tools

RAM sticks, known for their chip creep and random failures, are among the more annoying pieces of hardware to pinpoint as the source of a technical issue. Before you start digging around in the tower, it's best to start with a quick and free memory check via Windows. This way, you'll know whether or not it's worth swapping around sticks of RAM to see which one is the dud.

Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Open the Start Menu and type in mdsched.exe, then press enter.

Step 2. A pop-up will appear on your … Read more

LAS VEGAS--We've seen pistol-shaped screwdrivers before, but Black & Decker's Gyro takes the cake for cool weapon-style tools.

Shown off at CES 2013, Gyro looks like a ray gun and has a cutting-edge feature: it's billed as the world's first motion-activated screwdriver with variable speed and direction.

You grip it like a gun, then push a strip with the base of your thumb to activate the motor and an LED guide light. The more you rotate your wrist to the right, the faster it will turn clockwise. … Read more

Facebook began rolling out new tools this evening that it touts as helping users better manage who can see what on the social network.

Note that Facebook is not changing what settings users can pick, except for the option to block profile searches within the social network. The network has already begun phasing out this feature and soon it will be removed from everyone's profiles.

Facebook says these new changes are designed to give users more flexibility with their privacy.

"We believe that the better you understand who can see the things you share, the better your experience … Read more

The level of sophistication in both professional as well as in home kitchens keeps increasing at a seemingly exponential rate. Part of this acceleration is perhaps due to increased specialization and availability of kitchen gadgets and accessories. Certainly interest in new recipes and procedures seems to be at an all-time high. No matter what one can dream up, equipment as well as online instructions are never very far away. And of course, that goes for booze, too.

The craft cocktail movement of recent years has brought with it the need for specialized tools -- or at least constantly accessible familiar … Read more

An apparent security glitch in Google's software for webmasters has resulted in former contractors for big Web sites being granted access to those sites once again.

The glitch, as reported by The Next Web, has opened up sites like eBay to at least the potential for mischief. Once granted access to Webmaster Tools, an unscrupulous former employee could remove a site's home page from the search engine, eliminate sitemaps, and revoke other users' access to the tools.

So far, there haven't been any reports that former employees have made any mischief as a result of the glitch.… Read more

In Windows 7, power users could display administrative tools on the Start menu. Now that Windows 8 has done away with the Start menu, you might be wondering where they went. If you happen to know the name of the tool you want to use, you can just search for it from the Start screen. If, however, you prefer to see them as tiles, here's how to get them onto your Start screen:

1. Hit the Win+I shortcut to bring up the Settings charm, then select Tiles.

2. Move the slider under "Show administrative tools" to … Read more

Ah, the sweet smell of ingenuity. When Amsterdam designer Jody Kocken discovered she was allergic to wearing perfume, she didn't just resign herself to a world without White Diamonds and Someday by Justin Bieber. Kocken rolled up her sleeves and created Perfume Tools.

Perfume Tools are metal bracelets, earrings, and necklaces designed to sit over the opening of a perfume bottle. The jewelry soaks up the smell of the perfume, without ever requiring you to slather it behind your ears. Nestle a bracelet or necklace next to your skin and the heat of your body releases the aroma.… Read more

MorphVOX Junior is a free voice changer software app for Windows. Although it's designed for online games, you can use it for any purpose that requires voice changing and it works well with most VoIP and IM clients. MorphVOX Junior installs easily, and a relatively clean interface makes it easy to work with. There is a paid version of MorphVOX Junior that adds a lot more capability and better quality, but the free version will be fine for casual users.

Whether you want to change the timbre of your voice, make yourself sound like the opposite sex, or simply … Read more

Google launched a new tool today that allows Webmasters to eliminate links to their site that they believe might be hurting its search rankings.

Announced at the Pubcon conference in Las Vegas today, the "disavow links" tool is designed to help sites that have already been warned by Google of manual spam actions based on "unnatural links." The tool is recommended as a last-resort solution to link spam -- disreputable or irrelevant links that may hurt a site's search engine results ranking.

"By removing the bad links directly, you're helping to prevent Google (… Read more