About Tina Sieber
Tina started building websites in the late 1990s, which led her to writing. Formerly MUO's COO, she has since returned to SEO and reviewing consumer hardware. You can find her on the backend of a tech blog near you, or enjoying the outdoors in the Pacific Northwest.
Latest Articles
Energy Saving Tips For Buying & Using Electronics
Electronics make up a significant portion of your household energy costs. Computers, printers, and WiFi routers alone account for around 25% of your electricity bill. While electronics are becoming more efficient, their increased use offsets the gains. At the same time energy prices are rising. There are a number of things you can do to control your energy bill and none of them cost you any money.
Busted - How To Deal With a Broken Screen On Your Laptop
Over the past couple of years I have traveled a lot and took my work with me wherever I went. I worked from the most ridiculous and beautiful places all over North America and Europe. My office was wherever I set up my computer. And for a while my desktop felt like home. And then I broke my laptop screen. Disaster! What do you do when you depend on your laptop; to look up information, submit work, and meet deadlines?
Chat Heads & Stickers - Check Out The New Features on Facebook Messenger [Weekly Facebook Tips]
Have you already noticed the latest features of Facebook chat on iOS and Facebook Messenger on Android? Prior to the release of Facebook Home, Facebook's chat app received an update which included Chat Heads and stickers. Chat Heads are floating avatars of Facebook friends you're chatting with. Chat Heads appear on top of Facebook pages (iOS) and other applications (Android only), meaning you don't have to move back and forth.
Making Your Own Smartphone Speakers - MakeUseOf Tests
The average smartphone speaker is an insult to an audiophile's ears. Poor quality, low volume, and a lack of bass can ruin the sound. Since those speakers are in-built, there isn't an easy way to fix them. However, before you invest in external speakers, try some quick & easy DIY solutions to significantly improve the sound your mobile produces. These super simple hacks make do with basic household items.
15 Free MP3 Albums & EPs: Hip Hop for the Masses [Sound Sunday]
Each week, Sound Sunday introduces you to awesome music by talented artists from around the world. In this edition, we return to one of the most controversial genres in music: Hip Hop. Often misunderstood by those who need to listen most closely, Hip Hop is far more than what you expect. Come on in, discover new facets, and educate your ears.
5 Cool Ways To Make a Velcro Mount To Store Electronic Equipment
Velcro was invented by a Swiss engineer who couldn't help but discover a good use for the nasty burrs of burdock that would stick to his clothes and his dog's fur after hunting trips. He examined the burrs under a microscope and saw hundreds of hooks. The name Velcro is a made-up word based on two French words: velours and crochet (hook). The other day I picked up some adhesive Velcro spots in black and white at a local shop.
Thou Shalt Consume: The Story of Consumer Electronics [Feature]
Every year, exhibitions around the world present new high tech devices; expensive toys that come with many promises. They aim to make our lives easier, more fun, super connected, and of course they are status symbols. Moreover, they are an electronic manifestation of the ideals that drive our society: bigger, better, faster, more. What is the purpose of driving the technological advancement? Does it help us create something that will last? Where are we going so fast? We don't know. Or do we?
Disposing Of An Old Laptop - What To Recycle, What To Keep
Laptops are a treasure trove of parts that can live more than one life. Whether they continue a life as spare part or become the subject of a DIY tech project, you can get a lot of extra value out of your old hardware. And at the very least you can give a broken laptop to a recycling facility that will recover valuable materials like gold, copper, aluminum, and many more. Curious to see which parts you can easily extract yourself and re-use in one way or the other?
This Is What Facebook Does with Your Data & How To Opt Out [Weekly Facebook Tips]
Facebook is a publicly traded company. As such, its success isn't just measured in traffic or users, but first and foremost in revenue. In other words, Facebook is pressured to make more money. But where does this money come from? The social network is a free service and all its unique content is generated by its users. This does not leave the site with a whole lot of options to earn money.
9 Ways To Become More Popular On Facebook [Weekly Facebook Tips]
Facebook is different things to different people. It's used to stay in touch, play games, share news and stories, or promote brands. What unites almost everyone who regularly uses Facebook is the desire to be popular and Liked. The problem is that Facebook guards updates and doesn't automatically show everything to everyone. The algorithm that determines how many people get to see a post is called EdgeRank and it pretty much is a black box.
You Are What You Like on Facebook [Weekly Facebook Tips]
Did you ever wonder what your Facebook Likes reveal about you? A team of researchers from the UK figured it out for you. To demonstrate their results, they offer a free one click personality test based purely on your Facebook Likes. The results potentially reveal whether you're neurotic, conservative, male or female, use drugs, or smoke. I tried it and boy does this seem accurate. I Like!
7 Email Efficiency Tips To Get More Email Done, Faster
Life revolves around communication and literally nothing gets accomplished without it. Email is a communication tool meant to make your life easier. Instead of having to type up a letter or try to catch someone on the phone or in person, you can quickly type a few lines and be over it. But email can also be a significant time sink. This typically happens when it is used in the wrong way.
Clean Up Your Facebook News Feed With Social Fixer Filtering [Weekly Facebook Tips]
Facebook has become a one size fits all social networking platform. The typical News Feed is filled with randomly mixed updates from friends, family, colleagues, and various pages. While you may want to see all of those posts, at least sometimes, you might not want to see all of them at the same time. Unfortunately, Facebook doesn't really offer easy solutions to prune or categorize the News Feed.
Free Your Inbox: Easily & Automatically Prioritize Emails With These Free Tools
Email has almost completely replaced snail mail communication. Now everyone is trying to get into your inbox. From family and friends to companies and advertisers, they all demand a piece of your attention. If you have not been managing your inbox with filters and other prioritization tools, it must be a mess. And with ever more emails cluttering it up, it's easy to lose track. Have you ever missed an important email?
Winamp - A Solid Media Player That Excels in Managing Your Music Collection [Windows]
Winamp is a Methuselah among the third party Windows media players. First released in 1997 and originally developed by Nullsoft, it has become a subsidiary of AOL in the meantime. However, it hasn't lost any of its charm and we have elected it as one of our best audio tools for Windows. Winamp remains a beast of a media player with an extensive, yet fully customizable interface.
Does Your Media Player Suck? Try A Unique Alternative: Daum PotPlayer [Windows]
Whenever we have written an article about great media players, people were quick to remind us of PotPlayer. Once we checked it out, we had to agree that it was indeed pretty awesome. So the tool silently made it to our famous list of Best Windows Software and finally the time has come for a proper review. PotPlayer was developed by Daum and is based on the original KMPlayer, which has since been developed by another group. Much like VLC Media Player.
Deal With Facebook Procrastination With These Tools And Tips
This article is here to help us deal with Facebook procrastination. There are tools and techniques you can use to limit your time on Facebook, but the root of the issue is your behavior. I can't help you with the latter, but I can show you how to get started with the former and form some habits that will get you out of your procrastifacebooking.