The Latest from Gadget Hacks: Page 126

I'm sure you've been here before: sitting on an airplane, bored out of your mind, and you forgot to install a few games or download a movie before your flight departed. No worries, though. If you have the latest Chrome Beta installed on your Android, there's a fun little mini-game baked right into the "You are offline" screen.

Many Android utilities use Android Debug Bridge, or ADB for short, to send commands from a computer over to your phone or tablet. This enables such utilities to run terminal commands that, in some cases, wouldn't be possible on Android without root access.

While having no internet connection is definitely a bad thing when you need it, you can at least bide your time until you're back online with a hidden Easter egg inside of the Google Chrome browser. This gem unlocks a secret side-scrolling game that can keep you busy during your downtime.

So, its no secret you can monitor an IOS device if you have the users AppleID credentials via a 3rd party application like mSpy etc. My question is, can we obtain this information ourselves without including a 3rd party? Is there software readily available to retrieve and decode the icloud information into a practical GUI ? or even a basic Linux app which can pull that icloud information down into a xml, or something i could manually code to make sense of that data?

Google has started blocking certain devices from accessing the Google Play Store and other Google services. This is part of an effort to clamp down on OEMs that skirt its certification requirements, but now millions of phones have been uncertified to download or update Google apps. Fortunately, there are a few workarounds.

Unlike on Android, you can't easily hide your iPhone apps. Sure, you can nestle them away in folders labeled "junk," but they're supposed to be omni-present somewhere on your home screen. That is, until one day they're just ... gone. The fact that some of your apps disappeared only makes it more frustrating because there's no logical reason why they should have, right?

A VPN service is almost an essential these days. Good ones can block ads, prevent tracking cookies, encrypt your internet traffic for better security, and even spoof your device's location to bypass geo-restrictions — all things you should be concerned about in the age of NSA snooping and Facebook data mining.

Apple has tools built into iOS to help parents monitor the iPhone habits of their children. However, those same tools can be used by everyday iPhone owners to both hide apps they don't care about, as well as restrict features they don't need or that infringe on privacy. Whether you fit into one category or the other, all iPhone users can benefit from the "Restrictions" feature.

There has been significant debate over law enforcement's right to access our digital devices in recent years. New tools from Grayshift and Cellebrite are popping up faster than ever to help government agencies, as well as traditional hackers, break into iPhones. If you're concerned, you can take steps right now to beef up your passcode and prevent outsiders from gaining access to your device.

The Android version of Google Chrome only shows a home button on some devices. Unfortunately, this feature isn't available to all Android phones due to several factors. But thanks to a simple workaround, you can now enable this button and set a home page regardless of what device you have.

OnePlus has now officially upgraded both the 5 and 5T to Android 8.1 Oreo. As implied by the version number, this isn't a huge update from Android 8.0 Oreo. However, OnePlus has included a few of their own features as well.

With PUBG and Fortnite dominating the gaming scene, other companies are making royale-themed games to get in on the trend. Futureplay is no different, as they've soft launched Battlelands Royale in Finland, Poland and Ukraine to iron out bugs before its worldwide debut. If you don't live in one of those countries, you can try this game right now with a quick workaround.

On April 3, 2018, Snapchat announced that the phone and video calling feature that's long been a feature of one-on-one calls would be coming to group chats. Well, late on Monday, April 17, the feature was finally pushed out to everyone for Snapchat groups on Android and iPhone.

As the go-to browser for millions worldwide, Chrome makes web surfing a breeze with its simple interface and Google integration. But many websites are starting to ask if they can send you notifications, and this can interrupt your browsing. Thankfully, you can completely disable these prompts if you prefer.

Apple's latest iPhone operating system is notorious for its frequent bugsandglitches. The latest iteration, iOS 11.3, is no exception, as users are experiencing not only 3D Touch issues but missing screenshot previews as well.

Less than a week after iOS 11.3 was released to the public, iOS 11.4 beta dropped for developers on April 2, then became available for public beta testers the following day. If you're an iPhone user, there doesn't seem to be much to love about iOS 11.4 just yet, since its mostly geared toward education uses for iPads, but Messages on iCloud is back, as well as AirPlay 2.

In case you missed it, you don't have to chat one-on-one anymore in Snapchat. The company added group chats back in 2016, and they are increasingly gaining new features such as video and audio chats, so communicating Snapchat-style with all your friends at once is better than it's ever been.

TouchWiz might not be the Android skin of choice for hardcore aficionados, but the Galaxy's OS still has a ton of great features up its sleeve that help provide one of the most enjoyable smartphone experiences out there. Many of these are relatively hidden and overlooked features that you may not be aware of.

Our phones have evolved past a simple pocket computer. They have become more like Swiss Army Knives, opening up possibilities that were previously considered Sci-Fi material. Thanks to the recent push into augmented reality, a new world of tools is becoming available to mobile users.

Blizzard announced last week that the latest Hearthstone expansion, The Witchwood, would be releasing on April 12 2018. Equipped with 135 "hair raising" new cards and mechanics like Echo and Rush, Hearthstone players across the globe are itching to start playing with the set the minute it drops. Now, we know exactly when that'll be.

Apple has taken great strides to ensure that iPhone users are having an Apple Maps experience on par or even better than Google Maps can provide. One of the factors powering this is extensions, which adds functionality to certain apps by giving them permission to interact. Among all the possibilities, one extension will let you reserve dinner tables right from inside Apple Maps.

Privacy is a hot topic. In the wake of Facebook's data scandal, many want to safeguard their personal info. On the other hand, we all gain a certain amount of convenience by using services administered by huge companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Google Assistant collects plenty of data, but you can easily check what is stored and delete items at will.

Although more and more smartphones are introducing portrait modes with their cameras, there are still plenty of devices out there — especially devices older than one or two years — that do not. While your particular smartphone might not offer you that bokeh effect, Instagram can, as it gives all smartphones software-based portrait modes.

Even though smartphone audio quality has improved in recent years, the tiny built-in speakers aren't always loud enough. But if you want to turn the volume up to 11, all you need is a few household items to make a rig that will amplify your phone's speakers throughout the whole house.

In the Android community, there's a lot of discussion about how display notches should be used. For some, hiding the notch is more appealing, but others feel that hiding it wastes screen real estate. Well, Essential just provided another solution that should satisfy both sides.

Apple has introduced a special edition iPhone 8 and 8 Plus to bring attention to the ongoing worldwide battle against AIDS. As the second iPhones to carry the (PRODUCT)RED name, these rare iPhones may quickly sell out when preorders open up on Tuesday, April 10, at 5:30 a.m. (PDT), so we'll go over some tips to help you secure a red iPhone before it's gone.

In the Android community, Samsung's slow updates have long been the accepted norm. With the Note 8's recent Android Oreo update, Samsung completed annual version updates to their 2017 flagship lineup. Now is a great time to look back on how Samsung has fared with updates over the past few years. Hint: It's not pretty.

We're all aware that Google collects a notable portion of our data. Thanks to the increasing awareness, Google has added a number of privacy controls to limit data collection. But Google doesn't just collect personal data for no reason — many of your favorite apps will use this info to improve their services and add new features.

Oops... did you forget to connect to a Wi-Fi network before streaming HBO GO on your iPhone? While those episodes of The Wire may have been absolutely life-changing, your three-digit cellular bill is definitely going to hit you a little harder.

For many of us, getting to inbox zero is the highlight of our day. But if you used your email address to sign up for various sites and services, your inbox is probably cluttered with all sorts of spam, news letters, and unimportant emails. Thankfully, Gmail has a feature that can solve this by using machine learning.

If bezel-less was the goal of OEMs in 2017, 2018 seems to be the year of the notch. Thanks in no small part to Apple's iPhone X, more and more smartphone manufacturers are designing their displays with this polarizing cutout. While many are frustrated with the trend, it's worth taking the time to consider what each phone gains with the unique design.

In late-2017, Snapchat debuted Lens Studio, a way for anyone to create their own augmented reality "world lenses" that can be shared to anyone with a Snapchat account. If you don't mind spending money, you can even create custom face lenses and basic overlay filters for special events. And while making lenses and filters have gotten pretty easy, distributing them is another matter entirely.

Great ideas often strike at random times, but messaging friends and loved ones at an inopportune hour not only risks their wrath, but also increases the chances of your message not being paid proper attention to. Thankfully, there's an app that lets you create and post WhatsApp messages at the time you wish for maximum effect.

Your email inbox is a treasure trove of personal data. The people you contact, your writing style, which messages you flag as spam — all of this information and more can be used to paint a clear picture of you. Google knows this as well as anybody, so they use this data to constantly improve your experience in Gmail.

With Gboard, Google created a keyboard with more functionality than just inputting words. The app includes features such as GIF search and live text translation, but it gets even better when you let it learn more about you. With this data, Gboard grows from a good keyboard to one that can complete your sentences.

Fans of Fortnite Battle Royale were understandably ecstatic when the smash hit arrived on mobile. While at first the game was restricted to invite-only, Fornite is now available to all on iOS. If you're just starting out, you're going to want to check out these expert tips to gain an advantage over the other new players.

With ultra competitive games like Fortnite Battle Royale and PUBG taking the mobile world by storm, gamers are looking for ways to get a leg up on the competition. One of the biggest advantages you can give yourself is the ability to aim and shoot while on the move, but that's not exactly easy with a touchscreen.

I have installed Adobe Illustrator that can't open my AI file. Because it opens with message "Not enough memory to open illustration". I've no idea what happened. But I hope, that some of dear users, might help. I'm using iPad Air.

Netmarble has released a new MMORTS game called Firstborn: Kingdom Come to go up against competing games like Lords Mobile. Unfortunately, the game seems to be stuck in development as a soft launch in select countries, limiting its exposure to gamers worldwide. But don't let this hiccup deter you — we've found a simple workaround to play the game on your iPhone right now.

It hasn't been a great year for Facebook. Recently, Android users had to discover on their own that the company was logging their calls and texts in Messenger. However, according to Facebook, all users did approve of the data collection, and as such, all affected users can disable logging as well.