How To

Tap and Slide For Easy Keyboard Switching In iOS

Apple is adding some new functionality to the keyboard in iOS 8, but while you’re waiting for it to arrive here’s a handy trick you can use now: tapping and sliding on the keyboard lets you switch between modes and change letter case more easily. Instead of tapping the .?123 button to bring up the … Continued

How To

Three Uses For Your Webcam That Don’t Involve Video Chat

If you own a laptop, you probably own a webcam too. But what you may not realize is that it has plenty of potential outside of Skype, FaceTime, and the other chat apps you’ve been using it for. Here are three alternative uses to consider, all made possible with free software your webcam’s built-in tools. … Continued

How To

What App Permissions Mean in Plain English

When you’re eagerly installing the latest must-have disappearing photo app or addictive puzzle game, how much time are you likely to spend reading through the required permissions before you accept them? Probably not enough. It’s tempting to give the permissions screen no more than a cursory glance when installing apps, not least because they’re often … Continued

How To

Create a Beautiful Bookmarks Bar of Favicons

Here’s a simple hack for your browser that can improve the appearance of your standard bookmarks bar and give you room for more links at the same time. By limiting the sites you save to just their favicons, you can create a row of instantly recognizable shortcuts that’s always to hand. Here’s how to do … Continued

How To

How To Try Out Mac OS X Yosemite Before Everyone Else

Now that you’ve digested everything that’s new in OS X Yosemite, you’re probably itching to try it out for yourself. The good news is that Apple’s happy for you to do so: for the first time since Cheetah in 2000, non-developers have the opportunity to give an upcoming operating system a test run. For free. … Continued

How To

Three Uses For Airplane Mode That Don’t Involve Flying

If you’re not a frequent flyer then you might never have used Airplane mode on your phone or tablet; and thanks to the FAA relaxing restrictions on personal electronics it’s a feature that may not be around for much longer. There’s more to Airplane mode than flight safety, though. Here are three scenarios where the … Continued

How To

How to Edit Videos In Your Browser With YouTube’s Built-in App

YouTube’s online video editor has been around for several years, but it’s not heavily promoted on the site, and it often gets overlooked by people wanting a basic tool to spruce up their footage. It shouldn’t, though, because it’s surprisingly capable. Here’s how to get the most out of it. The YouTube editor lets you … Continued

How To

TweetDeck Tips and Tricks To Master All Things Twitter

One of our favorite Twitter clients is so good that Twitter itself bought it in 2011. With real-time scrolling, advanced filtering options, and a host of useful features, TweetDeck is the obvious choice for anyone who wants to take Twitter seriously. Here’s how to make sure you’re getting the most out of it. If you’ve … Continued

How To

Turn Gmail Into an RSS Reader With IFTTT

Whether you’re still struggling to get over the loss of Google Reader or you want to try out RSS subscriptions for the first time, you can set up Gmail as a makeshift feed reader in just a few minutes. We’ve outlined the steps you need to follow to turn your inbox into a news ticker … Continued

How To

How To Make Your Social Media Accounts (Almost) Unhackable

It can be easy to dismiss social media security as a chore to save for another day. Getting hacked is serious business though, and you could find your online identity stolen, your precious photos erased and your devices inaccessible. Fear not! We’ve put together some simple but effective ways of keeping the hackers out. Of … Continued