tutorial

Test drive the Galaxy S4 with Samsung's online simulator

Samsung has been good about providing online simulators for its smartphones, like the Galaxy Nexus and the Note. With the release of its new flagship phone, the Galaxy S4, it has updated the simulator's interface to make the tutorials easier to navigate and much easier to read. The simulator is great if you want to get an idea of what the phone is like or if you want to learn more about it, either for yourself, or for someone that you're helping.

You can get to the Galaxy S4 simulator by pointing your Web browser to http://www.samsungmobileusa.com/simulators/GalaxyS4.… Read more

Snapguide lets you share your expertise with the world

We all have an expertise or passion we love sharing and teaching others about. The Internet has made it extremely easy to teach people all over the world, be it through YouTube or a personal blog. But, an elaborate video setup can get expensive, and managing a blog can be time-consuming. The next time you want to create a guide, grab your iPhone and give Snapguide a try. You'll be surprised how easy it is to create and publish a guide, using only your iPhone.

Snapguide has an iPhone app, as well as a Web site. The iPhone appRead more

Tech giants back effort to revolutionize teaching

Sal Khan teaches math, science, and history to millions of students, but none has ever seen his face.

Khan is the voice and brains behind the Khan Academy--a free online tutoring site that was born out of a young cousin's struggles with algebra in 1994. His classroom has grown from a few hundred pupils to more than 4 million a month.

Khan, 35, believes he can transform education worldwide, and his approach is now being tested in American schools. Along the way, the former hedge fund analyst has won the support of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and Microsoft co-founder … Read more

Leaked video tutorials show purported Droid 3

The much-rumored Motorola Droid 3 appears to be close to making its debut.

The successor to the Droid and Droid 2 has widely been expected to be unveiled this month, but now we may be getting our first look at the new device in operation thanks to three brief but official-looking video tutorials for the phone that appear to have been leaked onto YouTube. There doesn't seem to be anything groundbreaking revealed: the videos describe an HDMI port and an 8-megapixel camera. The videos, which appear to have been posed by the German blog PhonePads, also demonstrate how to … Read more

Your video introduction to the top Web services

Imagine someone who is brand-spanking new to the Internet. Setting them loose in a browser with no guidance would be like directing a horse and buggy onto an L.A. freeway at rush hour. You could look over their shoulder as they discover the joys and pitfalls of the top Web sites, or you could simply send them a link to the free Internet-training videos at Grovo.

The company has created dozens of short videos covering just about every activity a person is likely to do on the Web. The videos last from less than a minute to more than … Read more

Learning the Switch to Mac: Guided tips to Apple computers

With more than half of new Mac purchases going to those new to Apple, one app developer has taken the challenge of teaching the novices. Available now in the Mac App Store, Learning the Switch to Mac from "It's About Time Products" is a comprehensive overview of basic (and a few more-advanced) functions on the Mac.

Learning the Switch to Mac offers guided courses in performing many of the simple tasks that escape users coming over to Mac from the PC environment. You can learn how to utilize your Address Book, including printing labels; take advantage of … Read more

Breaking in your iPad

When you bring home your first iPad and open up the box, everything is so pristine and pretty--so Apple. Eventually, as you warm up to the device, you're going to want to make it a little less "factory fresh" and a little more you.

Loading up your own media, photos, and apps is a good start, but there are also a handful of quick things you can do to really put your unique stamp on the iPad.

Whether it's slapping on your own home screen wallpaper or new ways to organize bookmarks in Safari, I've … Read more

Upgrading your electrical power

So you want to upgrade your current car stereo to a phat sound machine with specialty or aftermarket parts? Beyond your personal tastes and desires for items like a head unit, speakers, and woofers, you should probably be aware that you'll need to upgrade your battery and alternator; most production vehicles' electrical systems are not designed to run high-power aftermarket audio equipment. In fact, most vehicles' electrical power range lies between 600 and 1,200 watts--not much for a big, loud, fancy car stereo.

Once you've decided what exact pieces you want to install as your car stereo … Read more

Improve your tech skills with Lynda.com's iPhone app

In this tough job market, selling yourself takes more than a bachelor's degree. Journalists are expected to know some HTML and even basic video-editing skills. Administrative assistants need to be Microsoft Office experts. And, if you're building an online property, you better have a lot of technical skills.

Taking classes at a community college is the obvious solution, but there's also Lynda.com, the online training resource for all of the above skills. At $25 a month, Lynda.com provides 748 courses for subjects like Photoshop, Microsoft Office, CSS, Google Apps, and Flash. The website even covers … Read more

Nonsensical quiz maker

In theory, Advanced eLearning Builder allows users to create quizzes, tutorials, and other electronic learning tools. In practice, the program is a confusing jumble of features that left us unable to create even a single page of a quiz.

The program's interface is both unattractive and unintuitive. Users can select from a variety of templates, including those for multiple choice, true/false, and fill in the blank exercises. Although they're not pretty, the templates seem like a nice idea, until you realize that it's seemingly impossible to edit the templates and actually insert your content. We tried … Read more