tips

Before you start immortalizing your holiday gatherings of friends and family, learn to use your camera. Celebrate the new year by taking it off auto. Party in a priority mode.

That's the most important piece of advice I can think of for any photographer. Whether it's a cell phone, a point-and-shoot, or a power dSLR, if you want to take better photos, you have to start by taking at least 30 minutes to understand your camera's controls. Otherwise, you're going to have nothing but bad shots at best and missed opportunities at worst. I find shooting … Read more

Although it took some criticism at launch as being nothing more than an oversized iPhone, the iPad has turned out to be a handy and wildly popular device--and has even improved some users' lives around the globe. … Read more

iPhone 4S users, developers and hackers alike have had plenty of time to learn the inner workings of Siri. … Read more

When I hastily grabbed my phone to check a recipe during my first attempt at bibimbap, gunk from my fingers landed on the phone screen, nearly seeping into the speaker and damaging my favorite kitchen companion.

And it really is just that. With fruitful recipe apps like Allrecipes and Epicurious, along with my phone's built-in timer and calculator for measurement conversions, my iPhone and iPad are extremely useful tools, right after a freshly sharpened knife and KitchenAid mixer.

There's just one problem: these gadgets are hanging out in the dangerous war zone that is the kitchen. Chopping, rinsing, and transporting ingredients always involves the inevitable splashing, and your phone or tablet is right there, vulnerable to these kitchen elements and your messy fingertips.… Read more

iOS 5 further improves the iPad as a productivity device, with new features that streamline navigation and speed up word processing. Four of these new features stood out to us, two of which are only available on the iPad.

All of these tools are built in, so you can start using them right away. Watch the video and follow the tips to get started:

1. Multitasking gestures With iOS 5, the Home button is nearly obsolete, as you can now navigate and manage your iPad using multitouch gestures. To enable gestures, go to Settings > General, and turn on multitasking … Read more

There's so much you can do with Android that it can seem impossible to experience all the operating system has to offer. With these tips, tricks, and guides, we show you how to go beyond the tip of the iceberg to unearth Android's most awesome features. Whether you're new to Android, considering making the switch, or looking for new ways to make the most of your powerful device, we've got you covered.

How to switch from iPhone to Android If you feel locked into your iPhone, freedom has arrived! Learn how to transfer much … Read more

OS X Lion contains a number of new features (over 250 of them, according to Apple), and while some of these are exciting and new features such as autosave, versions, full screen apps, and Airdrop, other changes may be a bit different and take some getting used to. Here are a few tips that may help to make the transition to the Lion interface easier or at least make it feel more familiar.

Undo reversed scroll direction

The very first new feature that might strike you when using Lion is that the default scroll direction has been reversed to behave … Read more

Adopting a new social network like Google+ is taxing enough--re-adding friends, creating "Circles", adjusting privacy settings, etc.--so learning to navigate can be a bit overwhelming. 

Luckily, we did the heavy lifting for you. Here are seven Google+ basics you should learn:

1. Bold, italics, and strikethough. Do you miss the funky fonts and formatting you had in MySpace? Neither do we. Google+, however, gifts you with three simple formatting tricks: *bold*, _italics_, and -strikethough-.

2. Tag friends in posts. Get a friend's attention in a post by tagging them. Type "+" or "@&… Read more

Subwoofers aren't easy. Sure, adding a decent subwoofer to a system to supply more bass is no big deal, but getting the best possible sound out of a subwoofer is. I've written a few How To Set Up A Subwoofer articles and blogs in my time, but Brent Butterworth's recent "Subwoofers: 4, 2, or 1?" feature in Sound and Vision magazine tackled one of the more difficult aspects of home theater setup: do multiple subwoofers offer any performance advantages over a single sub? Butterworth's premise was simply this: Should I spend my $1,200 … Read more