Accessing notifications and quick settings from the lock screen just makes things move quicker and more efficiently, unless of course we're using a secure lock screen. It makes sense that if we have face, pattern, or pin security enabled, we may not want notifications accessible, but really, that should be something we decide for ourselves—and now we can.
Android is all about the fine details. You can make a little tweak here and a little tweak there and completely customize your experience to be exactly how you want it to be. Sure, you don't need to customize LED colors or screen record, but it's nice to know you can.
Efficiency is one integral attribute that I need from my Android device. I want to be able to multitask like a maniac and do things on the fly. While multitasking itself is nothing new, actually being able to watch Netflix while scrolling through IMDB at the same damn time was reserved mainly for newer Samsung-ier devices.
Apple hates game emulators. Go ahead, look around in the iOS App Store, you won't find any. But who needs 'em anyway?
Changing the look and feel of an app's user interface can really make it more pleasurable. Popular apps like Facebook or Twitter may take for granted the importance of a clean UI, since the companies have hundreds of millions of users no matter what their apps look like.
If you're a ladies man like me then this next tip could save you from sorely embarrassing yourself. Here's the problem: You think you are texting Kelly M from New Year's when you're actually texting Kelly F from that one bar. Needless to say this could cause a problem with your relationships.
We will show you with easy step by step instruction how to create a beautiful edible apple swan. This swan is easy to create and can be done in under 5m. Makes for a great centre piece during a special dinner.
For a photo- and video-sharing app based around privacy, Snapchat sure has a lot of security holes floating around. At one time, you were able to take screenshots of Snapchats in iOS 7 without the sender knowing, which is something that you can still do on rooted Android devices.
Maybe you are on your phone a little too much sometimes. But when you are rocking some of the best mobile games being offered it can be hard to pull yourself away. If you get a new phone or a App Store gift card you are going to want to load yourself with the hottest app available. And once you're done playing, take a little time out to enjoy the family too.
I've said it before, but there are few things quite as annoying (or embarrassing) as having your smartphone go off at a time where it just shouldn't happen. Imagine a nice, intimate evening with your significant other; you dim the lights, snuggle up, and "this classic" comes on. Or, your phone goes off in a meeting, and your boss gives you that look.
One good thing about having friends who are constantly on their phones and tablets is it's easy to figure out what to get them for Christmas. Everyone hates getting gifts that just sit around, so it's always nice to get something that improves an item you use on a daily basis.
There are a ton of cool things you can do with your iPhone's camera in iOS 7, from taking burst photos to bouncing the camera open and taking nice parallax-friendly wallpapers. However, nothing tops the camera's super secret hidden feature—turning you into a spy photographer.
For someone used to the old-style HTC Sense, upgrading to an HTC One with Sense 5 is a pretty intuitive experience, but there's one thing that some users find obtrusively different. Blinkfeed, an app which aggregates newsworthy articles from various sources and pins them in a scrolling feed on your home screen. If you don't like staying current on news, or don't like how much RAM it eats up, you probably want to get rid of it. There's been some questions about removing Blinkfeed in our forum,...
"Ain't No Sunshine" might just be a classic song to you, but for me and my Samsung Galaxy S3, it means so much more. For the most part, my GS3 does a decent job at automatically adjusting the brightness of the screen when I'm in normal lighting, but when I'm in little or no lighting, or there's just way to much, I usually have to switch over to manual to get the right balance. Luckily, we're not stuck with Samsung's built-in auto brightness feature. There are some really good third-party solu...
Anyone who uses a computer on a regular basis probably knows how to access the task manager to check system resources and usage stats. However, on a Samsung Galaxy S3 or other Android device, it may not be so obvious. There's no equivalent to Control-Alt-Delete, but it's still fairly easy to monitor running processes and battery usage.
Apps sure do run great on Android tablets! If you caught that little whiff of sarcasm, you probably already figured out I was lying. There is a definite lack of good, high-quality apps specifically made for Android tablets. If you've ever tried Facebook or Twitter on a tablet, you know exactly what I mean.
During the colder months, it seems like almost everyone wears boots. Even when it's hot out, people can be spotted with knee-highs and westerns. Whether it's for fashion or because you live in a place where 3 feet of snow is common, a good pair of boots (or five) is nice to have.
I've had the thankless duty of choosing the music for far too many get-togethers, and no matter how good you think your music taste is, or how many new tracks you have on your iPhone or iPod, you will never—ever—satisfy everyone.
Duct tape is the king of all household items. You can use duct tape for practically anything, like this sweet wallet. But duct tape isn't the only crafty tape out there; masking tape holds its own, too.
Do you guys remember those things you hold with your fingers to write stuff down? I think they're called pens, or something like that...
There are very, very few things better than a solid Hobbit songI mean, I was almost brought to tears when Pippin busted out this one in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Everyone listens to music. I've got over 3,000 songs in my iTunes library, but am always looking for more, and I'm sure you are too. You can never have enough tunes to rock out to, right? If you're using Windows 8 like I currently am, these are some of the best apps in the Windows Store right now that will help you find new jams for your collection.
I hate being cold. That's why I live in Los Angeles. But, there are plenty of folks who are experiencing some pretty chilly temperatures this year, despite global warming, and one of the worst places affected is the garage. C'mon, who has a freakin' heater in their garage?
Creating a class in Black Ops 2 is kind of like an art form. Every player has an insane amount of options for creating a character for all sorts of situations. Combining perks, with secondary weapons, and attachments allows for a wide range of killing options. But in order to unlock a lot of these perks and attachments, you need to gain XP. Gaining XP and collecting tokens is the lifeblood of the online gaming experience.
At some point or another, we've all been in that awful situation when someone walks up behind you while you're looking at something you don't want them to see. Whether you're tweeting during class, shopping for gifts online, or looking at something a little more NSFW, there are times when it would be nice to just click a button and have all your open tabs disappear.
Those of you who have attended a Steampunk convention in the last year or two may have heard of something called "Tea Duelling" and been intrigued.
Needing to use your device in bright or low lighting can require an adjustment in the phone's built-in brightness settings. However, there are times when those default settings just don't do the trick.
You may have heard those cool effects artists like Axwell, Ingrosso, Guetta, Antillas and many others use in their songs, the "pumping effect" on the Lead Synths or the vocals, like fading in and out.
For many busy people, time is of the essence, and for others, it's simply just being impatient. But no matter what your vice, having your computer start up as quickly as possible is usually a plus for anyone.
What time is it? It's a question that you'll find yourself asking a million more times throughout your life, but one that hardly goes unanswered. When you're on your phone or at your desktop, there is almost always some type of clock available to immediately give you the time.
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.
The new 007 film, Skyfall, comes out this Friday, and dreams of becoming a super-spy have taken over my mind. Only I can't afford any of James Bond's awesome gadgetry or amazing cars—and you probably can't either.
There is no better example of a risk-versus-reward scenario than jailbreaking your iPhone or rooting your Android phone. While both jailbreaking and rooting undoubtedly has its advantages, this possibility of something going wrong and you ending up with a 500-dollar doorstop is never too far out of mind.
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...
There was a dynamic mic in my junk box, but without any stand or connection cable. I needed a high-quality microphone to narrate my project videos, so I had to think of a way to build a stand for the mic. This is what I came up with.
Let's face it, pretty much everyone has an automatic dishwasher. They are super convenient and are becoming cheaper to allow the general public better access to them. With that being said, though, dishwashers are also becoming a lot smaller.
Backpacks are handy for camping, hiking, school and travel, but they can be difficult to pack properly. In this tutorial, learn how to pack your bag so that its light and efficient.
They say cheaters never prosper, but how will your know for sure if you don't give it a try? By a little repositioning of the blindfold and some spacial awareness you can be the master at this classic party game.
Nmap is more powerful than you know. With a few scripts, we can extend its functionality beyond a simple port scanner and start to identify details about target servers sysadmins don't want us to know.
