count. It's an invaluable tool that's super easy to activate; just pull up the Control Center and hit the flashlight icon. However, turning it off isn't always as easy, especially when you're on the lock screen.
Some elements of iOS's design, like its minimal color palette, are what make Apple products unique, helping to produce a clean, sleek user experience. But after you jailbreak, that all goes out the window. Once you've tried things like theming your status bar, changing your icons, or applying a new lock screen, you'll never see your iOS device in the same way again.
Reddit is a force to be reckoned with. What started out as link aggregator has become one of the world's most popular websites, with over 170 million unique visitors and 6 billion monthly pageviews. Whether you're into cute animals, crazy conspiracy theories, sports, or Taylor Swift's armpit, Reddit definitely has something for every taste, interest, and morbid curiosity.
YouTube and the National Football League have announced a partnership that should greatly improve the online experience for gridiron fans. In a posting on their official blog, YouTube outlines a deal that will bring NFL video clips to their immensely popular site while bumping official NFL pages up to the top of relevant Google search results.
As one of the most frequently used and popular applications available, Facebook is now attempting to be a little more considerate for those Android users that don't have a bleeding-edge device or fast data connections.
Peeling garlic is one kitchen task that every cook, from the newbie to the experienced, is always trying to make easier. Methods vary, from shaking heads of garlic inside a container to using the microwave to help peels slide right off.
Finger limes are one of those foods that bring out the little kid in even the most staid grown-up. I dare you not to squeal when you cut one open, squeeze, and see all that bubbly goodness emerge.
Apple's keyboard has a set of media controls to navigate the music playing on iTunes, allowing you to play, pause, skip, and replay songs and videos. Unfortunately, these controls are exclusive to iTunes; if you're playing music from Spotify, Pandora, or the myriad of other online web-based services (Amazon, Rdio, SoundCloud, etc.), you're out of luck.
The ability to make a meal for yourself used to be one of those life skills you had to learn or otherwise you would starve, but the rise of convenience foods, takeout, and other aspects of modern living have made it entirely possible to be a grown person and not know what to do in the kitchen.
With most of HTC's staff working on getting Sense updated to Android Lollipop, their piecemeal approach to individual app updates now comes to their Gallery app. The new update is available for all HTC devices running KitKat, but if you have the HTC Service Pack installed, it will run on any Android device running 4.4 or above.
Windows 8 may have introduced a new, intuitive touch-based interface, but plenty of Microsoft loyalists were unhappy with the absence of the classic start menu that they were so accustomed to.
If you're someone who likes to customize their user experience, stock Android is a lot like a blank canvas. The firmware that comes preinstalled on Nexus devices is just Android—no manufacturer skins or carrier bloat involved. This simplicity opens up the door for many root mods and flashable ZIPs that can be installed in a custom recovery.
Reading articles on an Android phone using Chrome Browser can be a little bit of a battle; it often times requires adjusting the page to fit the screen in order to make it easier to read and scroll through. I sometimes lose this struggle and give up trying to read on my device, saving the article for a later time when I'm on my laptop.
When it comes to subscription-based music streaming services, the conversation doesn't go much further than Spotify and Google Play Music (previously called "All Access"). Both services are essentially the same aside from slightly different catalogues and social options, and they both run ten bucks a month for unlimited music streaming and offline track saving (although Spotify does have a free, ad-supported service).
While chatting in Hangouts on Android, inserting an emoji or animated sticker can instantly make the conversation more fun, but they'll eventually lose their charm, as most things do. Even if you add GIFs to your texting arsenal, things could get stale. That is, unless they're personalize GIFs you actually make yourself (the process is really simple).
While the "Hey, Siri" feature in iOS 8 is useful for hands-free multitasking, you can only use the command when your device is actually charging.
Google Earth is the cheapest way to travel the world, i.e., virtually. Their super satellites give us unbelievable access to images from pretty much any place around the globe, turning us all into would-be world explorers. Plus, these images make for stunning wallpapers.
Whenever a picture is sent via MMS, a certain amount of compression needs to be done in order for a carrier's network to send it. That compression is meant to ease strain on the network, but in the end it leads to heavy downsizing and increased graininess in pictures.
For the most part, Finder has had the same basic functionality through the various releases of OS X. But Apple's lack of interest in adding new bells and whistles to the backbone of their operating system simply means that 3rd-party developers get to shine, and Tran Ky Nam is one such developer. He created his own extension for Finder that adds tabbed browsing, dual pane mode, cut & paste functionality, and much, much more.
Pie controls are navigation soft keys that can be displayed by swiping up or from the side of your screen, allowing you to navigate, search, call up the power menu, take screenshots, and a lot more. Not only are pie controls functional, they make using Immersive Mode a breeze since the regular nav bar was no longer required.
By now, Samsung's Multi-Window Mode is a pretty well-known feature. With other manufacturers now recreating this functionality in their own flagships, like LG, it's safe to say the feature has been a hit with consumers.
Like a car, your Mac needs to be monitored and cared for to keep it running as smoothly as possible. While your vehicle comes with a ton of gauges to keep track of your oil, temperature, and in some cases, even tire pressure, your Mac has no easy way to watch for low memory or high disk usage. Normally you would have to open up Activity Monitor to take a look at your usage stats, but now there is something better.
As soon as third-party keyboard compatibility was announced for iOS 8, Apple loyalists and the newly curious both looked to the popular Android third-party keyboard developer, SwiftKey, to see if they'd be offering their services to iOS.
When Android 4.4 was released, the massive changelog led to some awesome new features getting lost in the virtually endless list of new tweaks. One such change was the ability to set a default text messaging app, which streamlined the existing process of installing a third-party SMS client.
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.
Whether you are just starting or returning to college, or have already been out in the real world for some time, it's always a good idea to stay on top of your game by keeping your intellect sharp. While it may be easy to just sit in front of your TV, watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory, why not use that time to brush up on some chemistry, calculus, or general learning strategies?
For some reason, when you're typing in landscape mode, Android extends the text input field to cover every bit of the screen that the keyboard's not occupying. This gets pretty annoying sometimes, especially with messaging apps where you might need to reference what the other person just said in order to properly form your response.
The idle screen for the Chromecast is certainly beautiful. Full of many high-definition pictures taken of various parts of the world, it's almost a shame that we have to dismiss this screen in order to cast content.
On a recent trip to Palm Springs, I found myself navigating with Google Maps and virtually exploring my destiniation using its built-in Street View feature. The thing is, using Street View can make keeping track of your exact location difficult as you zoom in, out, and about. It's a little discombobulating.
The level of customization that Android has to offer is insane. You can replace the stock keyboard and home screen with any third-party app of your choosing, allowing core experiences to be tailored to fit your needs.
The book that started it all (published in 1967). When Virginia Harvey wrote this book, she remarked that macramé was almost a lost art...
