Usman Younas

Writer
/u:s'mɑːn/ n. 1- An engineer by profession, a techie by heart. 2- Writer for Spider Magazine, AddictiveTips, How-To Geek. 3- A hobbyist photographer and crazy about tech!

Schedule Text Messages, Emails, Tweets & Facebook Posts On Android With Schemes

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Productivity is all about management and scheduling. And if you’re doing everything on a timely basis, why not have the ability to communicate with friends and family on a planned time? That’s what Schemes aims to address. In short, it is a very simple yet handy Android app that lets you schedule four types of outgoing communications: SMS, emails, Tweets, and Facebook statuses. The best thing is that all of this is done without any unnecessarily complicated steps. By the way, did you know that the name of this app is actually an acronym? Read on to find out what it means! Read More

Set A Photo Sphere As Panoramic Live Wallpaper On Any Android Device

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Live Wallpapers are one of the perks of owning an Android device, and mind you, they’re not just animated wallpapers; they can make use of many other elements as well, including your phone’s gyroscope and accelerometer, and have several interactive elements that make them dynamic. In the past, we've covered our huge lists of the most beautiful Live Wallpapers as well as some of the most amazingly functional Live Wallpapers that fully showcase the capability of this feature. Would you like to have a wallpaper that reacts when you pick up your phone or when you scroll through the various home screens? How about creating a Photo Sphere, and setting it as your wallpaper? If this has managed to get you interested by now, keep reading, because this app is one cleverly executed idea. The app is called Photosphere Live Wallpaper, and is available for free on Google Play. Although Photo Sphere is a feature specific to Android 4.2 and above, the app can be used on any device running Android 2.2+, so go ahead and grab it for your device. You might be wondering "but if I cannot create photo spheres from my phone, what's the point of using this app?". Keep reading, for there's a workaround! Once installed, run the app, and it will display a helpful intro menu that guides you on what to do. Read More

AVG TuneUp: Easy Task, Battery, Storage & Data Management In One Android App

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Ever since I switched from the iPhone to an Android Phone (Galaxy Nexus), there have been several changes in my smartphone usage habits, the most important ones being managing storage, ensuring that I don’t run too many apps at once (gets me confused, and slows down the phone), close apps every once in a while, and most importantly, save battery. There's no dispute that the Galaxy Nexus isn't as good as the iPhone when it comes to battery life , but I somehow manage to keep it alive till the end of the day. There are some key settings that determine the battery life of your smartphone, and case of Android, these settings are quite scattered. In addition, there are also other maintenance tools like tasks, data use and installed apps management that are scattered across Android Settings.  A common user doesn't really know if changing such settings can affect their device performance. Fortunately though, the user doesn't need to be worried much, since there are apps for this purpose. Unlike many such complex-looking apps (some of which we have covered earlier), AVG TuneUp is really user-friendly, not requiring the user to be tech-savvy to understand and interact with it. Read More

Manage Windows 8 Clipboard & Copy Items Between Desktop & Modern Apps

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Ctrl+C, Alt+Tab, Ctrl+V, homework done! We've gone through this process many times, but for most of us, it has always been a daunting task to do it over and over again - switching from one window to the other and back, while keeping our fingers in a state of distress. Few of us know exactly how it works. When you copy something (a piece of text, for instance), it gets stored in a space known as the clipboard. Once you copy something else, whatever you copied earlier is replaced with the new clip. You don’t usually get to see the clipboard, but with an appropriate clipboard manager, you can do that and so much more. After the jump, let’s see how you can get these extra clipboard management functions in Windows 8 and RT. Read More

How To Clear Cache In Windows 8 [Guide]

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One of the things that help in speeding up your computer is clearing the cache. Although it isn’t everything it takes to get some speed, it still does wonders in some cases. Especially in Windows 8, where you have two different environments: the desktop and the Modern UI. You have to know how to clear the cache for both of them, and in what follows, we’re going to show you various tips for doing just that. Read More

The Best Way To Resize Images In Windows 8 And RT

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As a blogger, I have to work with screenshots, and one of the real pains (besides taking screenshots) is to resize them. There are many things to be kept in mind, like the maximum width, maximum image size, and so on. Resizing images one by one takes up a lot of time, so I planned to devise a solution for this: using batch image resizers. And since I’m using Windows 8, there’s a Modern UI app for that. And I thought, why not share this tip with our readers? So here you go, two of my favorite image resizing options for Windows 8 users. Read More

How To Play MKV Files In Windows Media Player In Windows 8

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If you're like me, you'll probably have several MKV videos in your computer. If yes, you might have to use another video player for playing such files. The Windows' default Windows Media Player is pretty impressive though, but sadly it doesn’t support playing MKV files yet. Microsoft has added support for many commonly used formats like MP4, but not MKV. Fortunately, such a problem is solved by using codecs. You may use other media players like VLC, for playing MKV files. You can even find some MKV players on the store. But if you think differently, and want to play them using Windows Media Player, you need to install a codec. Without it, WMP won't play this file type. Fortunately, the codec is now available, so let’s install it and enjoy playing MKV files in Windows Media Player. Read More

Sync Google Calendar With Windows 8 Calendar App

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Most of us these days use a calendar to organize the tasks in our life. If you also use a calendar, you might need it with you most of the time. The one I use is Google Calendar. Since I'm on Windows 8, and there's a pretty awesome calendar app pre-installed, I would want my Google Calendar events to appear in my Windows 8 Calendar app (and I know you want to do the same!). Let's see how it's done. Read More

How To Disable AutoPlay & AutoRun In Windows 8

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AutoPlay has always been a nuisance for Windows users, and it is also a part of the latest version of Windows. No doubt, most viruses spread using USB flash drives (or even CD/DVDs). The virus is executed when you open the drive directly (using AutoPlay, or by double clicking the drive). And sadly, such viruses can penetrate Windows 8 as well. Yes, Windows 8 has AutoPlay turned on by default. Fortunately, you can turn it off quite easily, and we will show you how to do just that. Read More

How To Improve Audio Output & Experience In Windows 8

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One of the things most people do after upgrading to Windows 8 is to check whether their devices are in working condition. In most cases, some drivers might be required. While some devices (like Audio) apparently start working without drivers, some might require drivers to be installed before they’re functional. But did you know that Audio is one of the things that require proper drivers in order to perform efficiently? Would you like to know how you can enhance the audio output on your Windows 8 computer? In what follows, we’re going to show you how you can make sure it delivers the best audio experience! Read More

Give Your Windows 8 Desktop A Makeover With Rainmeter & RocketDock

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I've always wanted to customize my Windows 7 desktop using Rainmeter to add some interesting look and feel to it, and RocketDock to get rid of the taskbar. But it has never been possible to totally neglect the taskbar, only due to the start menu, which held so many applications in place. In short, I gave up on the idea of customizing my desktop. But since Windows 8 has replaced the Start menu with the Start Screen, I can continue with the customization, and you too can learn how it's done! Read More

How To Bring Back Aero Effects In Windows 8

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When I updated from Windows XP to Windows 7 (don't ask why I skipped Vista), one particular aspect caught my eye: Aero. It's essentially a bundle of eye-candy and somewhat productivity enhancing elements like Aero glass, Aero snap, Aero shake, Aero peek, and Flip 3D. Over the period of 3 years, I've gotten used to them. Then came Windows 8, and it took away Aero effects. Some of those effects still exist, and the rest can be enabled. So let's see where to find them. Read More