Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The Problem with Plugging into USB Ports [Image]



Do any of you experience this same level of frustration with your USB ports?

All the time…


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Create a Keyboard Shortcut to Insert Your E-Mail Address

Create a Keyboard Shortcut to Insert Your E-Mail Address:

Tired of typing your e-mail address every time you log in, register for a site, fill out a form, and so on? Here's how to automate address insertion.


Thursday, August 18, 2011

What Kind of Ethernet (Cat-5/e/6/a) Cable Should I Use?


Not all Ethernet cable is created equally. What’s the difference, and how do you know which you should use? Let’s look at the technical and physical differences in Ethernet cable categories to help us decide.


Ethernet cables are grouped into sequentially numbered categories (“cat”) based on different specifications; sometimes the category is updated with further clarification or testing standards (e.g. 5e, 6a). These categories are how we can easily know what type of cable we need for a specific application. Manufacturers are required to adhere to the standards which makes our lives easier.


What are the differences between the categories and how can you know when to use unshielded, shielded, stranded, or solid cable? Keep reading for “cat”-like enlightenment.

Source: What Kind of Ethernet (Cat-5/e/6/a) Cable Should I Use?

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Death by Browser Toolbar Overload [Humorous Image]



How many times have we all seen and had to fix browsers like this?

All of the tool-bars in the world are on this computer… (Larger Version of the Image) [via Reddit]

Recipe: Black Bean And Heirloom Tomato Quinoa With Lemon Dressing Six Ingredients (and Salt)

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Quinoa is the perfect vehicle for summer vegetables: it's more substantial than couscous or rice and it kind of binds ingredients together. This simple version involves minimal cooking: just toss hot quinoa with black beans, chunks of ripe heirloom tomatoes, and crunchy scallions, and cover with a refreshing lemon dressing.

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10 Free Money Saving Android Apps

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Sometimes we all wish we could magically raise our own debt ceiling just like Congress did for our nation, but we can't. So here are 10 apps for Android users looking to save a few sheckles online and while out and about...

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Back to School: 42 Digital Resources for Students & Parents



It’s getting to be that time of year. Your chances of seeing school supply commercials have increased exponentially. Kids are breaking out last year’s Elmer’s in anticipation of glorious glue feasts. Teens are cramming their entire summer reading into the last week of August. Yep, it’s back to school time, folks.


One thing that makes back to school a tad less stressful? Tech, of course! What did you think we were going to say — studying? Pssssh.


Take a gander below at these tech tools, apps, social media and parenting tips that will ease you or your kid into another school year. Here are Mashable‘s best education-related posts from the past year! Enjoy, you teacher’s pet, you.




Tech & Mobile Education Tools







Education via Social Media







Education Tips & Stats







Extracurricular Tech Education




Source: Back to School: 42 Digital Resources for Students & Parents

The Wrong Way to Get a Legal Copy of Microsoft Office [Humorous Image]


Hacker Traces Laptop Thief Using Facebook Information




If you’re going to steal a laptop, make sure you know who you’re dealing with — one London teenager accused of stealing a laptop during the recent London riots certainly didn’t do his homework on who he was robbing.


Greg Martin, an IT security specialist and former FBI and NASA employee, came home to his West Kensington apartment last Wednesday to find that his place had been ransacked and his MacBook Pro was stolen.


Martin, who runs a blog called InfoSecurity 2.0, was obviously the wrong person to be stealing a laptop from — he had previously installed an open source tracking software called Prey on his computer. The free software “lets you keep track of your phone or laptop at all times, and will help you find it if it ever gets lost or stolen,” the product’s website states.


A self-described hacker, Martin wrote on his blog:



“Almost two weary days had gone by [since the robbery], and I’m at dinner on a business trip in Luxembourg, and I received an email which nearly knocked me out of my chair with excitement.”



The robber had finally logged on to the laptop — Martin went back to his hotel to stake out and gather evidence against the thief.


After two hours of watching the laptop thief surf the Internet, Martin was able to collect information on the man’s name, school, address, IP address, Internet service provider, wireless access point and Facebook ID number.


The thief’s Facebook information was the deciding piece of information for Martin — he sent the information on to the London Metro police and went to bed.


After details about the thief — identified as Soheil Khalilfar, 18 — were released to the police, the man’s apartment was raided and the laptop was recovered and returned to Martin.


Modern day thieves are at a much higher risk of being caught with the pervasiveness of technology.


In June, another MacBook thief was nabbed after the laptop’s owner tracked the thief using Hidden app and a Tumblr account.


[via: BBC]

Enable Google Maps' Awesome "Bubble Buttons" Lab for Quicker Calling and Navigation

Click here to read Enable Google Maps' Awesome "Bubble Buttons" Lab for Quicker Calling and Navigation

Google Maps for Android just updated with an awesome "Bubble Buttons" feature that adds phone call and navigation buttons to map results. Here's how to enable it. More »

Monday, August 15, 2011

Firefox Minimalist: OneLiner Slims Down Your Browser

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Do you prefer your UI slim down to a minimal presence? Firefox user? You might want to download the extension, OneLiner, developed by the team over at Mozilla if you want to trim the UI fat. Upon installing you'll find your navigation bar streamlined, combining the space where the location and tab bars reside into one...



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Create a Keyboard Shortcut for Your Favorite Folder

Windows doesn't let you pin folders to the Taskbar, but you can set up keyboard shortcuts that'll open them just as lickety-split.

Source: Create a Keyboard Shortcut for Your Favorite Folder



Final Frame: Our Tech Answer to Everything

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The age old Help Desk answer to every tech problem asked. Via Holoprogram Tumblr.

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Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Best Image-to-Text App for Android [App Directory]

Click here to read The Best Image-to-Text App for Android

Android doesn't have a ton of apps that can turn images into text documents, but of the ones available, Google Goggles is free and does everything it promises to do: copy text from an image and let you paste it anywhere. More »

Source:The Best Image-to-Text App for Android [App Directory]

Easily Find the Serial Number of your Computer

You’ve got a problem with your computer, you call their technical support team and the person on the other side requires the machine’s serial number (also known as the Service Tag) before he can even log your request.

dell service tagIf you using a laptop computer, you can easily find the service tag by turning the machine upside but for desktops, especially the older models, the sticker that holds the service tag is often placed at a more harder-to-reach location.


There’s a alternate way to find the computer’s serial number without you having to slide beneath the table.


Open the command prompt (Start –> CMD) and type the following command:


wmic bios get serialnumber

Another command that will also print the model number (or make) of your computer is:


wmic csproduct get name, identifyingnumber 

The system model number can also be found using the System Information program available under All Programs –> Accessories –> System Tools.


The above commands should work on Windows 7, XP and Windows XP Pro machine as wmic.exe didn’t ship with the previous editions of Windows. Refer to this page to learn about all other system details that you can retrieve with the help of wmic.exe command.


Source: Easily Find the Serial Number of your Computer

From the Tips Box: Managing Android Audio Profiles, Google Bookmarks on Android, and Cable Lacing


It’s a Thursday afternoon and that tip-time-of-week again. This week we’re looking at managing audio profiles on Android phones, accessing Google Bookmarks on Android, and vintage organization with Cable Lacing.

Source: From the Tips Box: Managing Android Audio Profiles, Google Bookmarks on Android, and Cable Lacing





How to get Wireless Tether up and running on HTC EVO 3D

One of the main reasons that people root their phones is so they can enjoy root-only apps, such as ShootMe, SetCPU, or Wireless Tether. The latter is, for obvious reasons, one of the most popular root-only apps for the HTC EVO 4G, as it allows people to skirt past Sprint's $29.99/month mobile hotspot feature and get the same functionality for free. Unfortunately, many users are having trouble getting this set-up on their newly-rooted HTC EVO 3Ds. While the stable build of Wireless Tether that's available now in the Market will return errors when trying to tether, some users are reporting...


Source: How to get Wireless Tether up and running on HTC EVO 3D

T-Mobile Makes a Startling Shift From Unlimited To Overages On Their 200MB Data Plan

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This could be the end of an era, folks. According to this leaked pic TmoNews managed to get their hands on today, it seems starting August 13th, T-Mobile may be shifting away from their unlimited (but throttled) data on their most affordable 200MB plans. Ironically, this is T-Mobile’s most popular plan and it’s because of this that T-Mobile is forced to move to overages to “remain competitive.” I was able to get my whole family onto the Android bandwagon thanks to this plan’s small $10 price tag.

But not all is doom and gloom. I mean, the overages cap out at around $30 dollars and if you’re currently an unlimited user, your plan should remain the same providing you don’t cancel your line. For everyone else, customers who near their 200MB limit will receive a warning from T-Mobile alerting them to upgrade their plan or face extra charges.

Even if this only affects their 200MB plan, it’s still a little scary seeing this shift from T-Mobile’s much touted unlimited data to overages based upon a plan’s popularity. I know most Android users are data hungry but are any of our readers currently on the 200MB plan? Will this change force you to upgrade your plan, or will you take your money and go elsewhere?

[Via TmoNews]



Motorola KORE is Name for Fitness Devices, Not Tablets

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After a bit of speculation following a round of domain purchases by Motorola, we can finally get an idea of what the Motorola KORE is – it isn’t a tablet, in case you were wondering. New trademark filings describe the KORE to be a fitness monitoring device, likely the same one they have been surveying consumers about for a bit of time. Here is the full description for the trademark filing:

"ELECTRONIC NON MEDICAL PORTABLE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MONITOR AND FITNESS DEVICE FOR MEASURING MOVEMENTS, INDIVIDUAL’S ENERGY EXPENDITURE AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL AND ACCESSORIES THEREFORE, NAMELY, HEADPHONES; SOFTWARE FOR DEVELOPING AND MONITORING PERSONAL ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE PLANS, TRAINING PLANS, TRAINING GOALS AND GIVING FEEDBACK ON THE ACHIEVED RESULTS".

Indisputable, now isn’t it? In related news, they also have Motorola Energia saved up with its description pointing toward headphones. Considering the name and considering Motorola doesn’t really have a history with headsets, we expect this to tie into the KORE. It may be a Bluetooth headset that can communicate with the fitness watch, reading off your vitals as you run or work out.

No tablets for now, but we’re hopeful news of that will turn up sometime this fall in time for a very possible holiday launch. [Fusible]

Source: Motorola KORE is Name for Fitness Devices, Not Tablets

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

SilverStone to Release Nightjar 500W Silent PSU Later This Week

SilverStone is on course for releasing the Nightjar ST50NF this Thursday. The ST50NF is a 500W, fan-less (completely silent), 80 Plus Gold compliant, non-modular power supply (PSU). The PSU does away with the 120 mm fan, and replaces it with a large aluminum heatsink that draws heat from numerous smaller heatsinks below that in turn draw heat from the various hot components. To try and offset the weight it puts on with all those heatsinks, and to make the unit airy, the outer body is made of thin perforated aluminum sheets.



The Nightjar ST50NF delivers 500W of continuous power, it is standards-compliant with ATX 12 V2.3 & EPS 12V. It features active PFC (power factor correction), and uses a single +12V rail design. All its cables are fixed to the unit. There should be enough cabling for a performance PC with a single graphics card. The PSU carries an MTBF rating of 50,000 hours. SilverStone's Nightjar ST50NF will be priced at €129.







Source: TechConnect Magazine

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Lifehacker Pack for Windows: Our List of the Best Windows Downloads [Downloads]

Click here to read Lifehacker Pack for Windows: Our List of the Best Windows Downloads



Whether you've just reinstalled Windows or you need to fill some holes on your software collection, we've got everything you need in our annual Lifehacker Pack. Here, you can grab our all-time favorite downloads in one, simple installer. More »

Wednesday, July 13, 2011