Ironically, despite the low prices of PC games on Steam, I’ve ended up spending more than I budgeted over the last few months. Those discounts are very tempting, and the fact that Steam is coming out with more games every week—especially classic titles like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic— isn’t really helping.
Recently however, I’ve realized my compulsion to buy stems from the slick marketing process built into Steam’s interface. By default, you are presented with the home page of Steam store once you load the client. Sometimes a pop-up appears, upon start-up or after exiting a game, detailing …read more

Finally, some sensible advice on prolonging batteries! I know that batteries will lose their ability to hold a charge no matter what, but that doesn’t mean you can take steps to make it last for a few extra charge cycles.
Slate’s Farhad Manjoo recently interviewed Isidor Buchmann, the CEO of battery-testing equipment manufacturer Cadex Electronics, about characteristics of contemporary gadget batteries and how to use them to your advantage. Note that the tips below only apply to Lithium-Ion batteries, the most popular type used in gadget today:
Keep Your Batteries Away From Heat. Heat lessens a battery’s lifespan, and unfortunately many gadgets …read more

Geekiness is quite an expensive passion, but not all gadgets and accompanying accessories require a serious look at finances before purchase. You’ve got the cheap stuff, and you have the really cheap stuff. Case in point: cables.

Whether you need an HDMI cable to hook up that player to your HDTV, or a way to make full use of your computer’s USB port, the general rule when it comes to cables is to take the time and look for the cheapest alternative. For what is a cable, but a bunch of wires providing the bridge between standard ports? Standard means mainstream, …read more

Here’s a really really long text message, an apparent attempt to recruit Helga Weber, a blogger and designer from the Philippines:

Hello! Greetings!!!:-)
My name is [redacted], Marketing Officer for [redacted] ([redacted]).
I would just like to take this bold opportunity to announce this WONDERFUL NEWS about a RARE PROMO OFFER for a FULLY-FUNCTIONAL website development service that we would like to provide you for your competitive business need to GAIN A STRONG POSITION in the industry, as well as to REALIZE/MATERIALIZE today’s untapped potential markets. For ONLY PhP 30,000, our Web Development Team shall ensure your PROMINENCE and UNMATCHED OUTPUT CALIBER, which …read more

I did recommend that Hotmail users switch to Gmail ASAP, while reporting on 10,000 Hotmail passwords being made available online, but that’s because Gmail’s functionality is a lot better. That doesn’t change the fact that 20,000 more passwords were also made public. It’s not only Hotmail that’s been affected: Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL web mail users were hurt too.
Seems there’s an “industry-wide” attempt to phish passwords from unsuspecting web mail users. As you many know, online email account access is gold for phishers, because they (to paraphrase what I wrote yesterday) the foundation for the online existence of a lot …read more

Remember the Filipino who captured extreme flooding through technology? Straight from the Philippines comes more flooding-related content, in the form of 15 useful ways to deal with floods high enough to inundate your house. Passed numerous times through email, a certain “Gwendolyn So” has shared advice on how to cope with such inconvenient wetness—including ways on how to protect appliances, electronics, and cars.

Reddit features a comprehensive Windows XP, Vista, and 7 shortcut list, including some of the most useful ones. Here are my personal favorites (works only on Vista or Windows 7):

Middle click an app on dock – Open a new app instance
Middle click a thumbnail from dock – Close app instance/tab
Alt – bring up old-style file menus where they’ve been removed
Winkey + P – multi-display config quick-switch (press twice to switch)
Winkey + X – bring up laptop settings control panel
Winkey + T – dock keyboard mode (use arrow keys)
Winkey + (shift +) tab – Flip 3D task switcher
Winkey + left, …read more

Baking a video card (as in an oven) to repair it sounds like total idiocy, but there’s a method to the madness. As anyone with computer hardware experience knows, solder joints sometimes crack over time, cutting the connections between electronic components and causing hardware failure.

Expose those joints to constant heat, in an oven set to 200 to 275 degrees centigrade, and the lead will melt, clearing out any cracks and reconnecting the joints. After the card has seen enough baking, leave it to cool for a few hours, and it should be working once back in a computer.
At least, that’s …read more

Nothing makes you feel older—our out-of-touch with American youth culture—when you realize you don’t understand half of what those SMS-friendly abbreviations mean. Luckily the Wall Street Journal was kind enough to orient its old-fogey readership!

UG2BK
You got to be kidding

GBTW
Get back to work

NMP
Not my problem

PIR
Parent in room

GFTD.
Gone for the day

FYEO.
For your eyes only

BI5
Back in five minutes

DEGT
Don’t even go there

BIL
Boss is listening

PAW
Parents are watching

99
Parents are no longer watching

PCM
Please call me

IMS
I am sorry

TOY
Thinking of you

KUTGW
Keep up the good work

CID
Consider it done

FWIW
For what it’s worth

HAND
Have a nice day

IAT
I am tired

NRN
No response necessary

4COL
For crying out loud

WRUD
What are you doing

LMIRL
Let’s meet in real life

^5
High five

Of course, …read more

Before you plop down your hard-earned cash for that dream second-hand gadget, here are some things to keep in mind:
1. Demand the Gadget’s Serial Number
After you get the serial number, search for it online, on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and any other search engines you can think of. Chances are that, if the gadget you’re about to buy is stolen, the previous owner dutifully reported the theft on user group forums, blogged about, or found a way to publicize the theft online. He or she most likely posted what was stolen (including the item’s serial number), where, and how.
What if the …read more