How to Replace Your Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Shells
Replacing your Switch Joy-Cons can be a tricky process where you can often get lost. Fortunately, we've got a guide to help you every step of the way.
Replacing your Switch Joy-Cons can be a tricky process where you can often get lost. Fortunately, we've got a guide to help you every step of the way.
Given that some of these employees were among the most intelligent people in the country, the way in which they misused their devices was astonishing, from general irresponsible behaviour concerning the devices (drops, scratches, broken screens, etc.) to leaving material saved or even open on the desktop that you certainly wouldn’t show to your grandmother. As for the confidential information that sat open an ALT+TAB away...
With food prices at a record high, chaotic weather systems destroying crops the world over, and no signs of population growth slowing down anytime soon - never has growing your own produce been more important than it is right now. So as city dwellers turn to mini-farming, technology is playing an increasingly important role in maximising crop yields from a small place. Today I’d like to highlight some of those great projects.
Steve Jobs was quite right when he said "If you see a stylus, they blew it." While a good touchscreen should never require you to use a stylus for standard operations, there are tasks when using your fingers is a bit awkward. For example if you want to digitize your signature, take quick handwritten notes or simply draw, a stylus can come in very handy. You can find a large selection of tablet styluses online and many are very cheap.
The Raspberry Pi computer is the latest in a line of compact, multi-function devices, shipped as a barebones package so that end users can use the hardware for virtually any computing project that comes to mind. For instance, the device – designed originally to aid school children learn programming skills – is ideal for media streaming, or using as the key element in a MAME gaming unit.
I’ve recently received my Raspberry Pi after a long wait – and I’ve got quite a few plans for it. The problem is, I’m not totally sure which project I want to attempt first. While the idea of a carputer is a compelling one, my mobile phone and GPS unit seem to fulfill this purpose already. Meanwhile, I’ve long had ambitions to build a MAME arcade machine unit, but never quite got around to it.
How do you prefer to interact with your computer? Sometimes a mouse and keyboard just isn’t enough. Depending on what you’re doing, a completely different interface method is required for you to get the most out of your computer. Personally, I use a trackball and keyboard, for gaming as well as standard use, and there are many Windows computer owners who prefer to do the majority of their work using a graphical tablet and stylus.
The processor remains one of the most important components in a modern computer. Upgrading it can provide significant benefits in certain games and applications, particularly if you are switching from a dual-core or quad-core model, or upgrading from some older processor architecture. It’s also not that complicated a project for a geek to tackle, but it can seem daunting.
Last week, I built an LED cube - 64 LEDs that you can program to make fantastic futuristic light shows - and I hope you did too, because it's a great project to motivate you and expand your Arduino skillset. I left you with a few basic apps to get you thinking, but today I'll be presenting a few more bits of software that I made for the cube, along with code explanations.
Is your old Apple laptop starting to struggle? Is the boot time so long that you can actually go out and buy a coffee? If so, perhaps it's time to think about upgrading your main system drive to a low cost SSD and getting rid of that useless old DVD drive. If it's an older Macbook, fret not. This tutorial will be perfect for you.
If you’ve dabbled with some beginner Arduino projects, but are looking for something a little permanent and on a whole other level of awesome, then the humble 4 x 4 x 4 LED cube is a natural choice. Construction is far easier than you might think, and using a multiplexing we can control all the LEDs directly from just a single Arduino Uno board. It’s great soldering practice, and the total cost of components shouldn’t come to more than about $40.
While plenty of pricey pre-built solutions exist, there are a few ways to bring a streaming box of entertainment to your living room on the cheap. With the right some open source media software, a few budget products and some spare time you can sort out the perfect media companion in a couple of hours.
Costing just a few dollars each, garden solar lamps are a low-cost solution to night-time illumination – and they might just give you a useful piece of equipment for completing a tech project. Whether you’re looking for a rechargeable battery, an LED or even the solar panel itself, these devices contain a wealth of components that can be repurposed.
Like most kids, I had a electronics kit that taught the absolute basics; you could build something about as advanced as a radio or morse code device. Suffice to say, the fun didn't last long once you'd built all 5 projects. Nowadays though, advanced electronics hardware kits are affordable and the possibilities are infinite - all thanks to the wonder of microcontrollers.
I doubt that anyone has ever listened to computer fan noise and thought "wow, that’s awesome. Let’s have some more of that!" At best, fan noise is simply there, an ambient whirr that be mostly ignored. At worst it can be a serious distraction. There are ways to make your computer quieter. But what can you do if you don’t want to spend much?
Upgrading your desktop computer is an excellent idea. You can extend the lifespan of a PC indefinitely by changing out components over time. Absolutely everything can be replaced. Computers are complex, however, and this can lead to headaches when trying to upgrade. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out that you have a compatibility issue.
Computers seem to become slower as they age. Operating systems tend to become more resource-hungry over time, hardware ages, and the exuberance felt during the first months of laptop ownership fades. This is why some people buy new laptops frequently, but there are ways to make an older model feel new again.
Have you ever bricked your router? Were you able to fix it, or did you give up and throw your router away? Follow this tutorial that shows you how you can bring back your router from the dead with the help of a few handy third party apps.
I am no grease monkey, but I am just as interested as a car lover to know the kind of DIY tech hacks for cars that are out there. Regular MacGyver’s would need something more than a duct tape and Swiss Army knife. But these tech improvisations can really help to make your car stand out from their mass produced brethren.
Occasionally we receive a question on MakeUseOf Answers about a battery that refuses to charge. This isn’t surprising. Batteries are known to only last so long, and poor conditions can drastically reduce their life. Issues with chargers or excessive power draw can also be a problem. Let’s address this common concern. Just what do you do when your battery is on the outs?