Motorola Droid RAZR ReviewMotorola Droid RAZR Review The past month I’ve had the chance to fully test the Motorola Droid RAZR. This phone is big and thin, and it’s very nice looking. I do have to say that it’s a much better phone than the Bionic, so...

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Droid Bionic ReviewDroid Bionic Review I recently had a few weeks with the Droid Bionic and some accessories. In the spirit of full disclosure after about 4 days with the first Bionic, the device went dead because of the battery, and after...

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Most Popular Lifehacker How to Videos of 2010 [Video]

Category : Entertainment, Music, Video

Most Popular Lifehacker How to Videos of 2010We've worked hard this year to bring you lots of great original video content, covering a range of subjects from building a Hackintosh to slowing down Justin Bieber. Here are the most popular original videos from 2010.

Photo remixed from an original by Matt Katzenberger

How to Downgrade Your iPhone 3G[S] from iOS 4 to iOS 3.1.3


Evidently a lot of you weren't happy with the performance of your previous generation iPhone once you upgrade to iOS 4 as downgrading your iPhone 3G easily won first place as our most popular original how-to video. In fact, it was one of the most popular posts of the year overall. While Apple's made many improvements to iOS 4 to improve performance on older iPhones, if you're still not happy you can use this simple method to downgrade. Be sure to check out the full post for everything you'll need.

How to Build a Hackintosh Mac and Install OS X in Eight Easy Steps


Unsurprisingly, our Hackintosh video was one of the most popular Lifehacker original how-to video of the year. We put more work into this video than any other so it's great to see it near the top of the list. If you want a new Mac but don't want to sink thousands of dollars into it, we'll walk you through the entire process on video. Visiting the post itself will give you the video broken up into each step as well to make it easier to handle this project over time. If you've never built or hacked your own Mac before, it's a lot of fun and a great way to learn the ins and outs of the operating system.

How to Disable Facebook Places


Facebook Places wasn't exactly at the height of popularity when it first came out as several aspects of the new feature caused a privacy scare. Since Facebook's privacy options aren't exactly the easiest to navigate, we thought we'd offer our assistance in helping you disable Facebook Places if you decided it just wasn't for you. While it's been pointed out that the feature technically cannot be disabled, this video points out how to render it essentially useless. If you love Facebook Places, keep enjoying it. If you don't, we've got you covered.

How to Get Started with Usenet in Three Simple Steps


I didn't make a lot of friends by breaking what some call the "first rule of Usenet" (which, like in Fight Club, is "you don't talk about Usenet" — you can read my argument against this in the full post if you're curious). Nonetheless, it wound up being one of our more popular video how-tos. Usenet is a really wonderful way to find and download content online. While the video above explains how to set up your Usenet client, the full post provides instructions on finding a provider and finding content as well. If you're tired of BitTorrent and want something a bit more reliable, you ought to give Usenet a try.

How to Install Android on an iPhone in Six Easy Steps


Although Android hardware has greatly improved over the past year, Apple hardware generally has a lust-worthy quality that few manufacturers can match. For that reason, it isn't a surprise that there's an interest on running a more open operating system like Android on a beautiful device like the iPhone. While there are several drawbacks to running Android on Apple hardware at the moment, it looks promising. If you've got an old iPhone lying around and want to give it a try, watch the video above to learn how.

A Guide to Organizing Your Android Home Screen


Android offers a wealth of organization options so once you have a bunch of apps installed, organization can get a little bit overwhelming. This video demonstrates great organization tips, tricks, and strategies to make navigating your Android more pleasant.

How to Play SNES on Your iPad in Four Easy Steps


As a long-time SNES devotee, I jailbroke my iPad for the sole purpose of playing Super Nintendo games on the go. Being able to use a Bluetooth Wiimote provided the physical buttons needed to make this worthwhile, plus the iPad's large screen didn't hurt either. While this process is very specific to SNES, there are plenty of other emulators available to the jailbreak community. If you jailbreak and install SNES on your iPad, you'll have no problem doing the same for additional emulators. Note: the video demonstrates an outdated jailbreaking process. Make sure you research the correct jailbreaking process for the version of iOS that your device is running.

How to Run Windows, Mac, and Linux Side by Side and Pain-Free with VirtualBox


Triple booting is great, but the need to restart when you frequently want to move between operating systems can be a pain. Instead, using VirtualBox, you can run Windows, Mac, and Linux, side by side, simultaneously. Check out the video above for an overview, and the full post for a step by step guide.

How to Silence Vuvuzela Horns in World Cup Broadcasts


It's been awhile, but remember the vuvuzela craze during the World Cup this year? Yeah, it's hard to get the annoying sounds of those horns out of your head. Fortunately, you can at least get them out of your videos, and—depending on your television—right out of your television. This video demonstrates how to use a few EQ filters to virtually eliminate the vuvuzela from the World Cup broadcasts this year, or any you encounter in the future.

How to Create Your Own Slowed-Down Ambient Epics


Who knew that Justin Bieber sounded so good when slowed down by 800%? What was originally believed to be a hoax turned out to be real: you can truly create some great ambient tracks by slowing down songs by incredible amounts. Want to give it a shot? Check out the video above.

Make and Host Your Own Customized, Personal Landing Page in a Few Minutes


Flavors.me and About.me both over some very cool services, but if you want full control and portability over the personal landing page you create with either tool you just can't have it. We thought it would be great to have an open source, portable alternative that you could host virtually anywhere—so we made one. Check out the video above to see how it works and the full post to see how to implement it.

De-Grease Your Laptop with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser


One of the most annoying problems connected to laptop ownership is keeping your body oils off of the keyboard and trackpad. While we received several great reader suggestions, one of the best and simplest was using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to solve the problem. It worked so well we decided to document the process and show you how it works in this video.

How to Make Your Own Touchscreen Heads Up Display


When the iPad was just a rumor waiting to be hatched, I got impatient and decided I wanted to make a touchscreen tablet of my own. I hackintoshed an old HP Mini 1000 I had lying around, removed the keyboard, and installed a cheap touchscreen overlay. To make it a bit more tablet-like, I wrote some software in Adobe AIR to create a heads up display (HUD). If you want to see how it works, watch the video above. If you want to make one yourself and use/improve upon the software I made, check out the full post.

How to Take Wireless Photos with Your DSLR and iOS Device


Your iPhone can make an excellent remote shutter, live view screen, and photo viewer for your DSLR. Setting it up can be a bit of work, however. This video shows you how to tackle the problem and turn your iOS device into an amazing digital photography tool.

How to Make All Your Video AirPlay-Compatible


As usual, Apple has some pretty strict specifications for the video you can play on their hardware. The release of AirPlay—Apple's new video streaming technology—certainly didn't change this. So, if you want to make all your video AirPlay-compatible, here's how to do it.


That's all for this year! If you want more original Lifehacker video, check out all of it, plus our very first Ask Lifehacker Live for lots of quick original video tips we created in response to your questions.


You can contact Adam Dachis, the author of this post, at adachis@lifehacker.com. You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Most Popular Explainers of 2010 [Best Of 2010]

Category : Entertainment, Music

Most Popular Explainers of 2010We move fast at Lifehacker, but sometimes we like to take the time to answer a question, explain something in the news, or get just plain geeky on a topic. Here are some of our best explainer posts from 2010.

Photo remixed from an original by Matt Katzenberger

This is our first year rounding up "explainers," mainly because this is the first year in which we all started contributing them. We're glad we did, though—some of our explanatory posts rank as our finest work, and it's more than a little gratifying to take out the time and words to really tackle a topic that's been chewing at our brains. But enough of that—on with the details:

What Caffeine Actually Does to Your Brain

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
Caffeine and productivity are inseparably married in the minds of many, but it's far from a simple pick-me-up. We dug into what caffeine really does to your brain, the limits of its effects, how you can work off a tolerance, use it as an optimal pick-me-up, and fend off headaches. Image via rbrwr.

What Alcohol Actually Does to Your Brain and Body

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
It's not as wise to try and "use" alcohol like you would caffeine—its effects are wide-reaching and not as obvious as the tales you've heard. We dispelled some myths, offered a few tips, and explained how it causes all those stadium fights, doesn't really help you sleep, and likely extends your life, but not the way you think. Image via TheDeliciousLife.

How and Why Chrome Is Overtaking Firefox Among Power Users

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
Since our founding, we've been fans of Firefox, and still are today. But using Chrome for more than a year, the majority of Lifehacker editors have made the switch, and Adam sought to explain why. It's about little things, near-total syncing, Google integration, and no-restart-needed extensions—but mostly, it's about speed, and the perception of speed.

What "Free Public WiFi" Is and Why You Should Avoid It

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
It's everywhere, it doesn't work, and it's not going away until Windows XP dies off. It's "Free Public WiFi," and it's almost like an in-joke among veteran Wi-Fi searchers—except the joke's not all that funny. With some help from NPR, we told the tale of the zombie network that lives on and on.

Why You Should Never Pay More Than $10 For HDMI Cables

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
Back when analog cables were kind, cables with gold connectors, gas injections, and all kinds of interference ploys could be sold to audio-video nerds with a semi-straight face. But today's HDMI cables are digital—they work, or they don't. Financial site Mint.com, along with chart helpers WallStats and TheRip, explained in images and pointed words why you should never shell out for expensive HDMI cables—ever.

You Don't Need to Regularly Reinstall Windows; Here's Why

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
It seems obvious that Windows slows down over time, and that a brand-new, freshly installed Windows is faster. But A doesn't always have to lead to B, as the How-To Geek explained for us. Certain kinds of regular maintenance and occasional batches of cleaning can restore your system to nearly just-installed status.

Why You Shouldn't Switch Your Email to Facebook

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
We took both sides of Facebook's declaration of a new kind of messaging service: one suggesting a warm embrace of the "new email,", the other (more popular) advocating that Facebook is not a place you should do your typing and sending—it's walled off, not in your control (or at least less so than IMAP-based email), and, more practically, banned at a lot of workplaces.

Why Is Wi-Fi Coverage So Bad in My House, and How Can I Fix It?

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
Wi-Fi signal seems like downright voodoo sometimes. Sometimes you can grab a signal from the neighbor two houses down, but most of the time, your living room router might not reach your upstairs bedroom. We walked through all the issues that could affect your coverage, and even came up with a spiffy VOICE acronym for troubleshooting. Also: chicken wire. Image via blmurch.

What's the Best Way to Block a Number from Calling My Cellphone?

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
You don't need an advanced, feature-packed, mini-computer phone to block numbers from being able to bother you—though apps for Android and iOS are certainly one easy way to go. Google Voice, and carrier options, can work for anyone.

Android Task Killers Explained: What They Do and Why You Shouldn't Use Them

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
When Android first came out, the multi-tasking, anything-goes app system seemed in need of a firm hand to hold wayward programs in check. But these days, nobody should be opening a task killer as often as their email, and Whitson explained why.

Is Hiding Your Wireless SSID Really More Secure?

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
The How-To Geek explained for us all the many, many ways that a "hidden" wireless broadcast name, or SSID, can be discovered, worked around, and otherwise made to seem silly. If hoping nobody finds your router is your only defense, keep working at it.

What's the Easiest Way to Share Large Files and Media with Friends?

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
I know, I know—you're thinking, "I bet Lifehacker said Dropbox." But we didn't! It's actually another program, one with the advantage of allowing files larger than 2 GB, and which can start sharing files instantly, rather than waiting for them to upload to a remote server.

What's the Registry, Should I Clean It, and What's the Point?

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
The short version of the How-To Geek's run-down: cleaning and fixing your registry will never leave you with a desire to phone up your friends and relatives and extoll the virtues of this amazing Windows tip you just discovered, and explain just how radically it has changed your life.

What Should I Do to My Work Laptop Before I Leave My Job?

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
Whether you're working for a large company that's likely to wipe and re-image each and every hard drive before re-assigning it, or a small firm that likely hands out the HR department's secrets unwittingly, it's a good idea to think about what you might have left sitting around on the hard drive. Jason offers tips on searching down and securely wiping out your stuff.

Why We Hack: The Benefits of Disobedience

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
"How do you relate to a serial killer like Dexter? You do it because he murders other serial killers-read: bad people. He does something wrong because good behavior won't accomplish what needs to be done. (See also: Batman.) It's this same mentality, this same brand of unrest, that fuels all kinds of disobedience. In particular, it's why we hack."

What's the Best Way to Share Files with a Nearby Computer?

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
Rather than trade files over a USB key, and wait for the file copies to happen two times, here are the ways you can set up two computer to quickly trade files between one another at speeds much faster than you're used to on the internet. When all else fails, there's always a direct cable connection between the two systems.

Nine Common Myths and Misconceptions About Viruses, Examined and Debunked

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
The bad news is that firewalls won't protect you. The good news? Viruses can't cause your hardware to die—or infect alien spacecraft, for that matter. Step back from the standard stuff you hear about viruses and get a gimpse of the truth. Image via TedRheingold.

How Do You Know If Your Download Really Has a Virus?

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
In which we detail the sad number of false positives that pop up across most major commercial virus detection apps—especially as it applies to Lifehacker-created software, or anything utilizing the awesome automation software AutoHotKey. The How-To Geek recommends running VirusTotal to get a bigger picture of any file that supposedly contains malware, as well as doing crazy things like asking the developer if he's seen that kind of warning before. Image via Daquella manera.

Google Buzz Explained

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
It seems so long ago that Buzz just suddenly jumped into all our Gmail inboxes, ready to connect us to our friends (even if the people we email aren't always friends) and eager to get us talking. We took an early view of Buzz and explained where it was coming from, what it was trying to do, and some of the issues we had right up front.

What You Need to Know About the New TSA Screenings (and Gropings)

Most Popular Explainers of 2010
Just a reasonably quick explanation of what those scanners are, what your alternatives are, and what happens when you refuse both the full scan and the pat-down in a U.S. airport.


There you have it—20 posts in which we offered a hopefully more explanatory look at something new, or so often taken for granted. If you have a favorite explainer from the past year, or would like us to target something for 2011, tell us so in the comments.

Sunday Night’s Awesome True Blood Ending Credits Song

Category : Entertainment, Music, Television

I was watching another great episode of HBO’s True Blood last night and during the final credits the most interesting song started playing. At first I didn’t know if I liked it, then when I backed up the DVR to confirm that Evan Rachel Wood was in fact guest starring as the Queen, I really liked the song, so I popped out the iPhone and fired up Shazam with the hopes that it would actually identify the song, and low and behold 30 seconds later it told me that the song was Frenzy by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (iTunes Link). If you didn’t stick around for the credits, check out the song, it’s amazing. I’m always surprised at the music in the shows produced by Alan Ball, he has such a dark and devious mind.

Hope you enjoy the song, and of course always remember that this is just my opinion and I could be wrong.

-Brian

A Great New Artist

Category : Music

Erin1I recently was browsing the iTunes music store and saw the free download of the day was a song by Erin McCarley, I got it, and after I listened to it, I was like WOW, she is good, I then proceeded back to the iTunes store and bought the whole album. Here’s what her website says about her…

Erin McCarley calls the music on her debut album, Love, Save the Empty, a document of her search for authenticity in herself and in others. If that sounds heavy, there’s a reason why: According to McCarley, “Loving You” is about “being honest at the beginning of a new relationship and saying, ‘I have nothing left to give,’ to this amazing person standing right in front of me.” “Sleepwalking” profiles a cynic that can’t hear it come back his own way. For the title track, McCarley was inspired to write a song about the effects stemming from a lack of role models in a parentless world. And yet the 11 songs collected here (songs that ignited an industry-wide frenzy when McCarley performed them at SXSW earlier this year) pull off the trick that all great pop performs: They do heavy philosophical lifting with a lightness that boosts the spirit. This is elegantly crafted, deeply melodic music that resounds with echoes of the Beatles and Aimee Mann, Alanis Morissette and Amy Winehouse.

McCarley grew up in the Dallas suburb of Garland, where she says her parents couldn’t have done a better job raising her and her older sister. “It was a very happy home with very little pain to deal with,” she explains, describing days filled with dance class and choir rehearsal. In a way, though, her ideal childhood led to an unexpected wake-up call later in life. “It kind of gave me an unrealistic view of everything,” McCarley notes with a laugh. “That’s not how the world is, you know?” In McCarley’s music you can hear her charting the distance between fantasy and reality, as well as the heartbreak that inevitably accompanies its discovery.

McCarley’s brand of honesty doesn’t come without the occasional flash of regret. “I’ve looked back at some of these songs recently and thought to myself, ‘Are you serious? I can’t believe I put that out there!’”

Near the top of the list of McCarley’s favorite artists are names like Fiona Apple, Patty Griffin and Greg Laswell (the latter of whom co-wrote “Bobblehead”). “I just love how true and raw their lyrics are,” she explains. Listening to records by these musicians is more than enjoyable for McCarley—it’s inspiring. “I get one line into one of their songs and I have to stop and write my own,” she says. McCarley singles out her favorites’ unique phrasing, the way they’ve taught her to concentrate not only on her words but on her delivery. “Their lyrics are that much more powerful because of the way they sing them.”

McCarley currently calls Nashville home, but she cut her musical teeth in San Diego, where she’d moved after college to pursue a life that didn’t feature music at its center. During her undergraduate days she’d spend weekends singing with a country cover band for extra cash, yet in San Diego, selling clothes in a boutique and hanging out on the beach, she began thinking not just like a singer, but as a songwriter, which satisfied a different artistic jones. “Once I discovered songwriting it became an addiction,” she says now, remembering countless days she spent holed up in her house from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., doing writing exercises (and staring at the wall) while wearing the same pair of linen pants. “Most nights I’d end up with an unfinished song. But when the day would come when all the pieces would align, and I’d know this is a song for people to hear, there is no better release in the world. Those are some of the only times that I can go out at night or sit on the couch next to my loved ones and feel at peace—like, ‘Job well done.’ I can rest, at least for a second.” It was during this bout of creativity that McCarley met producer/writer/keyboardist Jamie Kenney (the rare partner she felt 100 percent comfortable with), and the two began honing the songs that would make up Love, Save the Empty.

“It’s hard for me to write about being happy,” McCarley admits. “I don’t prefer being sad, but it’s a real spot for me. If you met me, I’m not this dark, sulking person, though I’m not bubbly by any means, either. I guess it comes down to the fact that I’m not afraid of being sad. Love, Save the Empty arrives this fall on Universal Republic Records. McCarley will spend the summer laying the groundwork for the album’s release with a pair of tours. Her goal an artist is as simple—and as profound—as they come. “When I’m onstage,” she says, “I’m trying to communicate with every single person out there.”

 

You should check out her album, she’s definitely one to watch in 2009.

Come Enjoy the Music

Category : Music

What: Rachel Scott CD Release Concert
CD release concert. She will be performing songs from her new album.
When: Friday, September 19, 2008 7:00 PM
Where: King of Kings Lutheran Church
11615 I Street
Omaha, Nebraska 68137   United States

Kate Nash – Foundations Music Video

Category : Music, Video

Music Pick of the Week

Category : Music

I have always been an avid fan of all kinds of music. I recently saw the cd cover photo for an artist named Kate Voegele and admit I was curious.

Amazon.com: Don’t Look Away

I decided to check it out, so I got the album, which you can purchase from amazon by clicking the link above. The sounds I heard took me to a new world. She is one amazing artist.

From her official site…

The tracks range from the rootsy acoustic ballad “Wish You Were,” with its mandolin and accordion filigree, and the sparse, piano-based “Kindly Unspoken” to the widescreen heartbreak anthem “Only Fooling Myself” and the ironically titled “It’s Only Life,” a soaring expression of female empowerment, which Voegele describes as “a motivational, uplifting song about dealing with situations rather than trying to hide from them.” “One Way or Another” is an edgy rocker about romantic victimization, while the punchy “Chicago,” she says, “is a metaphorical representation of any kind of escape, about just needing to get away. The line at the end of the chorus is, ‘I’ll be on the seven o’clock to Chicago,’ so it refers to a specific city, but it’s universally applicable.”

This is one talented female vocalist, and if she continues on the path she has paved, she will go a long way. So go out and support her and buy her album.

How the RIAA is Destroying the Record Store

Category : Entertainment, Music

DESPITE the major record labels? best efforts to kill it, the single, according to recent reports, is back. Sort of.

You?ll still have a hard time finding vinyl 45s or their modern counterpart, CD singles, in record stores. For that matter, you?ll have a tough time finding record stores. Today?s single is an individual track downloaded online from legal sites like iTunes or eMusic, or the multiple illegal sites that cater to less scrupulous music lovers. The album, or collection of songs ? the de facto way to buy pop music for the last 40 years ? is suddenly looking old-fashioned. And the record store itself is going the way of the shoehorn.

 

Read the rest of the story.

Johnny Cash: God’s Gonna Cut You Down Video

Category : Entertainment, Music

iTunes Inspires Changes in Music Industry

Category : Music

Imagine a world where Musicians keep the copyright to their music and make $5 or $6 per album sold instead the current $1 or $2. This is a model being proposed by Terry McBride, CEO of Nettwerk Music Group.

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