Gadget Hacks Features


How To: Tether your MetroPCS phone to your PC for internet access
If you're a MetroPCS user and would like to tether your phone to your PCS to use it as a modem, this video will show you how it's done. First of all, hit the subtitles button to make sure you're getting the instructions in english. Next, you'l want to go here to get the Samsun PC Studio link tool which will let the connection be made. Enjoy!

How To: Turn a Game Boy Advance into an Old-School Miniature Arcade Cabinet
No matter how advanced technology gets, there will always be room for classic video games in the hearts of nerds everywhere. Mini arcades became very popular, as they allowed users to take arcade games on the go. As Game Boys and other mobile gaming devices appeared, the mini arcade slowly disappeared. Well, believe it or not you can combine the best of both worlds! Metku user Japala wanted to make his old Game Boy Advance SP "look cool again," so he turned it into a mini arcade cabinet.

News: Snapchat & Facebook AR Experiences Let You Unleash Your Inner Anti-Hero & Become Marvel's Venom
Venom, the latest in a long list of comic book characters to headline its own movie, is known by comic book fans by his catchphrase, "We are Venom."

How To: Register a Second Face ID Look on Your iPhone in iOS 12
Setting up Face ID is simple, but getting it to work correctly every time is a different story. While there are numerous tips for getting Face ID to work every time you need it on your iPhone X, XS, XS Max, or XR, Apple has added a better option in iOS 12 that lets you add an "alternative appearance."

How To: The Best Phones for Watching Movies & TV Shows — Under $500
You might think you need to buy a thousand dollar phone to get a great experience while streaming movies and TV shows from services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, but that's just not true anymore. While phone prices keep rising and the midrange segment now ranges from $300–$500, there are still cost-effective options that come with top-notch displays and media features.

How To: Program a Wiimote speaker with GlovePie
You can connect your Nintendo Wii Wiimote to your PC using GlovePie input emulation software and a bluetooth connection. Learn how you can program GlovePie scripts that will emit sounds from the Wiimote's built in speaker.

How To: Get Back Google's Blue Search Links (If You See Black Ones)
Google seems to be growing tired of the way links appear in its Search results page, because they're currently experimenting with a color change (that's already causing lots of controversy).

How To: Automatically Delete Your Google History on a Schedule
Your Google history is mostly a binary choice — either you enable it fully, taking advantage of all its features while letting Google record your activity, or you disable it, staying incognito but also missing out on some fun stuff. But now, Google will let you auto-delete your history, allowing you to utilize all the perks that come with recording your history while maintaining some level of privacy.

News: 6D.Ai Launches AR Cloud & Supplies 3D Maps to Nreal Light & Qualcomm Snapdragon Devices
Roughly six months after emerging from stealth, AR cloud company 6D.ai is now ready for public consumption, and it has a big name partner to help it kick off its platform.

How To: Pick Different Chat Wallpapers for WhatsApp's Light & Dark Modes for Even More Control Over Your Theme
If you're like me, you enjoy using your phone's dark theme at night and light theme during the day. When switching from dark to light and vice versa, many of the UI elements in supported apps adjust accordingly, but you have no control over what does and doesn't change. WhatsApp, on the other hand, does give you some granular control by letting you pick a chat wallpaper for each theme.

News: How Samsung's AR Emoji Stack Up to the Competitors
Apple's Animojis took the world by storm with their ease of use and fluidity. They added new life to your emojis by mapping your face with the technology that lives inside the iPhone X. Now, Samsung is also adding new life to emjojis with the introduction of AR Emojis in the Galaxy S9 and S9+.

News: Apple Delivers Competitor to Google Lens & Google Maps AR Features in iOS 15
Mobile augmented reality for iOS typically comes through apps via ARKit, but Apple is borrowing a few pages from Google's playbook and bringing AR directly to iOS 15.

How To: Unlock the Hidden SuperUser App in CyanogenMod 11S on Your OnePlus One
The OnePlus One comes with CyanogenMod 11S built in, but there are certainly some traditional CyanogenMod features missing from this version. One of the most obvious missing ingredients is the lack of a native SuperUser app, most likely to prevent inexperienced users from causing unintentional damage to their device's software.

How To: Maps for iPhone Saves Your Parking Spot Automatically in iOS 10
One of the coolest features we've come across so far in iOS 10 is a parking spot reminder. Go for a quick drive (making sure to take your iPhone with you), and when you arrive at your destination, you'll get a notification that tells you where you parked.

How To: Android Device Manager Now Available on Google Play to Find, Lock, & Wipe Lost Devices Easier
While the Play Store has a plethora of apps available for finding lost Android phones, Google came out with its own web-based application, Google Device Manager, earlier this year to help you keep track of all your Android devices and remote lock, erase, ring, and track if need be.

How To: Find webcams from across the world with Tekzilla
This video tutorial is about using Google Maps and the features in it. Google Maps help us to find the geography and even the traffic situations of a city. Google maps also provide a street view option that helps us to see how a place actually looks like from the ground. Neither of these views are real time. But now, Google Maps has added in a new option, which is the webcam. Just click on the more option in between traffic and map option. In the list that appears, just tick the webcam option...

How To: Reveal hidden MySpace profile content with FireFox
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to reveal hidden MySpace profile content using Mozilla Firefox. Begin by clicking on View, go to Page Style and select No Style. This will take out all the styles that are applied on the page, and reveal all of it's data. Now users will be able to view the specific content on the profile page such as friends and page comments. This video will benefit those viewers who use both MySpace and Firefox Mozilla, and would like to learn how to access hidden M...

Firefox Mobile 101: How to Save Links as New Tabs Without Leaving Your Current App
Mozilla baked an easily missed feature into their Firefox Browser for Android called the "tab queue," which you should definitely be using if you find yourself opening links a lot from emails, texts, and other link-heavy apps. With tab queuing enabled, you can save links as new tabs in Firefox without ever leaving the current app you're in.

News: Bareburger's Recipe for Future Menus Includes a Heaping Portion of Augmented Reality via Snapchat
Fast-casual burger restaurant Bareburger expects to soon replace all of its paper menus with 3D models of its burgers and other items rendered in augmented reality, but for now, the company is preparing some rather interesting limited AR interactions.

News: Watch Mountains & Rivers Come to Life with This Sand-Based Map
Most sandboxes wait for children on a playground or the occasional zen garden raking. This one combines light, sand, and depth cameras to create a completely malleable topographical map you can alter with a brush of your hand.

How To: Use Apple Music Wrapped to View Your Most Played Songs in 2020 from Apple Music or Your iPhone's Library
At the end of every year, Spotify analyzes your listening habits for the last 12 months and creates a colorful graphic showcasing your favorite artists, albums, artists, and more. Apple Music does have its own version called Replay, but it's just not very good.

News: Galaxy S9 Tipped to Have 'Intelligent Scan' Facial Unlocking — Iris & Face Recognition Combined
Over the past few days, we've learned a lot about Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones. In addition to a full list of hardware specs, we have complete renders direct from renowned leaker Evan Blass. Of course, Samsung always has a few surprises up their sleeve, and today, we have some new information about the facial unlock method arriving on the S8.

News: Snapchat Lays Up Lens Studio Experience for Nike's Jordan Brand at NBA All-Star Weekend
Nike and Snapchat, having already reigned triumphant with its viral augmented reality ad featuring Lebron James, are teaming up with another basketball legend at NBA All-Star Weekend

How To: Root a Donut Google Android smartphone
Root your Donut smartphone the easy way! Unlock your mobile phone's hidden potential by running custom ROMs, overclocking it, and even turning it into a wireless hotspot with WiFI tethering. For all of the details, and to get started rooting your own Donut cell phone, take a look.

How To: Share an embedded YouTube video directly on Facebook
So, you want to post a YouTube video to Facebook? Well, believe it or not, it's a really simple task to complete. Instead of just copying and pasting the URL into your comment box, Facebook has the option to choose a "link", which you would then copy and paste the YouTube URL into that box. Then you just click "share" and your whole Facebook community can now watch the YouTube video directly on Facebook. It's the easiest way to share videos with your Facebook friends.

News: LG Enhances South Korean TV Sets with Shoppable Augmented Reality Ads
Best known for its mobile phones and television sets, South Korea's LG has had a quieter presence in the US compared to the country's homegrown efforts.

How To: Import data from Excel to MySQL with DreamCoder
This video tutorial will walk you, step by step, through the process of importing data directly from an Excel document to a MySQL database server using the smart copy feature available in the DreamCoder for MySQL. For more information, press play!

How To: Improve search engine optimization with classified ads
There're plenty of great ways to get traffic, especially this off-site optimization technique using classified ads to point website traffic back into your site itself.

How To: Take Perfect Fireworks Photos with Your Android Phone
Many of you are ready to capture the litany of 4th of July fireworks that will litter the night sky, but if you're using a phone to capture the burst of fire in midair, it can get a little tricky. Don't worry, though — you'll be fine if you use these tips.

How To: Enable HomeKit Secure Video on Your Logitech Circle 2 Cameras
In iOS 13, Apple introduced HomeKit Secure Video, which allows smart home devices with cameras to give iPhone users a private and secure way to store recorded videos. Plus, it has benefits such as object detection and activity notifications. Logitech is the first to add support for HomeKit Secure Video with its Circle 2 cameras, and all it takes is a quick firmware update to get started.

How To: Tell if Someone Has Read Your WhatsApp Message—Even if They Have Read Receipts Turned Off
We've all been there... admit it. You sent a couple messages, but your friend had the "Read Receipts" option turned off in WhatsApp, so after a few minutes, you start wondering if they're away from their phone right now or just flat-out ignoring you.

How To: Add Widgets Directly to Your iPhone's Home Screen
Although widgets were finally introduced in iOS 8, they weren't exactly the widgets we were expecting, i.e., the ones seen on Android home screens. Don't get me wrong, they're still very useful in the Notification Center, since they can be accessed with a quick pull-down from any screen, but there are some widgets that would work better right on the home screen.

How To: Cast Your Android's Screen in 2 Seconds Flat
If you have a Chromecast or Android TV, you can mirror your phone's display to the big screen. It's helpful for showing off something you found interesting without having to pass your phone around the living room, but the actual process of casting your screen is a bit clunky. Thankfully, there's a better way.

How To: Get the iPhone's Auto-Hiding Lock Screen Notifications on Android
The iPhone has a setting that will obfuscate the content of notifications on its lock screen until you're recognized by Face ID. Google implemented this same feature in its Pixel phones, but many Android devices have no such option. At least, not by default.

How To: View the Exact Battery Percentage on Your iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max
Whether you have or are getting an iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max, the default way to check the current battery life is via the tiny battery icon in the top right of the status bar. But that does not accurately depict how much juice is left, not as a specific percentage indicator would. If you want the exact number, there are some not-so-obvious ways to find it.

How To: Opt Out of Ad Tracking on Android
Most of the free apps you'll find on the Play Store have ads. These ads are personalized — in other words, they're for products and services Google believes you might be interested in. The way Google knows about your interests is by collecting data from your smartphone, including your location and app usage. While personalized ads have their advantages, the collection of data is unsettling.

How To: Add Interactive AR Characters to Your Videos with Google Camera
Google's has expanded ARCore support to numerous Android flagships like the Galaxy S10, so if you have a compatible device, you get access to all the cool new apps that can augment the world around you. One of ARCore's most sought-after features, AR Stickers, is normally exclusive to Google's Pixel lineup, but by sideloading the Google Camera app, you can try it on any ARCore device.

How To: Extend Your Bumble Matches at the Last Minute
On Bumble, you only have 24 hours to connect with a match. If no message is sent, your match disappears and your chance of a connection is gone, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the other person isn't interested. If they lose their phone or don't receive notifications, they might miss your message on accident. Life happens, so what can you do if your 24 hours to connect are almost up?

How To: Play Any Android Game with a PS3 Controller (Or Other Gamepad)
Many game developers have finally realized that in order for their games to be successful, they have to support Android. To really win Android users over, they should also accommodate us hardcore gamers who have OTG cables with the ability to hook up controllers to our devices.

How To: Set App Limits on Your iPhone to Restrict All-Day Access to Games & Other Addictive Apps
Most of us have, at one point or another, found ourselves glued to our smartphone in a trance-like state, totally unaware of what's around us. Well, Apple has a way to curb overuse with an awesome tool for iPhone starting in iOS 12. It can help nudge us away from our phones to spend more time attending to real-life matters.