How-To Geek

Whether your computer is brand new or feels brand new after an OS refresh, we’re curious to see what order you install applications in. What goes on first? What goes on last? What is forgotten until you need it?

Over at Hacker Friendly they took ten Canon A470s, hacked the firmware with the Canon CHDK firmware, and wired them all together into an arc to capture a Tesla coil in action. Watch the video below to see the results:

Google Books Downloader takes what you can see in Google Books and downloads it either as a PDF file or as a series of JPGs. The key to using Google Books Downloader successfully is to understand that it can only download wha...

In the above video the owners of Base2 Electronics are watching a PCB testing machine at the factory where they purchase their boards for resale. The machine is first scanning the board to identify it in the board database an...

The security debacle at Dropbox last week opened a lot of peoples’ eyes to the need for user-managed encryption for cloud-based storage. Read on to learn how to secure your Dropbox (and other cloud-based files) with Boxcryptor.

Achim Sack, a fan of hardware hacking and time lapse photography, created a super tiny interval timer that works with Nikon, Canon, and Pentax DSLRs. Plug it in, snap a shot between 0.4 seconds and 18 minutes to set the inter...

Gavin, a hardware hacker from Sydney, built an open-source POV (persistence of vision) staff after the Wi-Fi visualizer inspired him to begin playing with large POV builds. He built his POV staff using LED strips, wireless co...

Michael Hartl is a mathematician on a mission, a mission to get people away from using Pi and to start using Tau. His manifesto opens:

Each week we dip into the reader mailbag and answer your pressing tech questions. This week we’re looking at how to customize icons, scan for viruses from a Live CD, and exporting and editing the XBMC library.

Not only can you shorten URLs with D Bitly but you can also access your URL shortening history at Bit.ly. Shared a link via IM or email earlier in the day and want to share it right now from your Android device? You can pull ...

At DIY Photography they hosted a DIY softbox contest. Out of the 70 entries they culled it down to the top 24 designs and rounded up the photo tours and build guides for you to browse. You can build the foamcore and CFL model...

It’s certainly not the way to win the employee of the month award, but if you’re looking for a subtle way to browse and update Facebook from your cube ExcelBook offers and Adobe Air-based Facebook interface that l...

Previously $10, Valve dropped the price for Team Fortress 2 to $0. The new model is a “freemium” one wherein the majority of the game is free but you can purchase small upgrades in-game (like expanding your backpa...

Earlier this week we asked you to sound off with your love (or lack there of) for the command line. You sounded off in force and now we’re back with a comment roundup.

Minecraft enthusiast Gary520 has invested some serious time into an amazing rendition of the Legend of Zelda universe done entirely in Minecraft. Zelda Adventure combines elements from across the Legend of Zelda games includi...

If you’re not looking to impress anyone and willing to sacrifice a little compactness, this simple build can save you a ton of cash. Over at Rasterweb Pete Prodoehl shares photos and video of his DIY panoramic head buil...

Every week we dip into the tip box and share the tips you send in. This week we’re highlighting a great tip and the accompanying tutorial video that shows you how to pin any file to the Windows 7 taskbar.

In the above video Matt Richardson from Make magazine shows us how to use an inexpensive bottle cutting jig to recycle bottle into new things. With a little polishing you can drink more than beer out of your favorite beer bot...

Without DNS you’d be browsing a web where numbered addresses pointed to numbered addresses. Google, for example, would look like http://209.85.148.105/ in your browser window. That’s assuming, of course, that a nu...

In the above video we see how fiber optic strands are manufactured, including how the draw tower mentioned in yesterday’s video works. Once the strands are manufactured, where do they go and how are they used? In the vi...

Despite over two decades of GUI interfaces many power users still turn to the command prompt. This week we want to hear about when and how you use the command prompt on your computer.

Last year over at the photo blog FStoppers they put together a video showing off how you could use the iPhone as a fashion camera–essentially arguing that the camera wasn’t as important as the photographer. A lot ...

Bill Hammack, of Engineer Guy Videos, shows us how fiber optic cables work using–of all things–a bucket and a laser. Check out the above video for a glimpse inside how fiber optic cables work and how your analog v...

Kenneth Finnegan started his adventures in electronics tinkering a little over two years ago and in that time advanced from being a complete beginner to putting together some really advanced projects. After his projects start...

If you have an ebook reader chances are it’s a Kindle. Today we’re taking a look at ways you can get more from your Kindle using built-in tools, experimental features, and third party software. Read on to supercharge your Kindle experience.