Fixing Fabulous Fluorescent Fixtures

By quasi-popular demand: What do you do when you replace a fluorescent tube in your light fixture, but it still doesn’t work right?

Includes basic description of starters and the two main types of ballasts in fluorescent tube lights.

Watch below, and you can save money and impress your friends!

Well, at least you can save some money… 😉

(more…)

Dude, your e-mail’s been hacked!

You’ve got an e-mail address, and you’ve got friends. So far, so good.

Then one day, you get an e-mail from Debbie telling you that your e-mail account has been hacked. She got a spam message that appeared to come from you!

Johnny got one, too.

Sweet mother of mercy, it must be the end of the world! Your e-mail’s been hacked! Maybe your puter’s been hacked!

Not so fast…

(more…)

Build your own stylish signal blocking smartphone box in ten minutes

New Version! See: A better Stylish Smartphone Faraday Box

With the release of WikiLeak’s “Year Zero” information on the CIA’s capabilities, you might be forgiven if you’re worried about your privacy.

Of course, those capabilities were always there, whether you knew about them or not.

Still, it’s a bit annoying to think that some bozo is remotely activating your smartphone’s mic to spy on your extremely dramatic dinnertime conversations.

You could buy some overly expensive “Faraday Bag” to stick your phone in when you’re not using it, but who wants an ugly black overpriced lunch bag?

Instead, just make your own Faraday Box. It’s stylish, it’s hip, and it only takes about 10 minutes to make!

(more…)

Search like a pro with DuckDuckGo: Better privacy + great search results

Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google’s parent company Alphabet, has openly stated recently that Google’s hold on information is so powerful, it could even influence people’s political views.  Ya think?!

The only thing worse than this influence is the fact that Google has become deeply embedded in our lives. If you so much as view a web page with a single Google ad, they can track you in very clever ways.

When you use Android + Google search + Google Maps + view web sites with ads, Google is essentially gathering data on everything you do.

It would be naive to assume that this data isn’t finding its way into the hands of folks like the NSA… The point of the Ed Snowden “revelations” wasn’t to make you safer; it was to scare the living crap out of you. Nothing changed, despite the very public declarations that all is better now.

Well, okay… But Google search is handy. Is there a better alternative? There sure is!

(more…)

Save power and get Instant On with hibernation in Windows 10

One of the best features ever in Windows is hibernation. You may never even have heard of this feature, but it’s one you should definitely know about – and use!

Of course, everyone is familiar with “Sleep mode”, and it’s probably what you’re already using. But there are certain advantages to hibernation, especially on laptops.

But what exactly is hibernation? How is it different than Sleep?

And most of all, why should you use it?

(more…)

All about smartphone and tablet tethering

Android USB TetherYou may have heard about tethering, but it probably seems a bit mysterious and complicated.

Tethering is when you connect your smartphone or tablet to your puter, and then use your mobile device’s data connection to surf the internet on your puter.

Well, to put it another way: your puter uses your smartphone (or your tablet’s 4G connection) as its internet connection instead of your normal DSL, cable, fiber, etc.

Tethering can be done in several ways, and it’s much easier to set up than you think!

(more…)

Slow Internet? Try an unlimited satellite internet service

Unlimited Satellite InternetIf you live in the middle of a big city, chances are you are currently enjoying internet download speeds on the order of 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps, or even 1 Gbps in some areas.

But for the rest of us – especially those who live out in the country – it’s often nearly impossible to get any kind of good high-speed internet connection.

Sure, you may have DSL, but it’s very slow. You know the drill: “Yes, we’re upgrading our networks, running fiber everywhere, blah blah blah… Please wait 5 years.”

Well, it just so happens that there is a solution to your internet woes, but a little luck and some homework is needed!

(more…)

PPI, Retina displays, and what makes a screen ‘good’

Retina PPIIf you’ve read any reviews recently about phones, tablets, and other gizmos, you’ve probably come across a lot of talk of PPI (Pixels Per Inch) and “Retina” screens.

In short, the number of pixels crammed into a device’s screen seems to be uber-important to which gizmos get the best reviews.

But hang on a minute… Just what do these numbers mean?

Does it really matter that much?

(more…)