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How To: Document the Surveillance State Using Your iPhone

You've seen security cameras everywhere in the public space. How many are there? Where are they? This is information that can be difficult to come by. It's not just criminals that are interested in information on this. It's your fundamental human right to be able to go about your daily life without being monitored and watched at every step. You might think that these cameras are for safety, and they can certainly help make people feel secure. Then it automatically follows that these people sh...

How To: Add Emoticons to Emails and Texts with the Emoji Keyboard on Your iPhone, iPad, & iPod Touch

Emoji is the Japanese term for picture icon characters used in electronic messages. Like emoticons the icons have a wide range of characters. Though Emoji has been integrated since iOS 5 the keyboard is not visible. I'm going to show you how to add the Emoji character keyboard to your Apple iPhone, iTouch & iPad. Adding the Emoji keyboard in IOS will give you colorful character, smileys and emoticon keys to use in emails, iMessage messages and chat apps. Upon adding the new keyboard you will ...

How To: Get Windows 8 Metro-Style Live Tiles on Your Android Device

Love the look of Metro's live tiles, but can't see yourself ever owning a Windows Phone device? Then fear not—you don't have to subject yourself to Windows Phone in order to experience those sweet live tiles. You can simply use Tile Launcher, a new launcher app for Android devices that simulates the Metro interface pretty well. Tile Launcher, which is in beta for Android 4.0 and above, allows users to style their homescreen with customizable tiles à la the Metro user interface! Some of the fe...

How To: Increase Touch Responsiveness on Your Rooted Google Nexus 4

While the majority of reviews for the Google Nexus 4 have been positive, there are a few things that have irked customers. Two of the most common complaints are the lack of 4G LTE on the phone (which you can activate yourself) and the touchscreen's less than stellar responsiveness. Thankfully, XDA developer trter10 has come up with a solution for this issue by fixing the driver that improves the touch responsiveness of the Nexus 4. All you have to do is download and install an older version o...

How To: Save Snapchat and Facebook Poke Videos to Your Computer

The allure of Snapchat is that all pictures and videos sent through the app vanish a few seconds after being sent. They're completely obliterated not only from the phone, but from the Snapchat server, as well. The popularity of the application has even incited Facebook to release its own real-time picture and video messaging application, aptly titled Poke. One of the biggest criticisms (besides the wave of recent security issues) of Snapchat is that even though the messages self destruct and ...

How To: Access Your Android Apps from Anywhere with the GYF Sidebar Launcher

Google is constantly adding new ways to do things quicker on its devices. Everything from multi-screen capabilities to lock-screen widgets has been added to the new updates of the Android OS, making its devices very powerful and efficient. Something that Android hasn't paid much attention to, though, is the ability to access applications easily from places other than the home screen. So, XDA Developers member Cyansmoker decided to take matters into his own hands creating an application that a...

How To: Invert the Colors on Your Apple or Android Device for Better Sleep

Inverting colors on your mobile device not only saves battery life, but also helps prevent straining your eyes, especially during the nighttime. Bright white screens interfere not only with your eyes, but with your sleeping patterns, as well. The bright lights greatly reduce your melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain that helps you go to sleep. Thus, the onset of sleep is delayed and the possibility of deep sleep is reduced greatly.

How To: Get a Game Boy Advance (GBA) Emulator on Your BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, PSP, Mac, or PC

For those of you still using a BlackBerry smartphone, this article will show you the tips and tricks to installing emulators and playing some classic Game Boy Advanced games on your device. You can find a few tutorials and videos out there on getting Game Boy Color or NES games on an Android device, but the most elusive mobile emulator is for Game Boy Advanced (GBA) on a BlackBerry.

How To: New YouTube Capture App Lets You Record, Edit, and Upload Videos Easily with Your iPhone

After everyone updated their shiny Apple devices to iOS 6 a few months ago, they were shocked to find that their beloved YouTube app was missing. As it turned out, Apple decided to kick YouTube off their list of pre-installed stock apps. The new YouTube app (found in the iTunes App Store) is definitely better than the native one from iOS 5, but it's lacking a direct upload to YouTube option. Sure, you could upload videos from your iPhone's Camera Roll, but the options are limited as to what y...

How To: Troll Your Facebook Friends by Posting Status Updates from Any Device or Even the Playboy Mansion

Depending on what mobile device you own, you'll see something that says "via device name" next to the date of your post on Facebook. If you're device is not recognized, you'll simply see a "via Mobile" note, which is what happens when I post from my phone. If you allowed your iPhone to be called iPhone when you logged into the app, it'll show up as a recognized device on Facebook, and will post "via iPhone." Same thing goes if you have a Samsung Galaxy S3 or Nexus 7 or iPad. It could also jus...

How To: Remember Your Life One Second at a Time with the Upcoming 'One Second Everyday' App for iPhone

While one second may not seem like much, it's the perfect amount of time to encapsulate your day. Photographs are just that, instant snapshots of your day that can send you flying back to that exact moment of time. A couple of months back I visited New York, but I don't recall what I ate, what I wore, or even what I felt. Whenever I look at this picture though, it all comes flooding back to me. I remember that it was a Friday. I remember I ate a brownie, because after I got off the bus I was ...

How To: Root Your Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini Smartphone

While the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the world's best selling smartphone, there a few people that find the device just a bit too large. With a 4.8 inch display and 136.6 x 70.6mm dimensions, the phone can be slightly large for kids—and adults with small fingers. It can even be a hassle to put into your pocket, so that's why Samsung decided to release the Galaxy S III Mini. With a smaller frame, the phone is perfect for those that want all of the Galaxy S III features but want a more compact size. J...

How To: Get Instant Alerts for When the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 Are Back in Stock on Google Play

There is nothing worst then having to wait for something you really want. It doesn't matter how old you are or what the item is, the fact that you have to wait for it makes you want it even more. It's the love-hate relationship I have with Amazon and anything I order, and when that anticipation is for a new smartphone, it's amplified by about a thousand. The LG Nexus 4 has received great reviews and is one of the most sought after phones this holiday season, but it's a hard one to get a hold ...

How To: Show Your Instagram Feed on Your Android Home and Lock Screen with GramWidget

Even though Instagram has been available to Android users for about 8 months now, there are a scarce amount of widgets out there for it. And by scarce, I actually mean none. There was BlinxBox, an Android home screen widget that displayed your Instagram feed, but that app no longer exists. That means there are no Instagram-centric widgets currently available for your Android device, except...

How To: Auto-Toggle Your Android Device's Wi-Fi On and Off When Near or Away from a Hotspot

Whether it's using precious data or wasting battery power, switching between Wi-Fi and cellular service on your Android device can be a hassle. If your Wi-Fi is off, you may not know about free hotspot networks in the area you're in, leading you to waste network data (which more than likely is not unlimited). If your Wi-Fi is on all of the time, this leads to quicker battery depletion. There are already a few Android apps, like Auto WiFi Toggler, that combat this problem, but they just period...

How To: Use Sony's New PlayStation Mobile on Any Rooted Android Device

Early last month, Sony released PlayStation Mobile, bringing PlayStation games to the PS Vita and other certified phones and tablets. The list of certified phones isn't as extensive as it should have been, consisting of only Sony devices (a few tablets and Xperia) and a couple of HTC ones. For anyone with a supported device, you can head over to the PS Store for the download and installation instructions.

How To: Speed Up Your Lagging Nexus 7 Running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with This Quick Fix

A lot of Nexus 7 users have been experiencing a long list of issues after upgrading to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. From random reboots to abnormal battery drainage, people have had plenty to complain about. One of the most common (and annoying) problems is lag. If you're one of the unlucky users experiencing slowness after upgrading, there's a quick fix you can try, discovered by XDA member fishingfon. Turns out, Google's news application, Currents, could be causing the issue. After changing one ...

How To: Enable the Hidden 4G LTE Feature on Your Google Nexus 4

When the specs for Google's Nexus 4 came out, most critics were more than thrilled. A very fast processor, lots of RAM, a big display with very high resolution, and an 8MP camera made it the media darling of the smartphone world. It climbed the ranks of the best smartphones available, but couldn't quite reach to the top due to one reason—no 4G LTE. Samsung's Galaxy S III and Apple's iPhone 5 both come with 4G LTE, so why couldn't the LG Nexus 4? While there are many reasons, Google was stated...

How To: Unlock and Root the Verizon Droid DNA by HTC

Last week, HTC released their new Droid DNA smartphone in hopes of gaining more traction in a smartphone world currently dominated by Apple and Samsung with their popular iPhone and Samsung Galaxy lines. The new Droid DNA boasts a 5-inch 1080p display—the highest resolution for any smartphone on the market. It runs Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean with HTC Sense software, and has may other typical features, such as NFC and wireless charging.