unauthorized iPhone apps

Pimpin the inside of your case with fan mods

#46 / 2010-08-26 17:00:00 / 5:49 min.

Changing out the fans in your case mod is a simple pimp but makes all the difference. LED lit fans are available in a wide array of colours, plug in easily and will light up your case, nay, your life.

Pimping your PC with a UV decal

#45 / 2010-08-19 17:00:00 / 5:36 min.

For those times when you want to take your PC out to the night club (chicks dig it, trust us), a UV light pimp is what you need. Lucas continues his Green Lantern case mod project with a Green Lantern logo that black light reveals. He also builds a DIY black light so you can see the magic when you're at home too.

Apps and themes only for jailbroken iDevices

#5 / 2010-08-13 09:00:00 / 2:22 min.

Within Cydia, you'll find a wealth of excellent programs for your iPhone. These are apps that Apple won't allow in its App Store for one reason or another. The only way you can access these

unauthorized iPhone apps

is by

jailbreaking your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch

. You can also find themes that will completely change how your iPhone looks and acts.

Featured jailbreak apps in the Cydia store

#4 / 2010-08-12 09:00:00 / 2:52 min.

Within Cydia, there's a Featured Products section. This is the first place you'll want to look for new apps for your jailbroken iDevice. Many of these programs are free, and downloading apps to your jailbroken device is as simple as browsing and tapping to install.

Using Cydia on your jailbroken iPhone

#3 / 2010-08-11 09:00:00 / 2:28 min.

When jailbreaking is completed, you'll find an icon for Cydia on the desktop of your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Cydia is your doorway to a world of cool programs that you won't find in the Apple App Store — apps that Apple won't allow into its store for whatever reason. You can find apps to

tether your iPhone

, regardless of whether your carrier allows it,

free iPhone ringtones

iPhone themes

and much, much more.

Jailbreaking with JailbreakMe

#2 / 2010-08-10 09:00:00 / 1:55 min.

JailbreakMe is a Web site that jailbreaks your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, just by visiting the site and acknowledging that's what you want to do. No downloads, no backup files, just quick and easy jailbreaking of your iDevice.

An overview of jailbreaking your iPhone

#1 / 2010-08-09 09:00:00 / 1:08 min.

Doc Callahan begins our

how to jailbreak the iPhone video tutorial

series with an overview of

what jailbreaking is

. Now that the process is legal, sites that help you jailbreak your iPhone or iPad no longer have to hide in the shadows. The process of jailbreaking is easier than ever before as a result.

Pimpin' your tired Twitter page

#43 / 2010-08-05 17:00:00 / 6:37 min.

Whether you've got 100 or 100,000 Twitter followers, the standard Twitter background and aesthetic just won't cut it. Lucas shows

how to customize your Twitter page

with a unique background, custom text colors, fonts and much more. There's no excuse for having a lame, default Twitter background.

Pimpin' your Windows login screen... the lazy way

#42 / 2010-07-29 17:00:00 / 5:00 min.

Forget the registry hacking and command line pimping. Lucas finds the lazy man's way to hack your Windows login screen. This handy app lets you change every element of your Windows login screen with a simple click through interface. Change your login screen wallpaper no matter the size of the file or the resolution of the image file.

Pimp out your lame Xbox 360

#41 / 2010-07-22 17:00:00 / 5:41 min.

Pop the top on your Xbox 360 to reveal its innards and replace its drab case with a pimped one. Sure, you'll void your warranty but if you think that's a small price to pay for a pimped out rig, this is the show for you. Lucas runs through all the steps of cracking the case on your Xbox 360 to add a brand new case.

Pimpin' your MacBook's Apple logo

#40 / 2010-07-15 17:00:00 / 6:06 min.

Lucas turns his attention away from software mods for his laptop and focuses on the hardware. This week he rolls his sleeves up, cracks the case on his trusty

MacBook

and, with the help of some Torx screwdrivers, some sandpaper, a little elbow grease and ingenuity, comes out with the coolest hardware mod for the

MacBook's Apple Logo

yet.

Getting centered in the Windows 7 taskbar

#39 / 2010-07-08 17:00:00 / 5:06 min.

Take a deep breath, get in touch with your qi and focus on getting your Windows 7 icons centered in the taskbar. Can't do it, right? Not to worry. Lucas Cochran has a no-software-required tweak to move your icons from left-justified to centered. Or, slightly off-center even, if your attempts to harness your qi in the first part of this exercise failed.

Pimpin' your Windows 7 transparency

#37 / 2010-06-24 17:00:00 / 5:26 min.

Windows 7 brings over some of the Aero features and glassy effects of its predecessor Windows Vista. This time, they actually work though and chances are good you now have a computer that doesn't choke under the extra load. Lucas tweaks the glass effects in Windows 7 to enable full window transparency to his Explorer windows.

How to set Gmail as your default email in Opera

#737 / 2010-06-15 09:30:00 / 3:33 min.

Opera is a wonderful Web browser. It's fast, it's lean, and it has a world of cool features. In addition, it just keeps getting better and better. If you use Gmail for your email needs, however, you may think that you can't use it as the default for Opera. Sure you can and here's how!

Pimpin' your Mac with SuperDocker

#35 / 2010-06-10 17:00:00 / 5:41 min.

Lucas does a little OS X housekeeping, getting rid of dock clutter and making his dock easier to use with SuperDocker. He also delves into Stacks to add a custom color background to this erstwhile aesthetically boring feature.

Cleaning up your Mac desktop

#34 / 2010-06-03 17:00:00 / 4:10 min.

A messy desktop is the bane of pimps everywhere. Seriously, just ask Iceberg Slim or Don "Magic" Juan. They'll tell you that a cluttered desktop is a sign of a cluttered mind. Lucas demonstrates the digital equivalent of stuffing all the junk on your desk into a drawer to give the illusion of cleanliness. One way requires some Terminal bashing, the other uses free software to clear the clutter.

Pimping the Mac OS X Terminal

#33 / 2010-05-27 17:00:00 / 5:48 min.

We've learned that the Mac OS X Terminal is the door to all kinds of sweet pimps for your Mac desktop. However, it's not immune to being pimped out a little itself. Lucas rolls up his sleeves and hacks the Terminal to look a little less generic and a little more, well, pimped.

Further hacking the Windows 7 login screen

#32 / 2010-05-20 17:00:00 / 6:34 min.

Previously, Lucas pimped out his Windows 7 login screen with a custom image. Now, he's back in the login screen to get rid of the Windows 7 branding and the accessibility button so your custom image really shines.

Pimpin' your wardrobe with SnapShirts

#30 / 2010-05-06 17:00:00 / 5:06 min.

You've got the pimp roll, the pimp cane and perhaps most important, the pimp hand. However, you don't have the pimp wardrobe. This simply won't do. Lucas shows off how to make your very own and completely unique word cloud shirts online with SnapShirts to rectify the situation.

Making fat stacks and other Windows 7 pimps

#29 / 2010-04-29 17:00:00 / 5:11 min.

Apparently, Pimpin' is paying off for our man Lucas; he's making fat stacks on his Windows 7 install. Mac OS X users will be familiar with stacks. They offer instant access to any folder or group of files on your computer, right from the dock. In Windows 7, it's easy to accomplish about the same thing using 7Stack. He also lays his pimp hands on the Nexus Dock and switches up the task switcher with Vista Switcher.

Pimpin your Windows desktop with BumpTop 3D

#28 / 2010-04-22 17:00:00 / 5:56 min.

Lucas learns of the wonders of the 3D desktop. No lame 3D glasses required. BumpTop 3D lets you take a new view on your Mac OS X or Windows desktop. Sure, it sucks some system resources but in return you get a 3D space that you can completely customize and pimp out.

Pimpin' your game gear with MusicSkins

#26 / 2010-04-08 17:00:00 / 6:08 min.

As Lucas learns, skins aren't just for hitting. MusicSkins brings a wide array of sweet and simple skins to customize your computer, your netbook, phone, MP3 player and more important perhaps, your game consoles and peripherals. After all, and let's be completely honest with each other here, you don't look at anything quite the same way you look at your gaming console of choice, and your controller has become an extension of your own arm... much to the chagrin of your loved ones.

Customizing the Mac OS X menu bar

#25 / 2010-04-01 17:00:00 / 5:53 min.

He did his dock, lit up his login screen, iced out his icons and something that starts with W his widgets. In this episode, Lucas turns his attentions toward

customizing the OS X menu bar

. In addition to car alarm for your Mac, he also shows off a menu bar iTunes remote, a weather app and a few others perfect for pimping that menu bar.

How to create a ringtone on your Android phone

#632 / 2010-03-26 09:30:00 / 3:25 min.

Your Android phone is not truly your Android phone until you customize it to your tastes. The first place you'll likely start is by switching up the ringtones. Utilizing a free utility called RingDroid you can

create custom ringtones for your Android phone

easily and without spending a dime.

A better way to read articles online

#631 / 2010-03-25 09:31:00 / 1:47 min.

Generally speaking, online articles don't offer the best reading experience. Readability gets rid of the online article clutter and presents you with just the article you want to read, presented in a clean, reader-friendly format. Michael "Doctor File Finder" Callahan demonstrates.

How to update the dictionary on your Android phone

#628 / 2010-03-24 09:30:00 / 1:45 min.

The intelligent auto-complete dictionary in your Android phone does a good job of speeding up general communication. What if you're doctor, a lawyer or involved in some technical or other trade with a vernacular all its own though? You can

update and add to the Android auto-complete dictionary

so it'll recognize the terms and words you use often in your communication.

Mac OS X Widget pimps

#23 / 2010-03-18 17:00:00 / 6:05 min.

Lucas returns to the Apple camp to show some OS X love. He demos off a few of his favorite Apple Widgets, shows us where we can go to search for and find our own soon-to-be faves, and unveils an awesome Terminal hack to get Widgets from the Dashboard and onto the desktop.

Windows 7 screen savers: The lost settings

#22 / 2010-03-11 17:00:00 / 4:35 min.

Windows 7 comes with some decent screen savers pre-installed. However, it seems you can only use these screen savers the way the Microsofties want you to. Clicking on the Settings button to tweak these screen savers is a recipe for disappointment. Our buddy Vishal of Tweaking with Vishal fame steps up with a quick fix that'll let you turn your lackadaisical Bubbles screen saver into big rolling balls or doom or your Mystique screen saver into something truly mystifying.

Pimpin' your Windows 7 Start orb

#21 / 2010-03-04 17:00:00 / 5:24 min.

The

Start button in Windows 7

looks a little different that you may be used to. Especially if you wisely sidestepped that whole Vista thing. Sure, it's shiny and purdy, but it's still the factory default and Lucas has no time for factory defaults. In this episode, Lucas pimps out the

Start orb in Windows 7 with a custom logo

pimp.

Turn on GodMode in Windows 7

#597 / 2010-03-02 09:31:00 / 1:32 min.

In well-known games like "Doom" there were cheat codes available. Almost without fail there would be one code that would give you "GodMode" where you'd be invincible. In Windows 7 it's been revealed that there's a "

GodMode

" for accessing a range of functions unaccessible to standard users. Here's

how to access "GodMode" in Windows 7

Change the wallpaper on your BlackBerry

#588 / 2010-02-24 09:30:00 / 1:35 min.

If you've gotten tired of the

background on your BlackBerry

there's no reason to be stuck with it. There are a huge number of wallpapers you can download and it's easy to put a new wallpaper in place.

Add pictures to contacts on your Android phone

#586 / 2010-02-23 09:30:00 / 2:17 min.

It's one thing to have information on your contacts like email address, phone number, and so on. It really personalizes things, however, when you

add a picture to a contact

. This pic will pop up when a specific person calls, making it easy to see at a glance whether you should take the call or call them back later.

How to in enable auto-fill in Firefox

#585 / 2010-02-22 09:31:00 / 1:24 min.

Firefox does its part to prevent repetitive strain injury buy

auto-filling URLs

for you, if you so choose. Michael "Doctor File Finder" Callahan explains how to turn this handy feature on... or off, if you're so inclined.

How to customize the date display in Windows 7

#583 / 2010-02-19 09:31:00 / 2:01 min.

If you wish, you can

display the date and time as part of the toolbar in Windows 7

. You may not know, however, that you can also

customize how the date and time information is displayed

. You can select from many different international time and date formats, select military or standard time and more.

Pimpin' your Windows 7 login screen

#19 / 2010-02-18 17:00:00 / 5:00 min.

Windows 7 is still pretty new and shiny, even with the factory default settings. However, we're not interested in factory defaults. Lucas demos how to pimp out your

Windows 7 login screen

with a little regedit hacking. In this case, pimpin' may not be easy per se, but it's worth the effort.

Creating pimped themes in Windows 7

#18 / 2010-02-11 17:00:00 / 6:13 min.

While Windows 7 is looking newer and shinier than its computing cohorts, it's still in dire need of a little personalization. Redmond's latest actually has its nose open and doesn't require any third-party software, any hoop jumpery or skullduggery to enact your pimpery.

Creating a custom theme in Windows 7

is so easy, it wouldn't be worth doing if the end product didn't look so sweet.

Enabling motion desktop wallpaper in Windows 7

#17 / 2010-02-04 17:00:00 / 5:00 min.

With the switch to Windows 7, Lucas finds the Microsofties have removed DreamScene. Sure, the slideshow desktop in Windows 7 is nice, but it's not the active, full motion desktop that DreamScene offered up in Windows Vista. As Lucas discovers, nothing makes you want something more than when someone threatens to take it away.

Pimpin Windows XP to look like Windows 7

#12 / 2009-12-17 17:00:00 / 6:12 min.

Lucas demos a poor man's pimp to in his quest to get that Windows 7 look and feel without having to mail his next paycheck to those fat cats in Redmond and without docking his pimp ship in the pirate bay. With a few perfectly timed pimps, Lucas gets his weak

Windows XP install looking more like Windows 7

. Line up, ladies.

Pimping your Mac OS X login screen

#11 / 2009-12-03 17:00:00 / 7:35 min.

Not content to confine his pimpery (hey, it's a word now that it's written) to his Mac OS X desktop, Dock et. al., Lucas turns his attentions to

changing the OS X login screen

. He also messes with the default alert messages.

Change the login wallpaper, change the login logo

, no aspect of OS X is safe from Lucas' pimpery (and there it is again).

The Sweet Stuff: Web Watch

Six sweet sites for wallpaper downloads

#24 / 2009-12-01 12:00:00 / 4:07 min.

Get rid of that boring desktop and choose something a little more fitting your tastes and the season. Stacy Reed runs through

six sweet sites for desktop wallpaper downloads

. Grab something seasonal to make your computer fit your mood, get

animated wallpaper

and much more with these sweet spots to grab

free desktop wallpaper

Tricking out OS X

#10 / 2009-11-26 17:00:00 / 6:00 min.

Lucas lays his pimp hand upon the Mac OS X to take it from the default to the dope.

Customize the menu bar, the Apple menu logo, the Dock.

Even the calculator and iTunes get some Lucas love as he turns out sweet

Mac OS X skins and customizations

using Magnifique. You'll never look at OS X the same way again.

Pimp your Mac icons with CandyBar

#9 / 2009-11-19 17:00:00 / 5:10 min.

Sure, it's got a cute name but CandyBar is pure pimp. Trick out the attractive but static icons on your Mac to replace stock with sweet. Grab icons from IconFactory and turn your Mac OS X dock and system icons into something a little more personalized, customized and tricked out.

Always-on Gmail in Firefox

#485 / 2009-11-16 09:31:00 / 3:18 min.

Like to have you Gmail always handy, but don't want it to be your home page? If so here's a little tweak that

puts Gmail in Firefox

so it's always ready to go and can't be accidentally closed down.

Pimp your Mac OSX Dock

#6 / 2009-10-29 17:00:00 / 6:19 min.

Lucas turns his attention from XP to Mac OSX as he demonstrates how to

pimp out your OSX Dock

. Sure, the Dock is already pretty, but we're looking for more. We want brains and looks in multiples. Lucas abides as he shows off

how to customize the Mac OSX Dock

and even how to run game on more than one Dock at once on your machine.

Pimpin' media players

#5 / 2009-10-22 17:00:00 / 5:58 min.

Lucas turns his pimpin' attention to the oft overlooked media players. As one of the easiest pimp mods to add to your system, he goes through the process for skinning Windows Media Player, WinAmp and even iTunes with custom skins. If you're like us, your media player is one of your most used applications. Stop having a boring media player, stop having a boring life.

Gmail 201: Intermediate Studies

XPimping an ancient OS

#2 / 2009-10-01 12:01:01 / 4:52 min.

We don't have to like it, but we do have to face it:

Windows XP

is going to be with us for some time yet. Using WindowBlinds, Lucas pimps out just about every aspect of his

Windows XP

install from taskbar to Start menu, cursor to wallpaper. The result: A less lame version of XP.

Learn more about how to use Gmail with our 201 series

#11 / 2009-09-11 14:17:01 / 21:01 min.

Michael "Doctor File Finder" Callahan runs us through Gmail Intermediate Studies in this 10-part tutorial series. Learn how to

tweak your Gmail inbox, use labels, colors and filters in Gmail, get offline Gmail access with Google Gears

and much more. If you've watched our 10-part Gmail for Beginners tutorial series and are ready to

take control of your inbox

, the Doc abides with Gmail 201.

Breaking news tutorials

Google launches themes for the Chrome browser

#43 / 2009-08-06 10:30:00 / 1:12 min.

When Google launched its

Chrome browser

one thing everyone could agree on was that it was plain. No flair, not much color, just blah. But no more! Google recently announced the launch of

themes for Google Chrome

. You can install the one you want or change themes every day, should the mood strike. However for the time being, you'll have to

get the beta version of Google Chrome

to partake in themes.

Change how the Home button works on your iPhone

#334 / 2009-08-03 09:30:00 / 0:52 min.

The only button on the front of your iPhone is the

home button

. You can

customize your iPhone's home button

to open your contacts, launch the camera or iPod app and much more. Here's how.

Working with TextExpander

Setting your personal TextExpander preferences

#3 / 2009-07-29 09:00:00 / 2:59 min.

When working with any program you want to be sure to check the

Preferences

to see what options are available. This is true with

TextExpander

as well. Go in and poke around and see if there are options you want to change.

How to set your screensaver in Ubuntu

#325 / 2009-07-27 09:31:00 / 1:50 min.

Although most monitors today don't really need a

screensaver

, they're still a fun way to liven up your desktop computer when it's not in use.

New Ubuntu users

will be happy to know that, while largely unnecessary, there are still a ton of

Ubuntu screensavers

to choose from. Here's how to

preview and choose your Ubuntu screensaver

The Finer Points of Facebook

Completely customize Facebook privacy settings

#9 / 2009-07-09 09:00:00 / 2:59 min.

You may worry about

how much information you and your friends share on Facebook

. But did you know you can

completely customize Facebook privacy settings

? You can make it so that certain users can only see certain items,

block your boss from seeing your wall or photos

or videos, keep your friends from seeing private exchanges with your significant other and much more. While you can't

delete your Facebook account

without contacting Facebook staff, you can deactivate it if you want or need to.

The Finer Points of Facebook

Fine-tune your Facebook profile

#8 / 2009-07-08 09:00:00 / 2:27 min.

Filling out your

profile on Facebook

gives your Facebook friends an idea of what you're into. Movies, music, books, even religions and political leanings and much, much more is all fair game in the

complete Facebook profile

The Finer Points of Facebook

Hiding Facebook content to keep your home page organized

#5 / 2009-07-03 09:00:00 / 1:48 min.

If you have a lot of Facebook friends, your

home page may be overrun with all their status updates

. Using these simple tips, you can

hide a Facebook user's updates

so you're not bothered by them. Perhaps you're seeing way to many status updates from a chronic "oversharer," or perhaps a certain someone is unintentionally update spamming. Whatever the case, it's easy to

hide Facebook updates

from people you'd rather not hear so much from.

How to use the improved User Account Control in Windows 7 RC1

#274 / 2009-06-22 09:30:00 / 1:48 min.

Windows Vista has its share of problems. One of the biggest annoyances for users turned out to be the

User Account Control (UAC)

which harassed users with permission dialog boxes every time they tried to make a system change. Microsoft shows it's been listening and in Windows 7 RC1 you can

change the UAC settings

for the way you work.

How to open applications with your voice on your BlackBerry

#271 / 2009-06-18 09:31:00 / 1:27 min.

There are times when you may want to open a program on your BlackBerry, but you just can't take the time to navigate to the program icon. No problem. With Vlingo installed you can use your

voice to open or launch any application

on your BlackBerry.

Schedule your BlackBerry to turn itself on and off

#262 / 2009-06-12 09:30:00 / 1:42 min.

If you want to give your BlackBerry a rest during the night, but have it ready to go in the morning when you wake up, it's easy-to-do. Just

have your BlackBerry turn itself off when you go to bed and back on when you rise

Streaming video and music in Windows 7 RC1

#257 / 2009-06-09 09:31:00 / 1:29 min.

Have a lot of music on your home or home office computer? Too bad you can't easily listen to it on other computers in the house. Well, with

Windows 7

you will be able to.

Windows 7

has some pretty handy media streaming functions built right in. Here's how to use them.

How to get more information from Windows Explorer

#246 / 2009-06-02 09:30:00 / 1:34 min.

Window Explorer is configured to give you certain information by default. If you wish, however, you can configure it to give you all the information you'd like. Get the date modified, file attributes and much more with just a few clicks.

Tweak the Dock on your Mac

#243 / 2009-05-29 09:31:00 / 2:17 min.

When you get your Mac the Dock is set with certain defaults. You may like it like that, but then again you may not. You can easily tweak the way your Dock looks and acts to get a very personalized Dock that performs the way you want.

Getting Started with Yuuguu

Setting up Yuuguu screen sharing preferences

#2 / 2009-05-26 09:00:00 / 2:30 min.

Yuuguu is a smart, easy-to-use client that lets you share your desktop, offer control of your desktop, chat, audio conference, and more. You can configure other instant message accounts to work with Yuuguu, set your screen sharing options and more within the Yuuguu preferences.

Search for sites in a specific domain with Google

#226 / 2009-05-19 09:30:00 / 1:40 min.

While dot-com domains are the most sought-after, there's a world of other domains too. .co.uk for sites from the United Kingdom, .ca for Canadian sites, .gov for government sites, .edu for educational institutions and many more. With Google, you can specify which domain you wish to search to narrow down your results.

How to search a specific file type with Google

#224 / 2009-05-18 09:30:00 / 1:37 min.

Searching the Internet with Google gives you lots of results really quickly. Sometimes, however, what you need is more quality and less quantity. If you really want to search for a specific file type it is possible to do it. Here's how.

How to clean up the Mac Open With dialog

#216 / 2009-05-12 09:30:00 / 3:07 min.

After installing a lot of programs on your Mac the "Open With" dialog can get completely overloaded. At some point you may get tired of seeing the huge list of programs every time it comes up. There is a solution. We'll show you how to clean the Mac Open With menu.

Add your own text to the AutoText function of your BlackBerry

#215 / 2009-05-11 09:31:00 / 2:21 min.

When you're typing on your BlackBerry you can accidentally type "acn" and it will magically change to "can" which is what you intended. This is a function of AutoText and many BlackBerry users aren't even aware that it's there. Once you know you can go into AutoText and add words, delete words, and even edit words.

Set a password for your BlackBerry

#211 / 2009-05-07 09:31:00 / 3:49 min.

Your BlackBerry is much more than just a phone. It holds all your contact information, documents, your email and much more. To protect that data it's wise to put a password on your BlackBerry so only you can access it.

BlackBerry Basics

Change the homescreen wallpaper on your BlackBerry

#9 / 2009-05-07 09:00:00 / 2:17 min.

Many BlackBerry devices come with a nice, serene landscape scene as the default wallpaper. You don't have to keep that wallpaper though. In this tutorial, we'll explore how to change your wallpaper to customize your BlackBerry.

Change your BlackBerry theme

#205 / 2009-05-04 09:31:00 / 2:20 min.

When your BlackBerry comes from the factory, it uses a standard look and feel for the menu system. It doesn't have to stay that way. There are literally thousands of themes you can find all over the Internet. Just search on "blackberry themes." Here we'll show you how to apply a different theme to your BlackBerry device.

Customize folder options in Windows

#204 / 2009-05-04 09:30:00 / 2:11 min.

Windows comes with certain options as defaults. For example, double-click to open something, open new folders in the original folder, and the like. Just because that's the way it works by default doesn't mean you can't change it. Using the Folder Options you can customize how Windows behaves in this regard and perhaps find a way that suits you better.

Choose a custom theme in Gmail

#202 / 2009-05-01 09:30:00 / 2:10 min.

The basic Gmail inbox interface is simple and effective. However, by digging into the settings a little way, you can find a skin for your inbox that better suits your personality. Select a different colour scheme or opt for a completely different look with picture / character themes.

Track your mouse with Cursor Trails

#201 / 2009-04-30 09:31:00 / 1:30 min.

There are times when the mouse cursor can be elusive. It gets hidden under windows or in a corner. To make your mouse cursor more visible you can turn on mouse trails. This leaves a trail of mouse pointers as you move it.

Change your BlackBerry browser homepage

#200 / 2009-04-30 09:30:00 / 1:48 min.

The browser on your BlackBerry will come with a default home page. Often this depends on the carrier you got your device from. It doesn't have to stay that way though because you can change the homepage easily. Here's how!

Tweak your mouse to use ClickLock

#199 / 2009-04-29 09:31:00 / 1:41 min.

For many people it can get tedious when you have to hold down a mouse button while you drag things around. Well, it doesn't have to be that way if you turn on ClickLock for you mouse. Click to drag, click again to let go, it's just that easy. Let's find out how.

Keep your Mac running smoothly with CleanMyMac

#198 / 2009-04-29 09:30:00 / 2:46 min.

Just like Windows machines Mac's can gather junk files. Temporary files, Internet files, cache files, language files, and plenty more. To keep your Mac healthy and happy try giving it an occasional cleaning. With what you ask? Well, give CleanMyMac a try!

Recover your Vista PC with Restore Center

#197 / 2009-04-28 09:31:00 / 3:13 min.

When using a computer you may use lots of programs. If you have a crash programs can be easily reinstalled. What isn't easily replaced is your data. Documents, spreadsheet, photos, music, text files, presentations and more can be lost in the blink of an eye. That's why it's so important to keep your data backed up.

Tweak your mouse options in Windows

#196 / 2009-04-28 09:30:00 / 1:55 min.

Your mouse has certain default values, but that doesn't mean you have to stick with the defaults. It is possible to go in and change things to your personal preference. Change the look of your cursors, alter the speed of double-clicking, turn on ClickLock and more.

BlackBerry Basics

An introduction to the BlackBerry Storm

#2 / 2009-04-28 09:00:00 / 2:57 min.

BlackBerry's oft maligned Storm smartphone does away with the hardware QWERTY keyboard that made BlackBerry smartphones the business device of choice. Jay Goldman runs us through an introduction to the Storm, using the software keyboard and navigating menus.

Mastering your Mac's mouse

#195 / 2009-04-27 09:31:00 / 2:09 min.

If you use a mouse with your Mac you'll find that you have all kinds of configurable options. The famed (and sometimes maligned) Mighty Mouse gives you plenty of buttons and the Mouse options on the Mac give you lots of options to choose from.

Keep Windows XP safe and secure with auto-updates

#193 / 2009-04-24 09:31:00 / 2:08 min.

Microsoft frequently releases patches for the Windows operating system. The updates and patches are designed to fix bugs, plug security holes, and make the operating system more stable. Many worms take advantage of computers that have not applied these updates. Here we'll show you how to make sure Automatic Updates are on.

Change that boring mouse cursor in Windows

#192 / 2009-04-24 09:30:00 / 2:32 min.

Windows comes with certain mouse cursors as defaults. What many people don't realize, however, is that you can change them to something more to your taste. There are tons of alternative mouse cursors available. You can find some right within Windows and you can find many others on the Internet.

Rename photos so they stay in a particular order

#189 / 2009-04-22 09:31:00 / 2:51 min.

When you're trying to put a photo album together, either online or in software, you want to get photos in a particular order. Photos right
from the camera have strange names like DSC-37.JPG, or worse. By taking
advantage of the way your computer sorts files by name you can rename photos pretty quickly and have them in exactly the order you want.

Send free text messages to mobile phones

#187 / 2009-04-21 09:31:00 / 2:27 min.

Sending SMS text messages to your friends, coworkers and family is a great way to relay a quick message bite when a phone call is not convenient or necessary. Cell phone service providers know this too and charge (sometimes hefty) fees for sending text messages. Here are a few ways to avoid those fees by sending text messages to mobile phones, right from your PC.

Locate that lost mouse cursor on screen

#186 / 2009-04-21 09:30:00 / 1:44 min.

I work on a dual monitor system. Every now and then I can't find my mouse cursor. I wiggle it, I jiggle it, and still it eludes me. Ahh, but
if you turn on the option to show you where your mouse cursor is you'll
always be able to find it!

Beginner's Guide to Adium

Tweaking Adium to work the way you work

#4 / 2009-04-16 09:00:00 / 3:38 min.

Some people like to use software just the way it comes. Others like to alter it so it works the way they want it to. Adium gives you plenty of options you can change to customize and tweak Adium so it works the way you like to work. From the way it responds in your absence to the colors of messages, Adium lets you decide.

Windows Live Messenger

Cool features in Windows Live Messenger

#10 / 2009-04-03 00:09:00 / 2:45 min.

We've covered most of the major functions of Windows Live Messenger, but there are lots of fun features that we haven't looked at yet. Here we'll go over just some of the little features that you can take advantage of when you use Windows Live Messenger.

Beginner's guide to Hotmail

Personalizing your Hotmail account

#2 / 2009-03-31 09:00:00 / 2:02 min.

Hotmail offers the ability to personalize the appearance of your Hotmail page. In this episode we'll show you how can customize the look of your page.

Customize your Windows Taskbar

#154 / 2009-03-30 09:30:00 / 2:40 min.

Everyone knows the Windows Taskbar. How can you not? It's sitting there at the bottom of every copy of Windows since version 3.1. Even Windows 7 has a taskbar, albeit a much improved one. There are some clever tweaks you can use with the taskbar that you might not know about, so here they are!

Windows Live Messenger

How to customize Windows Live Messenger

#5 / 2009-03-27 09:00:00 / 2:38 min.

Windows Live Messenger looks pretty good right out of the box, but there are lots of things that you can do to tweak, customize and personalize it. You can determine how the program looks and acts: Customize your sounds, colors, alerts, security settings and more. You can set a default download folder, block specific users, and check on your Internet connection. You can even add custom emoticons or change the background picture to give your Windows Live Messenger a new look.

How to create a Stack on the Mac

#143 / 2009-03-20 09:31:00 / 1:35 min.

Sometimes you have folders you use a lot, like your Documents or movie folders. If you like you can put folders into the Dock and at that point they're called a "Stack." Stacks are handy to have and you can have as many as you want. They are a great way of getting quick access to the folders you use on a regular basis.

How to change the folder icons on the Mac

#140 / 2009-03-19 09:30:00 / 2:01 min.

Mac folder icons suffer from the the B's: Blah, Bleh, and Blue. They're not very appealing to the eyes, but we don't have to live with them if we don't want to. It's a simple process to replace the blah icons with some colorful, sexy icons that tell you at a glance what the folder contains.

Rocking with Winamp

Change the look of Winamp with skins

#9 / 2009-03-19 09:00:00 / 2:27 min.

What's the point of having a media player if you can't have it look and feel the way you want it to? Winamp gives you loads of user configurable options so you can make it your own. It's easy to make Winamp look and act the way you want.

Beginner's Guide to Blogging with Blogger

Blog Privacy 101

#4 / 2009-03-19 09:00:00 / 2:47 min.

Your blog settings is where you can do things like change the title of your blog, add a description to go along with the title or even use your own custom domain for your blog. It's also where you can decide just who can see your blog - anyone on the Internet or select people who you invite. If you want to add additional authors to contribute stories and content to your blog you can do that in your settings as well. Your settings page is like the hub of your blog so make sure you take the time to go through them and create the functionality that you desire.

Rocking with Winamp

Tweaking Winamp the way you want pt. 2

#8 / 2009-03-18 09:00:00 / 3:00 min.

Rocking with Winamp

Tweaking Winamp the way you want pt. 1

#7 / 2009-03-17 09:00:00 / 2:24 min.

Make a Mac Program Start When Your Mac Starts

#135 / 2009-03-16 09:31:00 / 1:17 min.

Some Mac programs give you an easy way to make them start when you login. You just right-click on the program in the Dock and select Open at Login. With other programs however, you don't have that option. When that's the case there's still a way to have the program you want automatically start. Here's how.

Learn Mac keyboard shortcuts with KeyCue

#134 / 2009-03-16 09:30:00 / 1:55 min.

When I switched from a PC to a Mac one thing I had trouble with was keyboard shortcuts. Every program has them, but on the Mac you have to access them from the menu which is at the top of the screen. So, I was constantly moving back and forth. Then I found KeyCue and it made everything easier in every program.

Learn Mac keyboard shortcuts with KeyCue

#134 / 2009-03-16 09:30:00 / 1:55 min.

Create an even smarter Smart Playlist in iTunes

#133 / 2009-03-13 09:30:00 / 1:50 min.

In an earlier tutorial we showed you how to create a Smart Playlist in iTunes. That works really well to give you a playlist that's always changing. But I think we can do that one better by having a playlist that always has you listening to something new.

Save bits of information in Corkboard

#132 / 2009-03-12 09:31:00 / 2:47 min.

As you travel around the Internet there are lots of things that you see that might be of interest. A tidbit here, a quote there, and perhaps an address or phone number you need to grab for later. Corkboard gives you a great way to grab these things and hide them away till you need them.

Uninstalling software from your PC

#128 / 2009-03-10 09:31:00 / 1:43 min.

It happens. You download a piece of software to try it out and it turns out, you don't really use it. Whether you use the software or not, it still takes up space on your computer and can slow things down. Remove software you're not using. It's easy! We'll show you how.

Increase performance with TuneUp Utilities

#125 / 2009-03-09 09:30:00 / 2:51 min.

TuneUp Utilities 2009 keeps your Windows-based PC running smoothly, can improve start-up time and just generally keeps things in order. And we all know that an organized computer is a happy computer.

Clean up Windows junk with TuneUp Utilities

#124 / 2009-03-06 09:31:00 / 2:02 min.

Your PC is a lot like a car. If you keep it tuned up and clean it will run well. Let it get junked up, miss scheduled maintenance appointments generally don't look after it, it will slow down. TuneUp Utilities 2009 acts like a PC mechanic and clears out the junk.

Create a Quick Launch item

#114 / 2009-02-27 09:55:32 / 3:19 min.

That are lots of ways to start a program. You can find it in it's folder and click on the executable file. That's no fun especially when it's a program you use often. You could put program shortcuts all over your desktop, but that gets messy. So, for the programs you run most you can create a Quick Launch item that will appear in the Quick Launch bar that runs across the bottom of your Windows desktp... and here's how!

Create your own toolbar in Windows

#110 / 2009-02-23 09:00:00 / 2:11 min.

Windows provides you with lots of ways to get at your files, folders, and programs. Some ways are more complicated than others. If you'd like a really easy way to quickly access a folder or even a set of folders you can create your own toolbar. These toolbars can be accessed right from the Windows taskbar which makes them quick and easy.

Change icons in Windows XP

#109 / 2009-02-20 09:30:00 / 1:17 min.

Whether you want to change the way shortcut icons appear on your desktop or you want to change the appearance of a particular folder on your PC, changing the icon associated with that file or folder is a great way to customize your PC.

Change your desktop theme in Windows XP

#108 / 2009-02-19 09:30:00 / 1:50 min.

By default, Windows XP uses a blue color scheme, sets a desktop wallpaper you may or may not like. Customizing your PC by changing the color scheme, window appearance and other elements to give it a look and feel you like is easy in Windows XP.

Create a guest account in Windows XP

#106 / 2009-02-17 09:30:00 / 1:30 min.

Creating a guest account is a great way to allow visitors to use your computer without giving them access to your personal files, your browsing history, saved passwords and so on. Guests accounts allow your friends to use your computer to do just about everything they might need to do but stops them from making changes to your system.

Configure the Speed Dial Firefox extensions

#103 / 2009-02-12 09:00:00 / 2:32 min.

Speed dial is an addon for Firefox that gives you an easy way to visit frequently used sites. You can configure how many columns, how many rows, where prompts appear, and more. If left to the defaults the images that are displayed would be constantly changing, but here's a way to make nice, neat images that are easy to read.

Introduction to Flickr

Setting up your account

#2 / 2009-02-03 09:00:00 / 1:53 min.

Now that you've signed up for your Flickr account, it's time to get personal. Choose an image to upload and use as your buddy icon, select your own personal Flickr URL to share with family and friends and input as many or as few personal details as you'd like to share with the Flickr community at large.

Customize Windows with TuneUp Utilities

#95 / 2009-01-30 09:00:00 / 1:47 min.

Sometimes you just get tired of looking at the same old screen. With TuneUp Utilities you can completely change the look and feel of Windows XP. Everything from the system icons, the login and logout screens, the behavior of windows and more can be customized in just a few simple steps.

Google Reader and RSS feeds

Your personal feed preferences

#9 / 2009-01-29 09:00:00 / 2:15 min.

Delving into the Settings section of Google Reader, we have much more control over the way our feeds behave, how we want to read feeds and whether feeds or folders are shared or kept private. We also find out how to export our feeds from Google Reader and into another RSS reader.

Google Reader and RSS feeds

Organizing your feeds

#8 / 2009-01-28 09:00:00 / 2:03 min.

Once you start discovering and subscribing to feeds, your Google Reader will rapidly fill up with stories that may be of interest to you. To make Google Reader easier to use, less cluttered and to make sure you're reading the feeds that are important to you, we have to get Reader organized. Fortunately, it's easy to do and all the tools you need are right there, in the Google Reader window.

Buying and Selling on eBay

Customize My eBay

#8 / 2009-01-14 09:00:00 / 2:25 min.

eBay users have their own personal section on the site called My eBay. It is the easiest way to keep track of any items you are selling or bidding on and purchasing history and gives you a window into the status of bids on items you're either watching or are interested to buy. In this tutorial we'll examine how to customize this section.

iPhone Basics

iPhone 3G Camera, photos, and setting wallpaper

#6 / 2009-01-12 09:00:00 / 4:14 min.

The iPhone 3G has a built in camera which offers some fun features. Your disembodied host voice, Andy Walker, runs down how to use the Camera and Photo applications to take pictures and do small edits. He also demonstrates how to set a favorite picture as your iPhone wallpaper.

Buying and Selling on eBay

Refine your eBay search results

#3 / 2009-01-07 09:00:00 / 2:16 min.

eBay allows you to further refine search results and find what you're looking for faster with eBay's search results viewing options. You can see a gallery of item pictures with text or even a page of just pictures for a window shopping feel. You can customize a variety of options to show the information exactly as you want them.

Alphabetizing your programs menu

#85 / 2008-12-19 09:00:00 / 1:24 min.

If you hate hunting through your growing list of software shortcuts in your programs menu, there is an easy way to arrange them in alphabetical order to save you time and hassle.

Firefox 101

Privacy and security in Firefox

#8 / 2008-12-17 09:00:00 / 3:02 min.

Digging into Firefox's settings a little, we can tell the browser how we want it to behave; this includes which applications Firefox uses to display content as well as how we want websites to appear within Firefox. We can set the default download location for files, change our home page and much more using the Options window in Firefox.

Analyze and free up disk space

#82 / 2008-12-16 09:00:00 / 02:21 min.

There are files you want on your PC and other files that are just taking up space. We'll show you how to use TuneUp Utilities 2009 to quickly and easily clean out the junk to free up some valuable disk space.

Getting a panoramic Desktop

#77 / 2008-12-11 09:00:00 / 1:29 min.

Need more space on your desktop but don't want to pony up for a bigger monitor? 360desktop is a fun interface enhancement software that offers a spacious panoramic view.

Firefox 101

Customize Firefox with Add-ons

#4 / 2008-12-11 09:00:00 / 2:51 min.

As it stands, Firefox is a good web browser and a viable alternative to the browsers that are bundled on Mac and Windows PCs. What really sets Firefox apart from other browsers though is the huge library of Add-ons. These are free "extensions" that change Firefox's behavior to better suit individual wants and needs in a web browser.
Permit us to demonstrate.

Change the appearance of Windows

#72 / 2008-12-05 09:30:00 / 3:00 min.

Tired of the way Windows looks on your PC? Using the Windows Appearance options, you can change it quickly and easily. You can make your PC harken back to the days before Windows XP and completely change the color scheme, background color and more.

Clean the Registry with RegistryBooster 2009

#71 / 2008-12-04 09:31:00 / 2:59 min.

To keep your computer running at peak efficiency you need to keep the Registry clean and compact. RegistryBooster 2009 does an amazing job of doing just that.

Making the Move to Mac

System preferences

#5 / 2008-11-28 09:00:00 / 2:19 min.

Your Mac isn't your Mac until you've customized it. System Preferences is where you need to be in order to do that. We'll run you through where you go to make changes to your desktop wallpaper, to change your screen saver, set up printers, Bluetooth, your Internet connection and more.

Change Folder and Shortcut Icons

#59 / 2008-11-26 09:31:00 / 2:00 min.

Changing the icons of the folders and shortcuts you use often is an easy way to customize, personalize and update the look of your desktop.

Beginner's guide to YouTube

Staying organized on YouTube

#7 / 2008-11-25 09:00:00 / 1:59 min.

As you start uploading videos to YouTube to reside among the millions of hours of footage the site already contains, you'll want to keep your videos organized. Organizing your videos and updating your personal information on YouTube makes it easier for other YouTubers to find you on the site. Whether that's a good thing or not comes down to perspective.

Create a folder shortcut in Windows

#55 / 2008-11-24 13:39:17 / 1:20 min.

It's easy to create a shortcut on your desktop that points to a folder on your computer. You may have a Downloads folder buried away on your PC; creating a desktop shortcut means you'll always have quick and easy access to said folder.

Beginner's guide to YouTube

Customizing your YouTube home

#6 / 2008-11-24 09:00:00 / 3:27 min.

Every YouTuber gets his or her own dedicated channel. By default, this channel shares the same look and feel of YouTube and is named simply with your user name. However, roll up your sleeves as it's time to customize your YouTube channel by changing everything from content to layout, color to page name.

How to customize the system tray in Vista

#54 / 2008-11-21 11:27:38 / 1:39 min.

Windows Vista can be customized to better suit the way you work. The system tray can be modified so that it shows the icons you need quick access to like the system volume and clock while hiding those you don't often need. Here, we'll demonstrate how to customize your system tray in Windows Vista with tips that also translate to other versions of Windows.

How to remove gadgets from the Vista sidebar

#52 / 2008-11-19 09:43:34 / 1:10 min.

Windows Vista includes a bunch of interesting or superfluous (depending on your perspective) features. One of those is the Windows Vista Sidebar. The Sidebar displays a few gadgets by default. They may not be the gadgets you want though. Today we'll show you how to remove gadgets from the Vista Sidebar or, if you subscribe to the superfluous school of thought as outlined above, how to remove it entirely.

Change what the power buttons do in Windows

#51 / 2008-11-18 09:30:00 / 1:38 min.

Customizing your power scheme in Windows helps to conserve energy and also adapts your PC to the way you work. We'll show you how to change what the power button does in Windows and also, how to tweak your power settings to get the most out of your laptop's battery.

Change your desktop wallpaper in Windows

#50 / 2008-11-18 09:15:00 / 1:06 min.

In previous tutorials, we've tweaked Windows by changing the default sound scheme, customizing Windows Vista colors, creating your own photo screen saver and more. In this tutorial we cover how to quickly and easily change your desktop wallpaper from the default options provided in Windows to something more personal and fitting for you.

Beginner's guide to YouTube

Get to know YouTube's home page

#2 / 2008-11-18 09:00:00 / 2:09 min.

Now that you've got a YouTube account it's time to customize the homepage with the content you want to see front and center. Once you've added, removed or shuffled content around on your YouTube homepage, you'll be greeted by your own personalized YouTube portal whenever you log in. This is a great way to keep track of what your network has been up to since you last logged in.

Understanding Windows Explorer view modes

#45 / 2008-11-13 13:27:37 / 2:12 min.

The way Windows presents your files and folders isn't always the best way. In addition to the default icons view, you can have Windows list your files as a list; useful for folders containing a lot of files, as a series of thumbnails or as a filmstrip, useful for folders containing pictures.
When you're working with Windows Explorer you can view files in a variety of ways by toggling through the different view modes.

How to disable the welcome screen in Windows

#29 / 2008-11-06 11:39:25 / 0:51 min.

It's nice that Windows has the courtesy to welcome you when you boot up your computer. However, if you don't keep sensitive information on your PC (international super spies, need not apply), you can turn off the welcome screen in Windows XP. Now, when you boot up your computer you'll be taken straight to the desktop.

How to tweak the disc autorun feature in Windows

#24 / 2008-10-31 09:47:37 / 1:53 min.

When you put a CD or DVD into the appropriate drive on your computer and then close the drawer, Windows will often immediately launch an application associated with that disc: An installation program if it's an install disc, or your CD player, if it's an audio CD, for example. This can be frustrating if the task that is autorun isn't what you wanted to do. There are ways to prevent your system from bringing up the autorun dialogue when you insert a disc.