How To

Create, share photo albums using Dropbox for Android

Last week Dropbox released an update to its Android app. The update brought with it the ability for users to create and share photo albums from directly within the app. You'll need to have the Camera Upload feature enabled if you want to take advantage of the new albums.

To begin, make sure you have the latest version of the Dropbox Android app installed on your device. Once you have the app updated, make sure you have the photo tab selected along the top. Then tap on the box with a check mark in it to begin selecting photos. … Read more

How to change your Kindle device name

Amazon Kindle devices are automatically named when you activate them to something like, "Ed's Kindle." A second Kindle on your account will be named, "Ed's 2nd Kindle." If you want to change the name to something a bit more descriptive, like the specific model (Paperwhite, Fire, Fire HD, etc.), here's how:

Step 1: Go to the Amazon Kindle management page and log in with the account you used to register your Kindle. Under the "Your Kindle Account" section, click on "Manage your Devices."

Step 2: Click on the "… Read more

Request refunds for Google Play apps after grace period ends

For some paid apps there are also trial or free counterparts. On a lot of these trial apps, you'll find that the only difference is that they are ad-supported. Upgrading may remove the ads and nothing else, so you may not even need the paid version. However, many paid versions of apps offer the best features -- you know, their selling point.

Let's say you bought an app that you can't gauge its usefulness in 15 minutes or less. Or maybe the app is freezing your device when you use it and figuring out what's going … Read more

Permanently request desktop sites on Firefox for Android

Firefox for Android can request desktop versions of sites, but you have to make the request every time you visit a site that loads a mobile version. You can use Firefox add-ons to change the browser user agent string, but if you don't want to install add-ons, you can make the change directly to Firefox. Here's how:

Step 1: In the Firefox address bar, type "about:config" and press Enter.

Step 2: Tap the "Add a New Setting" button, then select "String" as the type.

Step 3: For name, enter "general.… Read more

How to hide purchased apps using iTunes

Downloading almost every promotional app or game you come across in the App Store is a good idea, but it's also one that will result in your purchase history being littered with random apps. Some of them you'll need to use one day; others you'll never look at again. Anyone who has tried viewing their purchased history on an iOS device knows how long it takes for the list to appear -- it's ridiculous.

To clear up your purchased history, you'll need access to a computer with iTunes installed and a few minutes of your … Read more

Get a high-quality 'Read Aloud' voice in Google Play Books

The Google Play Books app was recently updated with a "Read Aloud" feature for Android devices. Once enabled, your Android device will read the text of books acquired from Google Play Books.

There's just one problem; the voice reading the books sounds horrible. It's slow, words are awkwardly broken up, and it just doesn't lend itself to a great experience. The good news is you can enable a high-quality voice to read the book to you directly in the app.

To enable the high-quality Read Aloud voice in Google Play Books, make sure you're … Read more

A better way to select messages in Gmail for Android

The latest update to the Gmail app (4.2.1) for Android has provided some welcome new features, like pinch-to-zoom and swipe-to-delete. But another useful feature you might not be aware of is hiding check boxes.

To select multiple e-mail messages in Gmail for Android, you have to tap the tiny check boxes to the left of each message. If you miss the check box and tap the message instead, the message launches and you have to go back to the conversation list and try again. Luckily, there's a Gmail setting that will remove the check boxes entirely, and … Read more

Prevent Facebook from automatically importing photos

A few weeks ago, Facebook introduced the ability to sync photos taken on your iPhones, iPads, and Android phones to your Facebook account automatically. Jason Cipriani describes how to enable the feature in "Getting started with Facebook photo sync on Android, iPhone."

Your smartphone or tablet might prompt you to activate the service, which uploads via Wi-Fi or the cell network the most recent 20 photos taken with the device and all subsequent photos it takes. As Jason explains, the photos are stored in a private folder and aren't posted to your Facebook Timeline until you post … Read more

CNET's holiday gift: Our first CNET How To e-book -- free!

CNET How To has grown leaps and bounds in 2012, so we wanted to celebrate our first year with a surprise gift: Some of our very best advice about the Kindle Fire to read on a Kindle Fire.

The precocious Sharon Vaknin, CNET's How To expert, has compiled our very best Kindle advice, tips, and tricks into a comprehensive e-book, Mastering the Kindle Fire. From now through the day after Christmas, we're making the book available for free in the Kindle store. Starting on December 27, you can pick it up for just $4.99.

CNET's guide … Read more