If you live in an apartment building, a crowded city block or some other
high-density area, why not offer up access to your wireless broadband signal
to the kind folks next door while you're away at the office? There's no
better way to earn geek cred and cosmic karma all at once.
Everyone from sweet old grandma to your Charles Schwab rep is using your ancient Hotmail or AOL address to keep in touch, so you can't just abandon it. Here's a technique for swapping out that crappy old e-mail service for something from this century. Get with the times on Wired's How-To Wiki.
You're ruling the drum kit, your bros are belting out five-star performances and you've got the virtual crowd on its feet. But in that moment of passion, you pound the kick pedal a little too hard, breaking it in half. Our $5 fix will keep the party going.
Next to a hot cup of coffee, this simple recipe for a single serving of
chocolate cake is the most delicious thing you can prepare using a mug and a
microwave.
Need a sturdy sack for your expensive DSLR? Something about those
professional camera bags, with their logos and myriad accessory pockets,
marks them as a little too conspicuous. Roll with the stealth crowd by
building your own padded shoulder bag on the cheap. It holds everything you
need for a day of shooting, and it's virtually weightless.
Everyone's an expert on something. That's the idea behind wikis, where any
web user can contribute by adding their knowledge to a topic. No site is a
better exemplar of the power of groupthink than Wikipedia, the largest and
most well-known wiki on the web. Wired.com's own How-to Wiki has tips to help
you dive in and start editing pages.
When financial times get rough, the rough start updating their
business cards. Focus on the basics, like your contact information,
before diving into fancy designs and card stock. If you want to stand
out, there's more to it than just that. Get started with some of our
simple steps.
When the trick or treaters arrive at your abode this Halloween, don't just give them candy — give them a serious case of the willies. Follow our tips for making the coolest Halloween display on the block. In Wired's How-To Wiki.
Most humans can't visually process more than 300 words per minute. But the
pros can whip through 1,200 words in 60 seconds like a hot knife through a
best-seller. Learn to overclock your eyes and quadruple your brain's
processing power in Wired's How-To Wiki.
Rev the engine, slam the accelerator and keep one foot on the clutch. Whether you're evading a tail or showing off your minivan skills, doing donuts will test your driving skills. Want to learn how to paint gravel with rubber like Bo and Luke Duke? Stunt driver Tanner Foust runs you through the steps.
There's an entire ecosystem living in that river down the street, or in the pond at your local park. You can easily photograph its many insects, microbes and other denizens with a student-model microscope and a cheap digital camera. In Wired.com's How-To Wiki.
The practice of placing RFID chips inside your physical ID credentials is becoming routine for everything from your gym to the federal government. Here's a way to protect yourself and your deets using only duct tape and some other cheap materials.
Just because you're a geek doesn't mean you have to lug around your weight in gadgets and They Might Be Giants t-shirts when you travel. Follow our guide to lighten the load on your back, but still maintain your cred among the geek elite.
Got stacks of Stax soul? A trove of treasures from Treasure Isle? It's remarkably easy to convert those old vinyl sides to play on your iPod. All you need is a turntable, a good audio cable and some free software and you'll be reliving vinyl's glory days in crystal-clear (and wear-free) digital sound. Got extra tips? Log in and contribute.
We've shown you the basics, then we demonstrated how how you can control your torrents remotely. Now, we'll show you how to automate your torrent client. Automatically download your favorite TV shows while you sleep and throttle your torrent's bandwidth while you work. We'll show you how to set it and forget it.
So you forgot to record the debates and you're afraid you'll look stupid around the watercooler tomorrow. Here's a solution: Set up your home computer's BitTorrent client for remote control. Set it to download the video from work and it will be waiting for you when you get back. We'll show you how.
The open source software package Boxee frees up your Apple TV, allowing you to play any DRM-free movie, TV show, song or video on the set-top box. All you need is a USB stick and some know-how. We show you how to unleash your Apple TV from the clutches of iTunes in Wired's How-To Wiki. Got extra tips? Log in and contribute.
Getting into astrophotography -- also called digiscoping -- is easier and
less complicated than you may think. There are several different methods you
can try when capturing images of the night sky. Here are some tips. Got
extra advice? Share your knowledge by contributing to Wired.com's How-to Wiki.
Fixed-gear bikes may be all the rage, but your traditional "fixie" is
missing a component most cyclists take for granted -- a mechanical braking
mechanism. Stopping a bike with no brakes takes strong knees and heaps of
practice. Here's how to get started. Got extra advice? Share your knowledge
at Wired.com's How-to Wiki.
Protect yourself from password sniffers, phishers and other data-snooping thieves with these tips and tricks for accessing your web-based e-mail account securely. Got extra knowledge to pass on? Add your own advice and help our readers stay informed. In Wired's How-To Wiki.
We've got the cure for your guilty eco-conscience. With a little
preparation and accountability, you don't have to trade your vacation
plans for a cooler global climate. It may not save the planet
overnight, but if enough people like you start traveling green, it
could go a long way.
Got an annoying friend who can't stop showing off his vast knowledge of
unsigned, obscure bands? Here's how to shut him up by stumping him -- no
geek cred required.
Drawing your own animations by hand is a great way to learn the basics of
illustrating movement. The pros -- from cartoonists to web designers -- will
agree it's an essential skill, but it's also a whole lot of fun. Here's how
to make a mini movie using a pad of paper and a pen. Got extra advice to
make your animations shine? Come contribute to Wired's How-To Wiki.
If you've ever taken your phone apart, you probably spotted the SIM card tucked neatly underneath the battery. But prying it out can be a total chore. Here's a simple trick you can use to pop and swap a SIM card with ease. Got extra advice or an alternate method that works just as well? Log in and share the wealth.
That's right, bike polo. Maybe you've seen it in the park. Maybe you've never heard of it before. It's just like the polo played on horses, but on a bike. All you need is a working bicycle, a make-it-yourself mallet, and a plastic ball.
It's officially Talk Like a Pirate Day, and everyone knows the best way to
learn a new language is to totally immerse ones self in the culture. So
here's our starter's guide to plundering the internet's high seas for music,
movies and games. Got tips for budding pirates? Log in and contribute,
matey.
Celebrate "Talk Like a Pirate Day" by taking the kids on a quest for lost treasure. Here's how to create a truthy pirate's map using paper bags, markers and a few other cheap materials. Building the ship may take a little more work.
The default iPhone wallpaper is pretty boring and it displays every time you unlock the screen. Don't you think you should customize it with something more personal? A loved one perhaps? Maybe your favorite band photo? You can even snap a wallpaper photo on the spot. Our guide will point you in the right direction.
Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll. It's not all glamorous, even in a
videogame simulation like Rock Band 2. We have the tips and codes to
keep playing (even if you really suck), unlock all those hidden songs
and rap without trying. Strap on an axe and take a look.
The latest version of Apple's iTunes offers a new "Genius" feature for
generating on-the-fly playlists based on your own personal tastes. But it
isn't magic, it's math. And it ain't perfect, either. Inject some sanity
into iTunes' musical mad scientist with our guide in the How-To Wiki.
Crowds of poorly-dressed, gawking tourists can ruin the ambiance of any
exotic locale, but they don't have to ruin that perfect snapshot. Prove you
were there and make believe you had the whole place to yourself with our
guide. We'll show you how to remove the huddled masses from your vacation
snaps using common software tools.
The web is a geek traveler's almanac. You can find all sorts of
travel information not available on your cheap tourist map. We'll
show you how to prepare for you next trek by scouting out weather,
photos, terrain and communication all thanks to the magic of the
internet and handy gadgets.
Why jog in place with the Wiimote when you can just bounce it on your knee? The console will never know the difference -- it'll just be a secret between you and your waistband. Meanwhile, you'll free up some time to chow down. Learn how to score high points without breaking a sweat on Wired's How-To Wiki.
Unleaded is killing your savings while driving up your carbon
footprint. Meanwhile, your local burger joint is throwing away free
ecological oil. Wanna power your car with french-fry grease? Learn
how to update your out-of-fashion diesel engine to an in-fashion
biodiesel with our conversion guide.
Water wheels have been powering factories and mills for centuries, and now
they can power your kids' weekend activities. Follow our guide to build a
water wheel out of cups and picnic plates. It's a simple enough project for
kids of all ages; more ambitious minds can modify the design to generate
electricity or power more complex machines.
Dropped calls? Spotty coverage? The first step to overcoming a poor cell
signal is to understand why your phone is acting up. We'll give you a quick
primer in this how-to. And when common sense fixes fail, it's time to bust
out the gadgets.
What better way to celebrate the long weekend than by enjoying a nice bottle of chenin blanc? Except that you forgot to pack a corkscrew on your jaunt to the Hamptons. Don't fret -- we'll show you how to open a bottle of wine with nothing more than a hammer, a wood screw and some elbow grease.
Does the recent buzz about the iPhone's poor security have you looking for better ways to protect your precious Apple mobile? We've got the advice you need to make your iPhone more secure, including how to override the now infamous "emergency call" security hack. Head to the How-To Wiki to lock down your iPhone tighter than a pair of $300 skinny jeans.
It's a hot late summer day with your buddy on the porch. You just popped a
cold one and are fingering the ridges of the bottle cap. That's when your
compadre bets he can flick his beer cap farther than yours. Here's how to
show him how it's done.
Your favorite music sites let you listen to songs all day for free, but only as a stream -- if you want to load one of those songs onto your iPod and take it with you, you'll have to go buy it. But your browser stores streamed MP3s temporarily on your hard drive. Learn where to look and save them for later with our guide.
3-D films have been around since 1890, but unless you like watching your TV with red and blue glasses, the technology hasn't progressed much. Thankfully, Sean Hellfritsch and Isaiah Saxon of Encyclopedia Pictura have teamed together to show you how to create a
DIY home 3-D theater rivaling the 3-D technology you'll find at your local Imax.
A massive power failure can turn that record hot summer into a major bummer. When the lights do go out, you'll want to be prepared to live without electricity for anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Here are some suggestions to stay fueled, informed and entertained during the next blackout.
A good Napa wine is priceless, but a Napa earthquake can potentially crush your wine collection like a grape. The nature of storing glass bottles suggests natural disaster undertones. It's an oenophiliac's nightmare. With a little DIY preparation, you can
prevent a disaster by earthquake-proofing your wine cellar.
The CSS 3 specification is not yet complete, but today's browsers aren't waiting by the sidelines to embed its rich features. Safari, Opera and Firefox are on board, so why aren't you? Start using the cool new CSS 3 features, like rounded corners, today. We'll show
you how.
The worst time to find out you're highly allergic to something is when your throat suddenly starts to swell shut. Slow the onset of anaphylactic shock by delivering a quick injection of epinephrine as a first aid measure. Modern devices make it easy, but it's best to be prepared, so learn the basics now by following our guide.
Louis Daguerre's original process for creating ghostly silver images is
still in practice today. And, minus a few innovations, it's just as
intricate and expensive as it was back in the early 1800's. Here's how to
capture your own silver-plated magical moments.
Did your key break off in the ignition? Maybe the kids flushed your keys down the toilet as a prank? Whatever the trauma, you'll never be stranded again if you learn how to hot-wire your ride. It's risky, and you'll want to keep your registration nearby in case the cops show up, but at least you'll have your wheels back.
Eavesdropping on land-line communications is easier than ever with today's digital listening devices. But phone-tapping tech predates the digital age, so grab your screwdrivers and your electrical tape as we show you how to be an old-school snoop with this tutorial in Wired's How-To Wiki.
The pinewood derby is more than a childhood game, its your son's reputation. Give your little speed racer an extra edge on the track by using physics to turn a piece of pinewood into a turbo blur. With some simple tweaks, you will show those cub scouts how fast a toy car can really go.
Dig a hole to China for the 2008 Olympic summer games? Try a tunnel ... through its great internet firewall. Despite the tight internet security inside the communist country, we found some online sources where you can get the latest summer sports highlights. Now you don't have to set the alarm to 3 a.m. to enjoy your pentathlon or archery events.
The not-so-ancient game of Rochambeau has been deciding restaurants, chores and front seats for years. By mastering the decisive gesture game, Graham Walker has been getting his way for a long time. As the author of :The Official Rock Paper Scissors Strategy Guide", he knows what will get you rocking when they're scissoring.