How To

Five fitness-tracking apps for Android

Are you wondering how you're going to reach and maintain your fitness goals in the new year?

Fitness-tracking apps take advantage of your Android phone's GPS sensor and can track your route, pace, distance, and heart rate (with a supported heart rate monitor). Most of them also allow you to upload your stats so you can view your activity history. Going further, most of them even allow you to share your workouts on Twitter or Facebook, which is a great way to solicit encouragement from your friends and family.

Here are five popular fitness-tracking apps for your Android … Read more

How to find your Wi-Fi password

Wi-Fi passwords help maintain a level of browsing privacy and keep strangers or neighbors from stealing your bandwidth.

If you aren't in charge of your network, or rarely add new devices to it, you might forget what security key you picked. Retrieving this can be easy if you can access the admin panel of the router, but this isn't always an option-- like when you aren't in charge of the network, or you forgot that password too. Fortunately there's an easy-to-use program that can retrieve the security information for networks saved on your computer. Just follow … Read more

How to get the weather forecast on your iPhone's lock screen

Sometimes developers come up with some pretty clever workarounds to provide users the features they want, as is the case with Lock Screen Weather.

Lock Screen Weather acts as a media player by using the "cover art" display on the lock screen to display your local weather forecast.

To get your local weather forecast on your lock screen, visit the App Store and download Lock Screen Weather [iTunes link], it will set you back $0.99. … Read more

The easiest way to increase battery life on iOS 5

Battery life on iOS 5 has been a big letdown for both iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S users alike. As Apple continues to work on a solution, there is a quick and easy way to help increase your battery life. … Read more

Five clever ways to keep your New Year's resolutions

Think back to last year's resolutions--can you even remember what you resolved to achieve?

Me neither.

Change isn't easy, and when it comes to New Year's resolutions, most people spend more time planning their goals than pursuing them. It's the exact reason why fitness centers seem so packed in January and desolate by March.

But this year, if you're resolving to lose weight, eat healthier, read more books, or improve your life in any other way, consider doing it differently with the help of technology.

1. Tell your social network Make yourself accountable for your … Read more

How to sell your old gadgets

Score some new gadgets this holiday season? Great! What happens to your old gadgets now?

Keeping up with the latest and greatest tech gadgets doesn't come cheap. To offset the cost of your new acquisition(s), consider selling your old gadgets. You might be surprised at the interest your old gadgets receive. Other benefits of selling your old gadgets include decluttering your home and keeping waste out of landfills.

Here are some tips on selling your used gadgets and what to do with them if you can't sell them:

Removing personal data from your gadgets Before you get … Read more

How to use an Android device as an extra monitor

Having extra monitors is always nice, but can be costly when you need a pair or more of them to complete your desktop. 

This guide may offer a temporary solution to your problem if you're on a Windows PC and have a spare Android device (or one you don't mind tying up for a while).

What you'll need:

WindowsAn Android deviceWi-Fi connection

Begin by purchasing and downloading ScreenSlider from the Android market. Once that's complete, request a download link for the ScreenSlider desktop client by providing a valid e-mail … Read more

Transfer music from iPod to PC without losing file names

If you own and use an iPod or iPhone for storing music, you've probably run into the frustration of being unable to easily copy these songs to your PC. While there are manual workarounds (like Houdini 3) that can accomplish this task, they often leave the file name formatting illegible. For easy copying while ensuring your music folder remains neat and tidy, use Sharepod, a free and lightweight tool that can access, change, and copy the music from your iPod or iPhone.

First you'll need to download Sharepod (no installation required).

Step 1: Close iTunes (if open), plug … Read more

How to use Siri to type on your Mac

Siri is starting to see a lot of different, yet very creative implementations. The latest is an iOS app from Avatron aptly titled Air Dictate.

Air Dictate allows iPhone 4S to use Siri dictation to type for them on their Mac; it's an intriguing use of Siri.

To begin, you will need to buy Air Dictate from the App Store (99 cents). Keep in mind this app requires you to be using an iPhone 4S, the only device currently in the Apple lineup with Siri integration.

After you have installed Air Dictate on your iPhone 4S, head on over … Read more