how-to

Laptops once used to be the domain of word-processing programs, file databases, and light gaming, but more often than not most people currently use their laptops as makeshift do-it-all interactive televisions. With the abundance of streaming video sites and TV/movie content available, they're often the most versatile entertainment products on the market, pound for pound.

Unfortunately, you're locked in to a screen that often has limited viewing angles and a resolution that's often less than 1080p. There's good news, though: connecting to an HDTV is a lot easier than most people think--provided you have an … Read more

Good news, Apple browser fans: Safari for Windows and Mac now comes with extensions. The bad news? They're not yet enabled by default, and there's no official add-on gallery from Apple.

The better news? There is a workaround, and it's easy. In this How To video, we'll show you not only how to enable Safari's extensions, but how to install them and where to get them, too.

In the nearly two years that Apple has been selling apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch, I've accumulated pages and pages of them. I try to keep them organized, grouping games and similar apps together on separate pages--but it still involves a lot of flipping and searching to get where I want to go.

Apple's new Folders feature in iOS 4 offers a new approach to managing an ever-growing collection of apps, allowing you to group apps together under custom headings. Not only do folders cut down on the number of icons sprawling across your home screens, … Read more

Apple's iOS4 is spreading out to iPhone and iPod Touch owners today. Upgrading the firmware on your iPhone or iPod may be old hat for some of you, but if this is your first time around, here's the iOS 4 upgrade process in five easy steps.

The iOS 4 upgrade is free for both iPhone and iPod Touch, but excludes first-gen models.

Two of the best new and improved features in Photoshop CS5 are the new content-aware fill feature and the overhauled high-dynamic range tools. Available in both Photoshop CS5 basic (Windows | Mac) and Photoshop CS5 Extended (Windows | Mac), the two tools enhance features that Photoshop has already had in ways that make them more useful and easier to use.

In the first video, we cover how to use the content-aware feature to remove both small objects, such as telephone wires, and large objects, such as an entire person.

In the second video, we go over the massive changes made to the … Read more

The world first knew it as Weave Sync, but Mozilla has moved Firefox's in-house synchronization project out of its Labs, calling it Firefox Sync to emphasize its connection to the browser and hint at its importance for the future.

The upcoming Firefox 4 will have the add-on's syncing features baked in, but why wait? Download the add-on and check out how Firefox Sync matches up your preferences, bookmarks, passwords, history, and open tabs in this How To video.

The first time you send an e-mail from your iPad, you may notice the little "Sent from my iPad" e-mail signature Apple includes on your outgoing messages. It's cute, at first--like a postmark from a foreign country. Eventually, though, you may find it a little obnoxious.

Changing or clearing the e-mail signature on an iPad isn't rocket science, but if you've never toyed with an iPhone or iPod Touch, it may not seem obvious where to locate the exact setting. In this CNET How-To video, I'll walk you through the quick and painless process … Read more

Are you confused by the myriad changes Facebook keeps making to its privacy settings? Are you angry about your data being exposed without your express consent? Are you just fed up and not going to take it anymore?

You're not alone. A recent poll from Sophos found that an estimated 60 percent of users are considering quitting Facebook over privacy issues. More than 11,000 people have committed to ditching the social-networking site on May 31, according to QuitFacebookDay.com. And more people are searching Google for ways to delete their Facebook accounts than ever, according to the Search Engine Land blog. … Read more

CNET TV has a few new Apple-related videos available. With the iPad being one of the hot topics these days there are several that outline how to use features on the new device. Editor Donald Bell covers the settings in the iPhone OS for restricting kids from seeing inappropriate content. In addition, there are a couple of videos outlining unique or relatively hidden music playback features on the iPad, including making playlists and shuffling songs. Lastly, Brian Tong has a new Apple Byte episode, which covers the features of the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 and some criticism of Apple's latest public moves.… Read more