How To: Creep Out Your Workmates on Halloween: Windows Edition
Want to get even this Halloween? Want to scare somebody with nothing but a few lines of code? Here's how it can be done...
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Halloween Food Hacks: How to Play the Withered Corpse Game
Creating a haunted house for Halloween was a big deal when I was growing up, and the neighborhood kids were always coming up with ways to try and out-do each other when it came to this frightful night. One beloved game was to blindfold the participants and play the Withered Corpse.
How To: Get the OnePlus One Lock Screen on Your Nexus 5 or Other Android Phone
Depending on who you ask, the OnePlus One smartphone has so far been either a bit of a letdown or a rousing success.
How To: Increase Battery Life on Your Samsung Galaxy S5 by Automating Data
When you're not using your phone, it doesn't make much sense that it would be wasting power by maintaining an internet connection for the inside of your pocket or purse. Well, perhaps you need a little bit of intermittent data here and there so that apps can update themselves in the background and still post notifications, but it doesn't need to be constant.
How To: Lock Any App with Fingerprint Security on Your Galaxy S5
If you keep sensitive data on your phone, you've surely considered a "lockout" app before. There are many such apps that can add an extra layer of security to other apps within Android. For instance, you can require a PIN or password before anyone is able to launch a particular app.
How To: Save Space & Increase Speed on Your Samsung Galaxy S4
Not too long after getting a new device, you probably start installing any and all apps that seem fun and interesting. But after having used the device for a considerable period of time, those extraneous apps begin to take their toll.
How To: Pancakes, Mashed Potatoes & Bread—Rice Cooker Hacks for Lazy Cooks
We've told you how a rice cooker can work as a DIY sous vide machine and make amazing risotto the lazy way, but did you know that it can also make pancakes, bread, mashed potatoes, and poached fruit?
How To: Hack Windows XP into Giving You 5 More Years of Free Support
Windows XP will always have a special place in my heart—it's the operating system I grew up on. It guided me through the glory days of AIM, Napster, and MySpace, but now it's dead. The OS that had been supported by Microsoft for twelve years officially lost its support on April 8th, 2014. Just like that, Microsoft has killed the beast, but for those of you who stubbornly refuse to cooperate, you can resurrect the dead. If you have Windows XP, this little known hack will get you further suppor...
Keep Champagne Bubbly (Hint: A Spoon Doesn't Work)
One booze hack that's been making the rounds for years is that inserting a spoon by the handle in a champagne bottle's neck will preserve its carbonation. This is one of those tips that I wish were true. Champagne is a great thing to have around on a special occasion, and it seems a shame to pour any leftovers down the drain once its lost its fizz. While there's lots of anecdotal evidence surrounding this trick, Harold McGee and Stanford University chemist Richard Zare debunked this myth as d...
How To: Make Your HTC One’s Battery Last All Day Long Using These Power-Saving Settings
HTC claims to have improved the One M8's battery life by 40% over its predecessor, but there is always room for improvement.
How To: Get Rid of the Annoying Red "Development Build" Text on Your HTC One M8's Bootsplash
HTC thought it best to cover their own ass by placing a red warning whenever you start your device if you've unlocked your bootloader. While it may help them identify a tampered phone, it does not help you in any way. Luckily, XDA member santod040 created a modified HBOOT that removes the "This build is for development purposes only..." text for you. While this will modify HBOOT, it will not change your unlocked or S-Off status.
How To: A Faster Way to Record Videos of Fleeting Moments on Your iPhone
Something special is happening. Maybe it's your child's first steps or their walk down the aisle. Maybe it's a hit-and-run accident, a flaming meteorite, or your buddy spilling a drink all over himself. These are fleeting moments that need to be captured instantly.
Hack Like a Pro: The Ultimate Social Engineering Hack
Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers! Although we have focused primarily on technical hacks here, social engineering can sometimes be especially effective. This one requires a bit of technical skill, but not too much. In addition, it's limited by how specific a target you can choose—but it will work.
How To: One Thing You're Not Doing That You Should for Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have a theory that chocolate chip cookies are the gateway drug to cooking. The recipe is easy, no special equipment is required, and at the end, you get warm, fresh-from-the-oven cookies that are simply irresistible. It's how I got hooked on baking and cooking, and anecdotal evidence (i.e. me asking my other kitchen-obsessed friends and a few culinary students) supports me.
How To: There's a Total Lunar Eclipse Monday Night—Here's How to Watch the "Blood Moon" Rising
Get ready to look up in the night sky very soon, because you're in for a real treat. There will be a total lunar eclipse on the night of Monday, April 14th, and folks living in the United States, Canada, and parts of Central and South America will be able to see the moon turn a dark blood-red shade for a little over an hour. This will be the first in a series of four total eclipses that are to happen over the next two years. What Is a Blood Moon?
How To: Two Simple Tricks to Taking Clearer, Sharper Photos on Your HTC One
Despite having the UltraPixel branding, the M7's camera can leave you feeling a little let down. The picture quality is clear and the low-light shots are decent, but when looking at the same shots taken on a friend's iPhone, you may feel a little inadequate.
How To: 5 Devilish Ways to Prank Your Friends with Nail Polish
Besides the obvious, fingernail polish can be pretty useful around the house—for men and women. It can keep your buttons from falling off, sort your keys, prevent your shoelaces and hoodie strings from fraying, and even curb rust rings in the shower. Turns out, nail polish also comes in handy on April Fool's Day.
How To: The Secret to Perfectly Fluffy Microwave Popcorn Isn't the "Popcorn" Button
Microwave popcorn promises so much—a tasty, relatively healthy snack that's ready in minutes—yet it rarely delivers. Most of the time you'll end up with a scorched bagful or a bunch of stubborn un-popped kernels, but it doesn't have to be that way. With a few simple tricks, it's easy to get perfectly fluffy, tender-crisp popcorn every time.
How To: Cook a Moist & Delicious Thanksgiving Turkey Without a Baster
A turkey baster is one of those single-use kitchen items that most people only need once or twice a year (although you can use it for a few other things). You never seem to miss having one until the holidays roll around when it's time to cook your Thanksgiving turkey. But do you really need a baster to end up with a moist, delicious bird? The short answer is no.
Hack Like a Pro: How to Conduct OS Fingerprinting with Xprobe2
Welcome back, my novice hackers! I've written a couple of articles on reconnaissance and its importance, and as I've said before, a good hacker will spend 3 to 4 more times doing reconnaissance than actually exploiting the system. If your recon isn't good, you'll likely fail, or worse—end up serving time and becoming Bubba's wife for a couple years. I can't say it enough—recon is critical.
How To: Replicate the Moto X's "Active Listening" Hands-Free Assistant on Your Samsung Galaxy S3
On the new Moto X smartphone, the only thing you have to do to activate the virtual assistant is say "Okay, Google Now." That's it. You don't have to press a button or tap on the display at all. It's always ready for your voice commands via its "Active Listening" feature, making it a truly hands-free experience.
How To: Put Your MacBook to Sleep with an iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, or Other Mobile Device
I spend practically all day surfing the web and writing on my laptop, and just as much time texting and checking emails on my smartphone. So, it's only natural for me to charge my iPhone using the USB port on my MacBook Pro.
News: How H.G. Wells and the Bicycle Drove the Evolution of Science Fiction
We don't spend much time thinking about bicycles today, do we? Sure, they're a "green" alternative to driving everywhere in cars, but the vast majority of America has dismissed them as simply being too much work, or more importantly—too slow. That wasn't always the case, though, I assure you!
How To: Get Unlimited Free Trial Subscriptions to Netflix, Spotify, and More Using Gmail
Free trials are a great way to test out products before a purchase, or simply for the exploitation of free stuff for that limited amount of time. Some trials last a few days and some last even a month or two, but no matter what—these trials will always expire. But like most things in life, there is a way to get around such limitations.
How To: Watch Tonight's Peaking Geminid Meteor Shower—About 100 Shooting Stars Per Hour!
The Geminid meteor shower happens every December and has been observed for over 500 years. It's is also known as Winter's Fireworks because when viewed from the right location, there are enough meteors to light up the whole night sky, and some of them can even be different colors. The shower appears to come from the Gemini constellation, but is actually caused by Earth passing through the tail of dust and debris left behind by the comet 3200 Phaethon.
News: The 26 Best Online Stores for Steampunk Christmas Shopping
The holiday season is creeping up fast, and if you're shopping for a Steampunk, it could be almost impossible to find anything for them unless you know exactly where to look. Luckily for you, some of us have done all of the work you'll need. Whether you're Steampunk shopping for Christmas, Hanukkah, Chrismukkah (yes, that's real), Kwanzaa, or Festivus, you're sure to find something for that special lady or gentleman in your life by taking a stroll down this list!
How To: Forgot Where You Parked? Locate Your Lost Car Using These Free Mobile Apps
Disneyland may be the happiest place on Earth, but there are definitely a few flaws that only small kids could overlook. The lines are extravagantly long, everything is overpriced, and there are tons of grumpy people and crazy children running around as if they just found out there's a two-for-one special on ponies.
How To: Use the Harris Shutter Effect to Get Crazy, Colorful Action Photos
Want to take vibrant photographs like this one? You won't find this filter in Instagram, and that's because it's a little more difficult than just slapping a digital filter on a solo photo. The extra RGB colors are created using a special strip device called the Harris shutter, invented by Robert Harris of Kodak.
How To: Write Your First Script
Hello! My latest interest is screenwriting. I would like to share a few hints I find quite useful. I am a newbie, so the following post will not be taken from the treasury of many years of experience. Just plain facts,.. Thanks for reading! Step 1: In the Beginning
How To: 10 Creative Ways to Upcycle Your Junk into Usable DIY Chairs
With the upcycling revolution, folks are turning their otherwise useless junk into something functional for the home. Practically anything that you would normally toss or recycle can be reused for a bigger and better purpose. Your milk jugs, chopsticks, toilet paper cardboard, glass jars, and even your old junk computer keyboards can be upcycled into something totally useful around (or away from) the home.
How To: Make Your Solar-Powered Projects More Efficient with This DIY Sun Tracker
Omniscience is not required to make some really cool shit happen. Yes, it took a while, but we can make fuel from the Sun! Solar panels are basically our answer to God. And now that we can make solar electricity, finding the most efficient way to harvest it is tricky.
How To: Forget Keys—Use a Secret Knock to Open Your Locked Boxes
There is something special about a secret knock. It gets you into secret super villain meetings and is a surefire way to test for rotating bookcase passages. Secret knocks usually work with an intimidating drug lord and for policeman listening at the door for the correct pattern of raps.
How To: Move a piano the right way
Jim Hanson discusses how to correctly move a piano. It's not worth the risk you take to try to move your piano yourself. If you drop a piano on yourself and break your leg, you will have lost far more than what you will have saved by moving the piano yourself. Moving a piano takes specialized equipment and vehicles. If you are moving your piano to and from a location with more than three steps, you can not just tip it up the steps. You need to follow special instructions. Use a professional w...
How To: Restore rusty ceiling grid systems
Update your nasty, ugly ceiling grid in your home or office. With this video tutorial, see how to restore rusty ceiling grid systems. Ceiling Armor Grid Cover will update rusty and discolored ceiling grid systems for a fraction of the cost of replacement. This unique cover snaps on to a standard grid system without any special preparation. This washable solid vinyl cover is suitable for standard ceiling grids in kitchens, restaurants, bakeries, pools, rest rooms and outdoor ceiling locations.
How To: Improve your moviemaking music and sound skills
If you need a little advice about film sound and music, these tips should help you out. Find out a good place got get royalty free music to add to your low-budget film and see when not to use music with vocals. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to improve your moviemaking music and sound skills.
How To: Cheat Bejeweled Blitz (11/06/09)
Bejeweled Blitz is a hard game to play, but easy game to cheat. These new hacks are sure to get you your next record breaking game for the whole Facebook community to admire.
How To: Play blues Piano in E flat
In this series of instructional music videos you'll learn how to play the blues piano in the key of E Flat (Eb). Expert Ryan Larson shows you his special 12 key method to help you understand the techniques used by blues musicians through the ages, including the music theory behind 12 chord blues song structure, walking bass & rhythm lines, as well as 7th chords.
How To: Play blues piano in B flat
In this series of instructional music videos you'll learn how to play the blues piano in the key of B Flat (Bb). Expert Ryan Larson shows you his special 12 key method to help you understand the techniques used by blues musicians through the ages, including the music theory behind 12 chord blues song structure, walking bass & rhythm lines, as well as 7th chords.
How To: Play blues piano in A flat
In this series of instructional music videos you'll learn how to play the blues piano in the key of A Flat (Ab). Expert Ryan Larson shows you his special 12 key method to help you understand the techniques used by blues musicians through the ages, including the music theory behind 12 chord blues song structure, walking bass & rhythm lines, as well as 7th chords.
How To: Play blues piano in the key of E
In this series of instructional music videos you'll learn how to play the blues piano in the key of E major. Expert Ryan Larson shows you his special 12 key method to help you understand the techniques used by blues musicians through the ages, including the music theory behind 12 chord blues song structure, walking bass & rhythm lines, as well as 7th chords.