As obtrusive as they come, the translucent volume control window that appears in iOS 7 takes up a lot of screen real estate. It's extremely annoying when watching videos, appearing directly in the middle of the movie you're viewing for several seconds any time you adjust the audio levels with the volume rockers.
There's one reason why most of us have a Samsung Galaxy S3—because we don't want an iPhone. Yes, there are some pretty cool things about the iPhone aesthetically, but looks aren't everything. Anyway, with the nearly unlimited customizations options we have available for Android, cloning the iPhone-look is no problem—even the lock screen.
With the Samsung Galaxy S5 all but assured to be showcased in a just a few weeks, we've got our hands on some fresh details of the upcoming flagship device.
Here's a routine that I'm sure all of us smartphone users go through at least several times a day. You notice your Samsung Galaxy S4's notification LED blinking, grab your phone to see what it is, and enter your PIN. Only instead of anything important, you find that it's just some online store enticing you with sales promotions, or some other email that you could have easily done without.
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.
There are countless mods and apps for Android devices that give them an iOS-style look, but maybe it's about time we take some notes from Android, especially when it comes to the iOS 7 lock screen.
The sovereignty that's granted when we jailbreak our iOS 7 devices can only be described with one word—liberating. With this freedom comes countless themes and apps that let us manipulate our devices to really own them and turn them into something that is truly ours.
The iOS 7 release brought with it many new aesthetic upgrades, from new flat, vibrant icons to a sleeker text messaging interface. Another small, yet noticeable, difference is the minimal and clean lock screen, which removed the overbearing "Slide to Unlock" background bar in lieu of just the text.
One of many cool features in iOS is the ability to listen to your Music app and have the player options, as well as album art, available on your lock screen. While that's super convenient, it's not all that easy on the eyes. The player is placed over a blurred version of whatever your lock screen wallpaper is.
There are a gazillion lock screen apps available on Google Play, but the majority of them are subpar and not worth your time. However, in my opinion, there is definitely one out there worth your time—one that constantly learns and adapts to what apps you use when and where to determine which shortcuts to give you.
If you're like me, then you were a little disappointed after updating your Nexus 7 to KitKat and realizing that not much has changed. The old Jelly Bean look still occupied your home screen, and there wasn't really anything noticeably new overall. All of that waiting and anticipation only to be left high and dry.
With over a million apps available in the App Store, you'd think that Apple would have come up with a better way to organize them on your iPhone.
Every time Apple releases a new product or software update, people quickly figure out exploits in order to bypass the lock screen without having to type in the passcode. It happened last year in iOS 6, so it's not surprising that it happened again in iOS 7.
If you've seen our guide on the 18 coolest features in iOS 7, you know that there's a lot to like about Apple's new mobile OS, but there's also a laundry list of grievances to go with it. One that bugs me is the lack of Home screen customization, something that has always driven me to jailbreak in the past.
The NVIDIA Shield is essentially a game controller with a screen attached so you can take your music, movies and games wherever you go. It lets you stream the PC games you already have over Wi-Fi so you don't have to be in front of the computer to play them. LinusTechTips was supposed to receive a Shield to test, but it was late getting there, so they decided to make their own using an Android phone and an Xbox 360 controller. They've dubbed the project "Ghetto Shield."
If you're new to Android phones, one of the first things you've probably noticed is how notification alerts differs from Apple devices, especially in regards to getting a text message.
Probably the most favorite custom ROM among softModders is CyanogenMod, a theme-friendly take on stock Android that not only makes it easier to customize your device, but also increases performance using a variety of system tweaks and enhancements.
The new Moto X may not have a lot going for it when it comes to hardware, but there are some pretty cool software features that makes it a tempting device. One of these cool features is its Active Display notifications that appear on the lock screen.
With the introduction of Vine and the subsequent Instagram update, abbreviated video sharing has come to the masses, to be experimented with in an unprecedented way.
David Blaine has made millions off his magic tricks and mind-bending illusions, so why shouldn't we get in on the action, too? Well, your Samsung Galaxy S3 can do all kinds of things, but magic isn't one of them...yet.
For the most part, Xbox Live is amazing, but there is one thing that has been annoying for pretty much everyone, to say the least. Microsoft Points.
One little known feature on Android devices is TalkBack, which provides you with spoken feedback and vibrations in order to help you navigate your device. Obviously, if you're not blind or visually impaired, this isn't a feature you're likely to use.
Although the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a speedy device, one feature that feels a bit slow is swiping down from the Status bar to see the Notification tray when I'm using a full-screen app. When a full-screen app is open, I have to swipe down not once, but TWICE, on the upper portion of the screen in order to bring down the Notification tray.
There are plenty of ways to create decent looking special effects on a budget. You can use basic, inexpensive materials to make ground explosions or realistic looking alien landscapes. But nothing says Hollywood quite like your own green screen.
The internet is a great place to find information for pretty much anything you can think of. So why shouldn't it be a place for official higher learning? I'm not talking about a course in Wikipedia or SparkNotes, but real colleges offering real college courses completely online. And guess what—it's FREE.
Craigslist is probably the greatest site ever created, and I'm just talking about it's classified section, both awesome and amazingly creepy. Seriously, spend 20 minutes scrolling through the personals and you'll never want to take your eyes off the screen. But I digress—Craigslist is also one of the most convenient places to buy and sell pretty much anything you can think of. I've used it to buy my bed, my old bike (which was stolen!), and my couch. And while Craigslist is great in many ways...
For anyone who uses computers regularly, the screen can become cluttered with different windows, tabs, and applications in no time. One solution to that mess is dual monitors, which allow users to be more organized and divide their work into two halves. The problem is that not everyone is fortunate enough to have access to more than one monitor.
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.
I know what you're thinking—taking a screenshot is super simple. While that is partly true, taking of a screenshot of the Start Screen in Windows 8 is little bit tricky, unless you're on your Surface.
Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows 8, will hit stores everywhere on October 26th, and they hope this new version will shift the way we think about computers and their interfaces. In an effort to get as many early adopters as possible, Microsoft is even making their OS cheaper than usual, offering upgrades from previous versions for as low as $40 for a limited time.
When the hardware buttons on your smartphone aren't working right, it can be a real pain to do almost anything. Simple tasks like accessing your home screen, opening the menu, and powering your phone on and off—normal functions you use every day—become chores, if you're even able to do them at all.
There are tons of situations that require you to give out your phone number, and I think just about everyone has regretted doing so at some point. It can be incredibly convenient to have a secondary or temporary number on hand, so if you don't want to provide your real digits, you can still get the call without revealing your true numbers. And that's where Burner comes in. Burner is a mobile app for iPhone and Android that lets you create alias phone numbers that you can take out of service a...
If you want to restore your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, watch this video to learn how to downgrade your iOS 5 beta iDevice to iOS 4.3.3. You've seen what you wanted to see from the iOS 5 beta, now it's time to get back to a real OS.
A fireplace is a beautiful, elegant way to light up a room that lets anyone who enters your home know you've got class. That's just as true in Minecraft as it is in real life. If you can't make it to the nether and get netherrock, stick to the instructions in this video.
The supra combination lock box has been one of the most trusted door locks for the past forty years, and is commonly used by real estate agents for protecting their houses. Generally a supra combination lock operates with a four-digit password.
The beauty industry uses a lot of long, tricky words on their product labels. From paraben-free to noncomedogenic, it can get confusing trying to decipher just what it all means.
Wigs are generally made to resemble real hair, but that doesn't mean you should just tuck your hair up, slip one on, and go. To make a wig look natural, you have to play around with it a little bit.
You probably remember Jessica Simpson best from her "mom jeans" fiasco when she gained a bit of weight, wore unflattering jeans, and looked like - gasp! - a real woman, but what the girlfriend lacks in the fashion department she makes up for in her great taste in hair.
Multiplayer games in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 can be just as chaotic as a real battlefield. How to survive without getting constantly fragged? This tutorial has all the answers! No matter where you spawn, be confident in your ability to shoot your way out of trouble.
This is not a tutorial on how to sew a real corset, rather, how to sew a corset style top. You will need some fashion fabric, eyelets, an eyelet attachment tool, ribbon, scissors, pins, measuring tape, tailor's chalk and of course, a sewing machine.
