To the average computer user, contracting a virus is like contracting a rare disease – it brings life to a halt, it is expensive to remove, and worst of all, the probability of catching a virus is much higher than that of catching a serious disease. After the dreaded infection, removal procedures usually include taking [...]

Although most moderately tech-savvy people today know that a CPU is one of the components in their computers, not many people know what a CPU actually does. In fact, if asked, most people probably would not know what CPU stands for. But when searching for a new desktop or laptop, and typical CPU-related terms such [...]

Every year, there’s a last minute scramble around June for Father’s Day presents. Even though as of now, Father’s Day is quite far away, it’s never too early to keep an eye peeled for good deals on cool gifts for dad. Or, perhaps you’re looking for a birthday present. Either way, I have the sites [...]

When it comes to image editing, there’s no doubt that Photoshop is one of the most widely used programs on the market. While it comes with tons of features out of the box, sometimes the packaged components are just not enough. Luckily, Photoshop is an extremely versatile program that allows you to install actions, brushes, [...]

Although there are plenty of free software floating around on the web, not all freeware are created equal. There is such a large disparity in quality between freeware from different companies that sometimes we must turn towards established, trusted companies, if just to make sure the software comes from a credible source. Although Microsoft isn’t [...]

Now that Christmas is over, it’s time to start thinking about New Years resolutions ideas. For most people, that means making a list of goals that will hopefully last two or three months, before they are forgotten entirely. Personally, this has happened so many times that I’m starting to believe that New Years resolutions are [...]

Yes, I know. It’s the last bend before Christmas comes around, and for many of us, it marks the beginning of a mad scramble to pick up last minute presents, put up decorations, and plan get-togethers. Of course, this year, you could do the same boring thing as every other year. You could resort to [...]

Remember The Milk is one of the most popular to-do webapps on the net right now. While it has an extensive list of ways to be integrated into your daily routine, from iCal exporting to mobile syncing through iPhone, Blackberry, and Android apps, some of these features are only accessible to Pro users. To users [...]

It’s a common problem among computer users: after a few months, our computers become weighed down by programs and all sorts of other junk, and inevitably become sluggish. For the less tech-savvy users, this may induce thoughts like “Why is my computer so terrible?” or “I guess I could always upgrade this… what-cha-ma-callit RAM thing”. [...]

Dropbox is an oft-covered program here at Make Use Of, and for good reason. It’s an incredibly useful app for moving files between computers, or keeping a copy of your most important files in the cloud. However, that isn’t all Dropbox is great for; it is also great for helping students keep their files as [...]

In the spirit of taking a hands-on approach to technology, I’ve decided to scour the popular tutorial site Instructables in search of cool hardware hacks to upgrade the gadgets you have to something more fun and decidedly more geeky. I looked for beginner-friendly tutorials for cool gadgets you can build yourself, that don’t involve too [...]

When I first applied to be a writer here at MakeUseOf, one of the things I suggested, and wanted to see more of, was hardware based articles. I didn’t necessarily mean that we should cover the newest type of hard drives or the best MP3 players out there, like the blog Gizmodo does, but just [...]

So far, in How To Turn Gmail Into a Multitasking Machine (Part 1) and How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part II), we’ve covered almost all the basics of fully utilizing your Gmail account to organize your busy life. Now, we’re rounding out the last few loose ends: figuring out how to integrate [...]

In How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part I), I covered a bit about setting up the tools you’ll need to consolidate your multiple email streams. We went though installing the necessary Greasemonkey script, and configuring the Firefox extension Better Gmail 2. Then, we set up nested labels to categorize your email into, [...]

In today’s world, efficiently processing large quantities of information is a must-have skill for anyone who needs to keep track of more than one thing at a time – that is, everyone. Because e-mail is the most mainstream form of communication, it is the channel through which all aspects of our lives pass through. That [...]