For minor adjustments and color-correction, the Photos app is extremely useful, but its capabilities are limited to just the basics. Now, with Mac OS X El Capitan, Apple is opening the door for third-party extensions, meaning we can utilize additional, unique tools when editing pictures in Photos.
Like the majestic mountain structure it's named after, Apple's latest version of OS X, El Capitan, goes a little deeper to expand on the foundation laid by Yosemite. While the update may not be as monumental as some have hoped, it is an improvement and includes tons of useful new features you don't want to miss.
Smartphone games are getting pretty good these days, but they still can't beat the retro appeal of a good emulator. I mean, who wouldn't want to have their all-time favorite console and arcade games tucked neatly in their front pocket? Classics ranging from Super Mario Bros. to Pokémon can all be played at a silky-smooth frame rate on today's devices if you can just find a good emulator to run them on.
Technology can move really fast. Just consider the format for which we consume videos and movies, which has transformed from film reels to VHS to DVD to Blu-ray to steaming with nothing physical at all. But for some odd reason—maybe because it strikes a nostalgic chord or it's just the new hipster trend—VHS is in again. Yes, shaky, grainy, low-quality videos with timestamps are cool again, and I dig it.
The awesome thing about Android is that you rarely need to settle for what comes stock on your device. If your music app sucks, switch it. If you don't like your home launcher, swap it for a better one.
Practically every smartphone comes with a built-in camera app, but these apps are generally created by the device's manufacturer. And let's face it, manufacturers are hardware companies first and foremost, so they don't always produce the best software.
The Start menu has definitely seen many changes over the years—from the traditional menu that was present from Windows XP to 7, to the Start screen in Windows 8, to the hybrid of the two in Windows 10. And while the return of the Start "menu" has received near-universal praise, there are still some aspects old Windows 7 users will miss. Namely, the User folder and content folders (like Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos).
Downloading YouTube videos for offline use to watch later has always been a problematic endeavor. Dedicated third-party apps don't last long in the App Store, web-based converters aren't very functional on mobile, and rogue apps outside the App Store are tricky to sideload and open up the possibility of vulnerabilities. But that doesn't mean you still don't have a few good options.
One of the biggest gripes I initially had with the LG G3 was the lack of options for the Shortcut keys, which are the volume keys that allow you to launch the camera or the QuickMemo+ app directly from the lock screen. I never use QuickMemo+, so having it as a shortcut was a complete waste of functionality.
Texting has become the king of communication—gone are the days where everyone called each other. These days, it's down-right weird when someone calls first. Whether it be on a phone or on a computer, SMS and MMS messages are the most common way people keep in contact, so why not make sure your app of choice is the best possible one out there?
There are a bunch of new and interesting features packed inside of Windows 10, but one of the most exciting ones is the Microsoft Edge web browser, the long-awaited replacement of Internet Explorer.
I'm often reluctant to use a home screen launcher other than the stock one on my Android. Once you're well acclimated with something, complacency sets in, welcoming change with much resistance. Well, my friends, I have seen the error of my ways...
It's no secret that Google stores your search history in order to provide you with targeted ads when surfing the web. What's even more interesting (or freaky) is that your Google Now voice searches are also being stored, and you can actually listen to them right now.
We recently lost Grooveshark, the free music streaming service that supplied users with a huge catalog of free music anytime, anywhere. Since its shutdown, I have been scrambling to find a half-decent alternative, and my expectations were more than exceeded when I found NetEase Music.
Notes on iOS has never been a particularly great app due to a lack of overall features compared to other note-taking apps like Evernote or Microsoft OneNote.
One thing Apple users universally complain about is battery life, whether it's on an iPad, iPhone, or Apple Watch. Apple did include a Battery Usage feature in iOS 8 to help us monitor which apps suck up the most energy, but it's too big a pain to deal with. Now, in iOS 9, there gave us something that actually matters—Low Power Mode.
Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 9, may not be the huge overhaul that iOS 8 was, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of new features. In fact, there are a ton of subtle changes that you may not notice right away. Here's a rundown of all the coolest new features you need to know about on the new iOS 9 for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.
Everyone's forgotten where they parked their car at least once. Either you forget to take note of the section you parked in, or maybe it's more of a Dude, Where's My Car? type of situation. Either way, you're left to circle the same street or parking structure, over and over, with nothing but exhaustion and frustration to show for it.
Monitoring your Mac with widgets can be the first step in identifying bandwidth issues, but finding the root of the problem can be a completely different story. Usually you will have to open up Activity Monitor in Mac OS X to look for apps hogging your bandwidth, but with Loading, you can get a detailed data usage report right from your menu bar.
Due to the way Android works, you normally need to be rooted to uninstall the pre-loaded system apps, aka bloatware, that came with your device. This is because the underlying files for these apps are stored on your system partition, which can only be modified with root-level access.
Deep down at the core of Android lies the system kernel, which serves as a bridge between software and hardware. Custom kernels can be installed in place of the stock offering, and these are generally optimized for better performance or increased battery efficiency.
We previously showed you how to make your Android's LED notification light dance to music, but the app itself was limited in customization options, the devices it worked on, and the music apps and services it worked with. Now we'll be showing you a similar app that supports more music services and lets you select which colors will display through the LED.
Google recently rolled out a new Smart Lock option labeled "On-body detection" for Android Lollipop via an update to Google Play Services. As I'm sure you can gather from the name, this new function keeps your phone or tablet unlocked using the built-in accelerometer to determine whether or not your device is being carried on your body, allowing you to set it down and walk away carefree knowing that's it's locked again.
Apple's new Watch models go on sale April 24th in Apple Stores everywhere, and can be preordered online starting April 10th. If you're set on preordering one, how do you know which size to choose?
The more we use our smartphones, the more storage space becomes occupied—it's an inescapable fact. But as the data accumulates and chokes off our storage, it can become difficult to identify exactly which files are occupying the most space.
A four-digit passcode is what protects your iPhone, and the sensitive material within it, from strangers or nosey friends. Four digits are the only thing preventing someone from snooping through your pictures and posting them online for the public to see, and that's if you even have passcode security enabled.
Apple's iPhone is one of the most popular, most expensive smartphones in the world, yet with a broken Home or Sleep/Wake button, it might as well be a doorstop. There are many different DIY ways to fixing a busted Home button, but the Sleep/Wake button (aka Power button) is a little more averse to DIY trickery.
It's late and dark, I'm playing Dying Light, and, admittedly, I'm a little creeped out. Working as a grown man's night-light, this is one instance where I actually appreciate the light bar on my PlayStation 4's DualShock controller. But outside of a few particular instances, I generally find it to be quite a nuisance.
The Oscars are just around the corner, so it's the perfect time to remind people of your favorite movie moments, even if they're not exactly Oscar-worthy. But don't just settle on sending GIFs that don't include any of the fun audio, or resort to scouring YouTube for that one specific movie clip. Instead, take a look at Qwotes, a new mobile app from developer StudyUp.
Oops... did you forget to connect to a Wi-Fi network before streaming HBO GO on your iPhone? While those episodes of The Wire may have been absolutely life-changing, your three-digit cellular bill is definitely going to hit you a little harder.
So you just bought a fancy new Nexus 6 complete with its gorgeous and gigantic display—now what? Unlike Samsung's TouchWiz, stock Android doesn't sport any cool split-screen features, so how do you really take advantage of all that screen real estate?
Just in time for the holiday festivities, iOS developer Tristan Kennedy has created a snowy HTML widget for your jailbroken iPhone's home screen called SnowScreen. Simply apply the widget and you'll have a falling snow animation layered over whatever wallpaper you already have. Without further adieu, let's show you how to apply this tweak.
Windows 8 may have introduced a new, intuitive touch-based interface, but plenty of Microsoft loyalists were unhappy with the absence of the classic start menu that they were so accustomed to.
Lock screen notifications can sometimes be overwhelming and difficult to manage, especially in the morning when I receive a massive influx of emails, texts, reminders, and social media alerts. At some point it's not even worth scrolling through all of them on your lock screen when you can get a better grasp of everything by just checking out the Notification Center instead.
Before you head to class, work, or sleep, you're probably doing the same thing over and over again—toggling off system settings like Wi-Fi, sound, data, or brightness, depending on the circumstances. Schedules and routines can help increase efficiency, so while you abide to a particular schedule, so should your Android.
During initial reviews of the Nexus 6, the "double tap to wake" feature was something originally slated to be present on the device, since Motorola built it and it's been a key feature of the Moto X. However, the feature was scrapped for Ambient Display, which wakes up the screen when the device is picked up or a notification arrives. So while having both could be seen as overkill, it doesn't mean we shouldn't have the option.
I've previously shown a few ways to make your iPhone a little more unique by customizing app icons on the home screen, and while those processes did not require a jailbreak, they were a pain in the ass. Thankfully, there's a better way to customize app and shortcut icons that's a lot less convoluted.
A few months ago, we showed off a great third-party keyboard for iOS 8 called CooolKey which lets you customize the keyboard itself with any background image you want. Well, take that idea and apply it to the Control Center and we have CCBackground.
Now that Apple has added support for third-party keyboards in iOS 8, the ways we can communicate with our "peeps" has expanded beyond emojis and standard text messages to GIFs and even rap lyrics now. RapKey takes some of the best and most popular rap lyrics, then lets you choose and send them straight from their easy-to-use keyboard.
As far as customization goes, there's nothing you can do to change the look and function of the Control Center on your iPhone. By default, you can't alter the system toggles, but if your device is jailbroken, it's a completely different story. With the help of a tweak from developer plipala, called CCSettings for iOS 8, you can add, remove, and rearrange your Control Center toggles.
