Silence can therapeutic at times, but unsettling at others. When I'm in bed at night, I need some sort of background or white noise to help me fall asleep. Pure silence just does not do it for me. Whether it's a fan oscillating left to right, or the TV playing, I need background noise to soothe me to sleep.
Apple is very tight lipped about their products, and their iPhone is certainly no exception, but when products depend on global manufacturing, it's nearly impossible to keep good secrets contained.
Why are people so afraid of risotto? Contrary to what a lot of home cooks seem to believe, it's really not a difficult dish to make yourself. Sure, there's a lot of stirring involved, but it's not nearly the culinary beast it's made out to be. The real deterrent to making homemade risotto isn't that it's hard—it's that it requires a lot of attention. Risotto needs a lot of babying. Part of the process involves standing over it for 20 to 30 minutes at the stove, stirring almost constantly whil...
You probably use your smartphone to mostly surf the web, play games, and communicate with others, but there's so much more it can do. Thanks to integrated features and third-party apps, you can seamlessly control things around your home, including your TV, tablet, Bluetooth speakers, and even lighting fixtures.
There are plenty of ways to customize your stock HTC One (or any Android device), from playing retro games to adding rotating live wallpapers. But to get the most out of your device, you need root access.
No matter how careful or decent you are, there will always be pictures or videos that you want to keep private. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but if someone were to go through my photo gallery, only one word would be coming out of my mouth—"%@&#!!"
Sending and receiving files between Android devices has no shortage of options—Bluetooth, email, MMS, and Wi-Fi are just a few of the more popular ones that we use.
In a much-hated move, Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen removed his incredibly popular, yet extremely frustrating app from both Google Play and the iOS App Store. The jury is still out on the exact reason behind the move, though we can rule out pressure from Nintendo, but one thing is for sure—Flappy Bird has fallen for good.
Even if you're a good cook, sometimes home-cooked food just doesn't taste the same as it does in a restaurant. Of course, there are some utensils and appliances in a professional kitchen that the average person doesn't have access to, but it's not just about the tools.
Not too long ago, we told you about a new feature within Android KitKat that allowed for video recording directly from the screen of your Nexus 5. Though functional, the method was a bit clunky and involved hooking your phone up to your computer and sending over an ADB command to start the recording.
When you think of nail polish, it's probably almost always in the context of a manicure. I mean, that's what it's made for, right? But there are plenty of other things you can use clear or colored nail polish for besides painting your nails.
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.
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.
You know how annoyed you get when you put a quarter into the vending or washing machine and it gets stuck? There's a quiet rage that boils inside you. Now, imagine that quarter is a sixty dollar video game, and it's stuck inside your brand new, four hundred dollar PlayStation 4 system.
The 8-bit NES may have ruled the late-eighties, but the SNES took over the early-nineties with its 16-bit graphics and 3D-like gameplay on titles like Star Fox and Dirt Racer. When 32- and 64-bit consoles came out in the mid-nineties, the Super Nintendo took a hit, but with the rise of the Internet, created a huge emulation community in the aftermath.
One of the best features on the new Moto X is Touchless Control, which lets you verbally ask the device questions or perform tasks without ever touching or turning on the display, a feature that would do quite nicely on the Nexus 7, if it could handle it.
I've been on a customizing kick over the past few weeks, showing you sweet mods for your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 like interactive live wallpapers, app and settings backgrounds, status bar tweaks, and more. But, I'm not done yet. There's still plenty to softMod on your Note 2, and today I'm going to show you how to customize your Quick Settings toggles.
I remember how fast my Nexus 7 was the first time I turned it on. Boy, do I miss it. Now my tablet is pretty buggy and crashes happen frequently, and I'm sure that goes for many of your Nexus 7s as well. Even if you upgrade to the new Nexus 7 next week, it will eventually develop similar issues.
Why can't all electronic devices be waterproof like my watch? There are watches worth three times as much as my iPhone that I can wear into the hot tub without a worry in the world, but cleaning most of my electronics requires a lot of caution.
There are very few things Android users would want to borrow from Apple's iOS, but let's move beyond the fanboy/girl biases and admit that Apple actually does a few things pretty well. One of those things is looks, and the new iOS 7 looks pretty amazing to me.
All across the world, Nexus 7s have been secretly living a double life. The clean, simple look of the stock Holo user interface is nice if minimalism is your thing, but to softModders like me, Holo is bare, lacking style, overly blue, and an eyesore. It gets the job done, but I want something more customizable and visually stunning.
Navigating through row after row of plants, my tiny fingers would reach into the leaves to pluck all the vile little creatures from their homes and deposit them into a can of gasoline. Potato bug duty, my least favorite gardening chore. Growing up, my family had a small garden every year. And every year, I was recruited to help plant, maintain, and eventually harvest the vegetables from it. There were some tasks I didn't mind, but the ones I hated most usually involved bugs (have you ever see...
Screenshots are great, but sometimes they don't tell the whole story. You can show off that new app you got or that awesome new live wallpaper, but a screenshot isn't going to get the point across. What exactly am I trying to show you in the screenshot above? You probably have no idea, and that's the point. You can't see the action I'm trying to demonstrate, but in a video you can.
If you've recently joined the ever-growing ranks of the cable cutters, you're far from alone. More and more people (myself included) are getting fed up with service providers' outdated subscription models and absurd pricing—and canceling their service.
In Minecraft, many people enjoy "Faction" aka "Raiding" multiplayer servers for their unique gameplay and survival aspect. Plus, it's always fun when you find a chest full of somebody else's free stuff.
The upcoming web series "Crypto-Historians" does for cryptohistory what Indiana Jones did for archaeology. For those who don't know, cryptohistory is the study of supernatural or alien elements throughout history, and yes—it's a "real" field.
This post has been brought to you by the letter S. With the Christmas season fast approaching, it's time to ask one of the most important questions of our lifetime:
There's really nothing safe about transmitting sensitive information electronically, but even if it gets there safely without being seen by prying eyes, there's no guarantee what happens to it once it reaches its destination. And let's face it, there are some things that you just don't want floating out there forever. So what can you do? Whether you want to send an email, a text, or a link, there are ways to send messages that self-destruct so that once they're read, they immediately vanish. ...
As Hurricane Sandy barrels towards the East Coast, 50 million people are expected to be affected in the nation's most populated corridor. The behemoth super storm is a cause for concern, evident by the massive evacuations. The picture above is an eerie snap of the mostly crowded Times Square subway station in New York. Government officials have warned over half a million people to evacuate their homes and head to higher grounds. To help prepare for this storm, the internet has provided severa...
Back in 2010, iOS developer Daniel Amitay developed a camera security app for iPhones that used an unlock screen almost identical to that of the iPhone.
Of all the places you'd think to check for bed bugs, I doubt that library books would be at the top of your list. As odd as it sounds, though, libraries and library books are some of the most common places for bed bug infestations. Libraries all over the country have reported bed bug problems this summer, and some have even had to temporarily close to take care of the problem. But before you vow to never set foot inside a library again, here's a little primer on how to check your books for be...
Here's how to build a sexy looking water-fuel generator that will convert your tap water into an extremely powerful, clean burning gas!
It's summer, which means vacations, barbeques, and, most importantly, no school. But that doesn't mean you can't learn something while you lounge by the pool. Schools and organizations all over the country are offering online courses taught by real professors—for free.
As I said before in my earlier post on how to make a two-tone doorbell, sound is more than just music. Note blocks can create a wide variety of notes and sounds, and those can be used for more than just making a stirring rendition of "Still Alive" from Portal.
Trim and cut video footage with iMovie. This video tutorial provides an overview of the steps involved, including selecting video resources to be used in the project, placing video resources in the timeline, highlighting the actual clips to be used from the resources, and rearranging the chronological order of the clips in the timeline.
Add text and titles with Windows Live Movie Maker. There are three options for adding text in Movie Maker. This tutorial provides an overview for each type: title (which goes before the selected clip), caption (which is superimposed over the selected clip) and credits (which goes after the selected clip).
If you're looking for another way to share documents, iWork.com provides an easy, cloud based way to share your thoughts and words. You can share your Pages, Numbers and Keynote documents using Apple's iWork.com service. Others can view your documents right in their browser, and make comments and notes if they are using Safari. You can even upload Keynote presentations and present right from the Safari.
Using a layered photograph, chroma key footage and depth of field, prolific Italian designer Juri Ciana demonstrates precisely how to create a stunningly beautiful 3D composition with After Effects. In this informative video-only tutorial, depth of field and focus is utlized as critical elements that provide the various components of this video composition with a living vibrancy and dynamism.
Are stabilizers worth the investment? Which one is the best? How can you get the most out of the stabilizer you already have? This tutorial provides the answers to all these questions, and more! Decide which stabilizer is right for your camera and budget.
Getting pectorals that ripple and bulge beneath shirts and arms that broadcast from sleeves requires a bit of work on your part (duh). That's where this video comes in.
