Make Windows Display Useful Information Even When You're Not Using It
One of the things that we've always covered well here at MakeUseOf is screensavers. It seems like there's no shortage of really cool ways to make use of your computer when you're not using it and it's idle. Even if you don't want to give up your CPU time to some outside cause, there's an endless choice of great free screensavers that'll have people turning their heads to check out your screen every time your computer goes idle.
Turn Your Mobile Phone Into a Survival Kit
Picture this. You're on vacation up in the mountains. You were hiking along, and decided to explore an interesting side trail. Before you know it, the trail disappears into a mess of weeds and trees, and as you turn around in every direction, you realize that you have no idea where the trail is. Then it dawns on you. You're lost. Being lost is no fun. I speak from experience. So, let me tell you what helps.
What Is THAT? 9 Of The Weirdest Things You Can See On Google Street View
I have to say that I have been on some really cool adventures in Google Street View. I've strolled down cobblestone streets in Italy, cruised along the mountainous shoreline of northern California, and creeped along the quiet streets of abandoned towns. Every now and then, I will experience a very surreal moment when I spot an extremely odd or unusual object or situation that got captured by the Google Street View team.
Get Your Nitro On With Asphalt 7 Heat [Android]
Let me just tell you straight away that when it comes to video games, I absolutely love racing games above nearly any other. War games may be the one exception, but racing games are at least at the very top of my list, and it's mostly because I'd love to drive like that in real life, but if I get a couple more speeding tickets, I'm likely to lose my license. So, I must live vicariously through video games.
So What Is a Database, Anyway? [MakeUseOf Explains]
For a programmer or a technology enthusiast, the concept of a database is something that can really be taken for granted. However, for many people the concept of a database itself is a bit foreign. SQL calls, queries, tables, records, keys - all of those terms and more make up the field of database design and database management, and there's not a whole lot that's simple about it.
Unfortunate Truths about Child Pornography and the Internet [Feature]
A small blank square and a blinking cursor. A window through which the entire world exists. You only have to say the right word – any word – and your every desire will be delivered. But traveling to the wrong place can bring very real tragedy and horror to a family, and traveling there is as simple as typing in the wrong word into that little square box. Then there’s the question of those monsters and demons. What are they, where are they, and how dangerous are they? We took a long, hard look.
Using Microsoft Word? Here's How To Become a Time-Saving Ninja
Over the years, Microsoft Word has become one of the best word processors in the world. I'm sure there are people out there that disagree - particularly Linux or Mac folks who would really rather not give Microsoft so much credit. But, lets face it, Microsoft has established a very large foothold in this area, and they've evolved Microsoft Word over the years to the point where it is extremely efficient and easy to use.
Become a Wolfram Alpha Expert With These Useful Search Techniques
Wolfram Alpha. For anyone that has never used it or heard of it, it sounds like the name of one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For people familiar with it, it's like having access to that magical hand-held device Dr. Sam Beckett had in the popular TV show Quantum Leap, that was linked to the computer known as Ziggy. In fact, it's almost identical to Ziggy. In the show, Ziggy was ultra-specific to the point of being too literal at times.
6 Tech-Savvy Charities To Give Back This Holiday Season
Regardless of religion or belief, the one common theme that runs throughout all of the end-of-the-year celebrations throughout the world is the idea of slowing down a little bit and showing the fellow humans who we share this planet with, that the world still contains people who care.
What Is a Web Server? [MakeUseOf Explains]
If there is one thing that causes the most confusion for people that are new to the web design game, it's the concept of a web server. When most people think of a "server", they think of a physical machine like a big computer system sitting in some chilled computer room somewhere, or at the very least some computer system sitting in the basement of some hackers house. The truth is that a server in this sense is technically software.
3 Reasons Why You Never Forget Your First Computer
I think for geeks, that first computer is a little bit like a first love. You remember it longingly, even though it isn't anything that would make you at all happy today. It has nothing that you need at this point in your life, but you still remember all of those feelings. Those emotions that felt so strong and so powerful back then. Yes, for geeks, our first computer is just like that.
Five Fascinating Uses for Google Maps & Earth
I think there can be little doubt that writers here at MakeUseOf really love Google Maps and Google Earth. We've written about them extensively, such as John's Google Maps mashups article or Ann's article on historical mashups using Google Maps. There are a lot of really cool things that programmers can do with Google mapping tools. This was the case over five years ago, and it's still the case today.
Keep Log & Temp Files Under Control With This Windows Script
I've spent a lot of time helping out friends and family with their computer issues, and I have to say that above all other problems, the one issue that I see come up again and again are temp files and log files eating up shrinking disk space and eventually bogging down the system. The temporary Internet files folder is a common culprit, but that's one that has an easily solution.
How To Easily Track Your Incoming Links With PrettyLinks
Having a popular blog or website can be fantastic, and one of the most popular ways that many people opt to inject a bit of adrenaline into their traffic numbers is by either purchasing advertising space on other websites or ad networks, or otherwise getting either an ad or a banner published on other websites throughout the Internet.
Run Your Own Bustling Apartment Building With Tiny Tower [Android & iOS]
One game that I stumbled upon and almost passed by is a vintage-looking game called Tiny Tower. Picture the sort of animation that you probably would have seen on a Nintendo-era game, but with a sort of fast-paced and mind-challenging organizational challenge of any number of Facebook games of today. It is clearly a time management game. It's like Diner Dash meets Sim Tower, and it is highly addictive.
Is Bing Better Than Google Search? We Find Out
By many accounts, Bing is really giving Google a run for its money. On November 6th of this year, the Guardian reported that Google's search share in the UK dipped under 90% as Bing's share continued to climb. Now, I've always been one to cheer for the underdog, mostly because I never like the see the formation of a monopoly. However, is this really about real competition? Does Bing really have what it takes to go head-to-head and win against Google?
Which Big Company Has The Best Tech Support? MakeUseOf Finds Out
There are few things in life that bother me more than bad customer service. Between suffering through automated menus, trying to communication with people whose accent is undecipherable, and voice recognition systems that make me feel as though I must be talking in a foreign language - I dread calling customer support, I really do.
3D Design for Daily Life: How to Plan a Home DIY Project With Sketchup
Doing a home improvement project on your own isn't always a simple matter. Sometimes it seems simple enough when you get started, but before you know it, you realize that if you had just taken proper measurements and planned out your renovation in a little more detail ahead of time, it would have saved a whole lot of headache. Since I happen to have a DIY project that I'm planning out this year, I needed a program that would help me plan out the entire project.
Help Make The World Better With These Amazing Distributed Computing Projects
Years ago, I wrote an article about donating your CPU time to science - taking advantage of an Internet computing model known as distributed computing. In that article, I discussed some of the cool projects you could devote your computer's CPU time to, including things like defending against bio-terrorism, fighting cancer, and supporting nanotechnology. In fact, I ran a few of those projects for quite a while after writing that article.
Interesting World Simulations For Predicting The Future & Understanding Society
Lots of people are very concerned about issues that affect their local communities, and maybe even their country, but are you the kind of person that's actually also very concerned about the entire world itself? It is very clear to people how certain things like the economy, industry, pollution and population directly affects elements of the local community.