Tag: SUMMERADVICE

We may be talking Back-to-School already, but summer is still very much with us, at least if the hot and humid August weather is to be believed. And that means that the beaches are alive and well and just waiting to be pounced upn. Geeks that we are, we can't help but bring gadgets every with us, including the beach, which is exactly what we did in the above video. Check it out. ...

Barbecue season is upon us! It's Independence Day weekend and nothing says patriotism like gathering together around a smoking pile of drumsticks and hamburgers. Robert Fernandez, editor of BBQ blog 'Get Your Grill On,' dishes about technology and barbecue, with tips on how to get the best flavor faster. Fernandez cautions that many BBQ purists prefer simple contraptions like the traditional ...

It's easy to think of today's pocketable gadgets as disposable -- use 'em for a few years, then toss 'em when they're obsolete or broken. That's not always necessarily the case, though, as busted iPods and other players can be fixed by repair shops (or even yourself) if you have steady hands. But if you're not the mechanically inclined type, can't bear to be away from your player long enough ...

Cell phones make life easier in every way imaginable, but man, can they ever be expensive. From the ubiquitous, painfully expensive 411 to extra fees for text messaging, cell phone charges can overwhelm even the most savvy user. We highlighted a few ways to save time and money with your cell phone a few months back, but we came across this piece that offered up some additional options. Take a ...

If you haven't been to Disney World in Orlando, Florida in a few years, you might be surprised to see just how huge the thing is these days. Like, really huge -- in fact, it's overwhelmingly large enough to make the longest of family vacations feel woefully inadequate. Trying to even see the highlights over a long weekend will require some serious planning. Thankfully, organizing your trip to ...

Summer's here and that means you'll be using that fancy new digicam you just bought. But if you're like many of us, you just set your camera to "Auto" and hope that the pictures you take turn out okay. If that's the case, you may want to tune in to our latest How-To video, in which we get expert tips from photographer Rachel Been, who shoots many of the rock stars that swing by AOL ...

Add one more concern to travel safety: information security. Your personal and work information is at risk every time you travel, according to experts, who say what you carry on your laptop can easily fall into the hands of nosey authorities at airports, especially in foreign lands. Also, Internet connections in hotels are sometimes not secure, so confidential work or personal messages can be ...

Taking pictures with digital still cameras has been popular for years. Now GPS devices are the johnny-come-lately of the tech you cool kids want. So what happens when you combine the two capabilities? Why, geotagging your photos, of course! Geotagging is the process of marking on each digital photograph the geographical location of where you took the shot. This information can be used to ...

With all the high-tech toys and gadgets we carry around every day, there's one thing that's always seems to drag us back to the twentieth century: the wallet. Whether it's made of leather or vinyl or even Tyvek, the wallet feels incredibly dated and often quite bloated-- especially when over-stuffed with faded and torn membership cards. It creates an unsightly bulge that's even more pronounced ...

It's spring. And if you're like us, the results of your swimsuit diet aren't quite showing yet. If you've got any graduations or weddings coming up in the warmer months ahead, you're likely to get your picture taken. If the thought of a photographer makes you want to run, relax: We've found a few tips -- online, in books, from experts -- on looking thinner in pictures. 1. Use flashes in ...

Cell phones have come a long way in terms of features and styling, but the issue of battery life, or having enough of it, remains strong. Yes, you can keep your battery juiced up for days if you don't talk on the phone ever, but what's the use of that? And sure, you can carry your admittedly portable charger with you to work, but try taking it out with you for a night out on the town -- it's ...

Every day, the gadgets we use become smaller, more portable, and more valuable. Unfortunately, this increase in convenience also raises the appeal of these devices to potential thieves. Here, Switched presents tips to avoid becoming a theft victim for the five common gadgets, as well potential ways to recover your property if it's stolen. And no, we're not recommending using a taser for any of ...

Laptops are wonderful things -- most of the time. They let workaholics think they're productive while watching 'CSI' at night, they let bloggers post away from coffee shops and other out-of-the-way places, and they can even bring hope to developing nations. But, like many expensive gadgets, laptops are not the sturdiest things on the planet, especially those big, bright LCD screens. All it takes ...

You know all of those extra megapixels you shelled out for when you bought your digital camera? Well, while the higher picture quality will certainly come in handy for running off prints of your more frame-worthy snaps, the bloated file sizes of your photos can be an e-mail killer. Most of the time, the photos coming off of our cameras are a few megabytes each, at least . Chain a couple ...

Hype Check: CulinaryPrep What it is: CulinaryPrep is a device built to prepare your food and eliminate food-borne bacteria, including in the process. How it works: You put your food (non-ground meat, pork, poultry, veggies), eight cups of water, and an all-natural powder (citric acid, salt, etc) into the canister, screw on the top, and use the included tube (which stretches from the main ...