TECH PROMISE UPDATE (unlimited)

Google has been working on its voice recognition technology ever since the days when you had to call a phone number with a Silicon Valley area code to dictate your query. As you can imagine, things have come a long way in the decade or so that has passed, to the point where we talk to our phones as if they were a person nowaday Google Voice Search—colloquially referred to as "Google Now"—can already be used to toggle system settings on Android, but a brand new beta app from the Mountain View search giant has taken this concept to the next level. Starting today, users can simply install this app, then control every aspect of their devices without even touching the screen. Google's New 'Voice Access' App Explained Google's new app is called "Voice Access," and while it's only just entering its beta testing phases right now, it already works amazingly well. The gist of things is rather simple—with Voice Access enabled, you'll see small nu...

Not all smartphone chargers put out the same amount of current. The adapter in your car probably charges your phone a lot slower than the one plugged in at your bedside, and if you use wireless charging, it may be a bit slower still. Even considering the variance in listed amperage among your chargers, some still degrade with time and take longer to complete a charge. This can be due to a faulty or worn cable, or even a bad AC adapter. Finding the root cause of such issues, however, involves a lot of guesswork and is usually quite difficult. So, developer  Braintrapp  created an Android app that will allow you to see the exact amperage that a given charger is pumping out. With this information, it will be easy to determine which of your chargers or cables is no longer up to the task. Step 1: Install Ampere Braintrapp's app is only compatible with devices running Android Lollipop. If that's you, head to the Google Play Store and search for  Ampere . Alternatively,...

Creating interesting photographs used to be more fun, before we all collectively decided that color filters and rotations qualified as "unique" smartphone pics. Scrolling through my  Instagram  feed only confirms that these supposedly special, filter-laden photos are actually the norm now. In this guide, I'm going to show you how to escape the banality of Instagram filters and add a psychedelic  Droste effect  to your pics using  Photo Window (free) from  Vacuapps . This creative Android app gives you an easy way to create interesting frame-within-a-frame effects, where it looks like a picture is infinitely appearing within itself to the point of abyss. Step 1: Add Your Window Choose an image from your gallery or take a picture from within the app, then edit the window frame in real-time. Tap the icon on the top left to adjust the shape of the window frame, or even make it circular, and use the grid points to shape it as you please. Adjust th...

We recently began an  exploration of ways to hack using the Bluetooth protocol . As you know, Bluetooth is a protocol that connects near field devices such as headsets, speakers, and keyboards. Its minimum range is a 10-meter radius (~33 feet) and maximum is at 100 meters (~328 feet). I already explained the basics of Bluetooth technology in  my first article in this series , and even showed off  how Elliot used Bluetooth hacking in Mr. Robot . In this article, we will examine the use of the MultiBlue Dongle. This dongle is capable of connecting to any Bluetooth device and enabling you to use your computer keyboard to control the device. Ostensibly developed and sold to enable users to use their computer keyboard and mouse on their mobile device, as you can imagine, it can be used for more surreptitious activities. It's available from many retailers including Amazon.com  for about $35 In this tutorial, we will need physical access to the device, but as w...

Over the course of owning your Android device, you've probably connected to dozens of Wi-Fi networks. School, home, work, the gym, your friends' and family's houses, coffee shops—each time you typed in one of these Wi-Fi passwords, your Android device saved it for safekeeping and easy access in the future. The only trouble here is that you can't view the saved Wi-Fi passwords that your device has stored. Perhaps you want to connect a second device to one of these networks, or you're with a friend who wants to log in to the same hotspot, but without a way to access the actual passwords that your device has stored, you're out of luck. So developer  Alexandros Schillings  decided to remedy this issue with an app that allows you to view every Wi-Fi password that you've ever saved on your Android device. The app  requires root access , but beyond that, it makes finding and sharing your stored Wi-Fi passwords incredibly easy. Schillings' app is called  ...

As I've said before,  slowing down is not an option  for me. At one point, I realized that there were plenty of files on my Mac that I didn't need any more, but too many to delete individually. In other cases, your Mac can be experiencing some major malfunctions: constant crashing, locked controls, slow boot times, missing files, etc. Often, the best option to fix these problems would be to reformat your computer and reinstall your OS, but since most of us don't plan on ever taking this drastic measure, we don't obtain a recovery disc or thumb drive. Thankfully, the geniuses over at Apple have made the process easy for us—no need for a disc; no need for a drive. With just a few clicks of some buttons and your Mac is gonna be running like it did the day you got it. Best of all, this will work with Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, and even  Yosemite . Step 1: Back Up Your Files! Okay, so you may have a lot of files that you want to get rid of, but you definitely ...