The pumpkin is everyone's favorite cucurbit come Halloween time, and while there are only a few types of Halloween-friendly pumpkins out there, there is definitely no shortage of what you can do with them.
Thanks to Flutter, it's now possible to control the music on your computer simply by making a few hand gestures. The app is available for both Windows and Mac and uses your computer's webcam to monitor your hand movements. Through the use of a few simple hand movements, you can play, pause, forward or replay your music. Flutter works with iTunes, Spotify, Quicktime, MPlayerX and a few other programs.
Windows 8 has been reimagined to take full advantage of touchscreen devices as the "future" of computing. A few years ago, touchscreen devices were super buggy and only played well with smartphones, but with the advent of the iPad and a ton of other tablets, touchscreen capabilities have spread to full-sized desktops and even televisions.
Scary costumes are the only way to go for Halloween, but instead of shelling out upwards of 150 bucks this year for some store-bought outfit, save your cash for things like candy and create your own costume on the cheap.
One of the most disappointing experiences ever is when you save all your money for a really expensive gadget—and then break it. Whether it happens the day you buy it, or years later, it's always frustrating.
The Dark Knight Rises. The Amazing Spider-Man. The Avengers. Halloween is a few weeks away and all we're going to see are these same ol' superhero costumes. It's like that every year, due to the immense popularity of comic book films by DC and Marvel.
For over three years, Facebook users have been able to clog up their Facebook chats with little pictures of smiley faces and red hearts, but now it has finally gone a step further...
If you've decided to forgo the super heroes and television characters and go medieval this year for Halloween, David J. Guyton has just the thing to take your costume over the top. To promote his new book, he built this awesome gauntlet armor—and made a step-by-step tutorial. David's is made of brass because it's meant to be a prop (would work well with Steampunk), but if you wanted to make it legit, he suggests trying steel instead. He started with a paper template, which he used to trace th...
The newest update of the Firefox web browser was released yesterday, and whether you were upgraded automatically or manually, Mozilla is advising that you downgrade to Firefox 15.0.1 as soon as possible. Firefox 16 is Mozilla's latest release, and is apparently extremely susceptible to malicious sites hacking their users complete browsing history.
Wall Anchors. Drywall Wall Anchors. Plasterboard Wall Anchors. I discovered these plasterboard (drywall) anchors / plugs a few years ago and think they are fantastic. They are ridiculously easy to use and are extremely effective in attaching fixtures to walls. One of the main things to be aware of (as with all things that have fixtures hanging from them) is the recommended maximum weight loading of each size of anchor. What ever the packet says, adhere to it.
Coca-Cola has unleashed a brilliant marketing campaign to celebrate the one year anniversary of their online Coca-Cola.FM radio in South America. In the latest issue of the popular Brazilian magazine, Capricho, the Coca-Cola advertisement literally turns the magazine into an iPhone amplifier. Attached on top of the real cover, the advert has two precisely placed flaps on the back page. Simply roll up the magazine, secure the flaps, then pop in your iPhone. Check out the video to see exactly h...
To say that I am disappointed with the new Maps application in iOS 6 is an understatement. And it seems like the rest of the world is with me, so I needed to find a solution—and quick. Installing the Google Maps web application is a nice quick-fix, but those looking for a beefier navigation solution should check out one of these free map apps.
Until recently, brainwave-reading devices have pretty much only existed in science fiction. Sure, electroencephalography (EEG), the technology that powers these devices, has been used in medicine and psychiatry since the late 1800s, but diagnosing people's brains and reading their minds are two totally different things. The first EEG headsets available to the public were used mostly in gaming and even in fashion, but in the last few years, they've gotten a little more sophisticated.
If you're like me, you've already spent a ton of money on your costumes, your badge, and your hotel room, and now you're looking for ways to cut costs. There are all kinds of ways to save money at DragonCon, but many of them involve violating the rules in some way, such as not buying a badge, sleeping on the floor in a hallway somewhere, etc. However, the one thing you can do that is totally not against the rules is eat for free. It requires a little self-discipline and a willingness to eat w...
Dippin' Dots are a fun way to enjoy ice cream, but the price tag is not so fun. Plus, the company filed for bankruptcy last year, so they may not be around much longer. The good news is that you don't need them—you can make your own at home with some ice cream and liquid nitrogen. Redditor hypoid77 posted instructions on how to make your own DIY Dippin' Dots Maker out of a Styrofoam cooler, a couple two-liter bottles, a thumbtack, and some liquid nitrogen. Use the thumbtack to poke a 3-inch p...
Believe it or not, it's possible to make your very own lava—if you have a furnace capable of heating up to 1,200 degrees Celsius, that is. Bob Wysocki and Jeff Karson started the Syracuse University Lava Project to study basaltic lava and give students a hands-on way (hypothetically, of course) to learn about it. Oh, and they also want to use it for art projects. Sign me up for that class! It all starts with 1.1 billion-year-old basalt gravel, which apparently anyone can buy. They put the gra...
Motorola launched a new webpage on Friday that tells Android users how to unlock the bootloaders on a limited number of new Motorola smartphones and tablets. This new 'Unlock My Device' page helps demystify the process and make it easier for users to customize their phones.
If you use apps on your smartphone, chances are you have no idea what those apps are doing with your information. Just this year, there have been several scandals involving apps transmitting user data, like Path uploading users' entire address books onto its servers, HTC's Security Flaw, and Brewster exposing users' personal information (even Ashton Kutcher's). A new service called Mobilescope wants to make sure you always know where—and to whom—your data is going. Lots of apps copy your cont...
In 1958, Patrick Flanagan invented the Neurophone, a device patented in 1962 that allows radio signals to be picked up by the human nervous system. The skin is the organ that receives the signal, converting it into a modulated molecular vibration, which the brain interprets into sound. Basically, it gives one the ability to 'hear' through the skin, making it sound like the audio you're hearing is actually in your head. It's kind of like having headphones in your brain. The only problem was th...
Want to build your own life-sized, working replica of WALL-E? Be prepared to take on a second job! Mike Senna spent two years perfecting his own version, working 25 hours a week and totaling somewhere around 3,800 hours for the whole project. He had no blueprints to go by, so he spent a lot of time watching the movie over and over to get everything just right. The video below shows some of the construction; skip to about the one minute mark to see WALL-E in action.
As deeply as smartphones are integrated into our daily lives, it's no surprise that people are finding ways to use them to stay healthy. From detecting cancer and radiation to diagnosing STDs, phones have come a long way, baby.
If you played with K'Nex as a kid (or still do), you know that it can take a lot of those tiny little pieces to build something. Just imagine how many it must have taken to make this full-sized, fully functional, coin-operated skeeball machine with a mechanical score counter. Instructables user Shadowman39 (aka Kyle) spent an entire year building this masterpiece. It's the same size as the ones you see in arcades, and it's coin operated, too. But don't try to feed it your pennies, it knows th...
NASA will be attempting to land the Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars tonight, and you can watch it live. Curiosity (the Mars Science Laboratory) was launched almost a year ago on November 26, 2011, and will be finishing its 354 million mile journey to the red planet tonight (Sunday, August 5th) at around 8:30pm PST. The craft will be deploying a supersonic parachute to slow itself, as it will be traveling at upwards of 1,000 mph. The show's not over though, as the first images from the ...
Stereoblindness is an extremely unfortunate condition where someone cannot perceive depth correctly. Bruce Bridgeman was one such individual, having an eye condition which prevented him from developing functioning binocular vision. In essence, he was living in a "flat" world.
Helping to prove that science is way awesome, an 18-year old electrical engineering student has successfully made a light bulb float. His name is Chris Rieger, and he's been working on his "LevLight" project for about six months now, with pretty amazing results. This feat of ingenuity was accomplished by using magnetic levitation, although that over-simplification masks how considerably difficult this undertaking was.
Assuming that you are living north of the equator, ‘tis the summer season for brewing your own sun tea. Unlike the conventional method of dunking tea bags in boiling hot water for several minutes, sun tea is brewed over the course of several hours through the natural heat of direct sunlight.
If you're ever lost in a survival situation, here's a little trick you're going to be so glad to know. Normally, we'd think of using water to put OUT a fire, but in this video I show you how I use water to START THEM.
Hello! I invite all the readers, interested in space, to discover the origin of the names of the planets in our galaxy. Just simply follow my words,... Step 1: Planets and Stars
OSAGYEFO DR. KWAME NKRUMAH (1909-72) Founder and Father of the Nation Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, stands out not only among the Big Six but also among the greatest statesmen of history. It was he who canalized the discontent of the people of the Gold Coast Colony into the highly organized movement of protest against British rule, and within a relatively short period won political independence for Ghana on March 6, 1957. With Ghana independent, ...
At a very early age, I would go on summer camping trips. I remember every night being handed a pack of sparklers that were my own, to swing around wildly, which gave me many valuable life lessons on cause and effect.
At first, it seemed like a clever art installation housed on the web, but now we're not so sure... the Newstweek hack may indeed be legit.
Weapon grouping has become available in the Quantum Rise expansion for EVE Online. This allows you to load ammunition for up to three separate weapons at a time - useful in a dogfight! This tutorial shows you how to group your weapons to take advantage of this new feature.
How do you know if he's The One? Many women find themselves asking this once they've been in a long-term relationship and are considering important future steps like getting married and having kids.
In figure competition, or female bodybuilding, measuring and keeping tabs on body fat is important. Check out this three part tutorial for information on how to use a digital caliper to measure body fat. Some of the advantages of a digital or electronic caliper include the fact that it takes an accurate, easy to read measurement in seconds, that it beeps so you know exactly when it is ready, and it is very simple to use. Another great feature of a digital caliper is that you can set it with y...
If you have friends or relatives living or traveling in another country, you may need to call them internationally. Check out this tutorial and learn how to dial a far away land just as easily as you would dial one close to home.
Whether you've planned it that way or not, sometimes you wind up celebrating your birthday alone. This tutorial will help you feel less lonely and have a great birthday, even if you are the only person at the party.
If you've been out in the wintertime you've probably noticed a bunch of white marks on your shoes. These are called salt stains and are caused by the chemicals used to melt the snow. Luckily, this video will show you how to remove these unsightly white marks quickly and easily.
Tired of the same old flower corsages? Check out this video on how to make a one of a kind candy corsage for your next outing! These make a great gift for prom, holidays, even birthdays for that special little girl in your life.
Do you need to lock the door but don't have the keys? This may happen if you are sharing your keys with someone else, staying at a friend's house, or for a variety of other reasons. Check out this video for a sneaky way to secure that door tight without even sticking a key in the lock.
Have an opinion and want the whole world to know it? You're not alone! There are many online outlets for you to type up your review, whether it be for a restaurant, play, movie, book or anything else you have recently experienced. Check out this video for tips on how and where to post your exciting review.