Supercharged

Latest Episodes:

11: Couch to 4K Jul 18, 2014

Show notes

This week on Supercharged we’re discussing everything you need to know about 4K. We’re also answering your questions about choosing a MacBook Air, managing bandwidth on your home network, and finding a lost Wi-Fi password.

Links for this episode:

FCC extends the deadline for comments on net neutrality until Friday night
Visit dearfcc.org to send your letter right now!
FBI sees self-driving cars as 'lethal weapons' for criminal 'multitasking'
“The argument is that criminals can deter their pursuers without the need to watch the highway.” They also think they could be used as bombs. Seems unlikely.
Amazon testing Netflix-style subscription service for e-books
It’s been around, but you’ve probably never heard of it. Amazon has an upcoming $10-a-month service that provides access to over 600,000 ebooks and audiobooks. You don’t get to keep them, but you have full access so long as you pay the fee. That sounds pretty fantastic, but it’s not available...yet.
Netflix already stopped mailing DVDs on Saturdays, but you probably didn't notice
Did you?
Reference Home Theater
Steve's resource for figuring out where to put your TV and how much TV you actually need.
How to Enable QoS on Your Router
From the Lifehacker Night School series on routers.
Lifehacker Hive Five: Five Best Home Wi-Fi Routers
A good Wi-Fi router is essential for any solid home network. The best ones get great range and can serve all of the computers in your home, offer tons of management features so you can control your network, focus on speedy communication, and others even have advanced features like NAS support, printer sharing, traffic shaping, and more. This week, we're looking at five of the best on the market right now.
Linksys EA2700 App-Enabled N600 Dual-Band Wireless-N Router
ASUS Dual-Band Wireless-N 600 Router (RT-N56U)
ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router
I've got two of these because they're so good (and my house needs more than one because it has a big signal-killing wall).

This week's episode was sponsored by the lovely folks at Codeship

10: Potato Salad = $40,000, Apps = $1 Jul 11, 2014

Show notes

This week on Supercharged we’re talking about the state of the app, and if the struggle to innovate turned more and more software towards the absurd. We’re also answering your questions about headphone types, taking great smartphone photos, and finding a lost Wi-Fi password.

Links for this episode:

Guy Raises $20,000 on Kickstarter to Make Potato Salad
At this point, it's looking like Zack Danger Brown's potato salad Kickstarter campaign has raised nearly $45,000. With 22 days to go, it's a little frightening to think how high that number could get.
Account-stealing bank machine skimmers are now virtually invisible
Just a quick warning! Bank skimmers are smaller and hard to detect. The latest is a tiny piece of plastic that protrudes from the entrance of the ATM but looks like it belongs. If something looks strange, just avoid the ATM altogether.
Google Rolling Out a New Web UI for Google Drive
Google Drive is getting pretty now. It was just a listing of files before, but new interface enhancements provide document previews, a thumbnail grid, desktop-style shortcuts, and a few other minor enhancements. The update started rolling out on Tuesday but will likely take awhile to reach all users.
UK joins the US in banning uncharged devices from flights
Charge your phone, tablet, or whatever before you get on the plane or it’s not going with you. Apparently this is the latest in security theater, and both the US and UK are on board.
Here's why you're going to install the most annoying app in the world
Yo is an app that lets you subscribe to temporary push notifications. Is it annoying and something you will likely install on your phone soon? Yes and yes.
Ten Tips for Making your Smartphone Photos Look Great
There’s a large contingent of photo enthusiasts online who will dismiss a photo straight away if they find out it was taken with a smartphone. The rally cry of “get a real camera” can be heard echoing through the rafters of comment sections for many websites. We think everyone should have a dedicated camera, but a good photo is a good photo, regardless of the gear used to take it. Camera phones have some inherent strengths and weaknesses, and by emphasizing the good and downplaying the bad, you can take silence naysayers before they can get to the enter key. Here are some things to keep in mind when firing up the photo app on your iPhone, Droid, Lumia or whatever.
How to Take Better Pictures with Your Smartphone's Camera
Camera phones have come a long way in the past few years, but they don't always take point-and-shoot quality pictures on the first try (let alone DSLR quality). Here's how to squeeze the best quality photos out of your smartphone's camera.
Lifehacker Night School: The Basics of Photography
Learn about the basic photography from the way your camera works to composing your photos to editing them in post. Here's the complete guide, along with a printable PDF!

This week's episode was sponsored by the folks at Codeship!

9: This Episode Has Been Redacted Jul 03, 2014

Show notes

This week on Supercharged we’re talking about a number of fun security and privacy issues, the OnePlus One smartphone, and the return of the Chumby. We’re also answering your questions about digital bookmarks and speeding up an old MacBook. Alan Henry (Lifehacker) and Jonathan Rudenberg (Tent) join the discussion this week.

Links for this episode:

Massachusetts Supreme Court says it can order you to decrypt your computer
In the past, if you had a encrypted data on your computer and it was seized by the government, you weren’t required to decrypt it. Now, a Massachusetts court has ruled that you are if the data is a “foregone conclusion.” Basically, if the police know what evidence they’re looking for on your machine, the court can make you decrypt it. If it’s just a fishing expedition, however, you may be okay. The best idea? Don’t do illegal things.
PRISM is legal, says panel that bashed NSA phone spying
PRISM, the NSA’s surveillance program, was just deemed legal by the The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. So, there you go.
NSA targets the privacy-conscious
The NSA targets anyone who connects to Tor and logs all of their raw web traffic. Users of web and email proxies are also targeted.
Google forced to 'forget' history of Merrill Lynch CEO's incompetence
Google is now forced to forget your search history, as mandated by the EU, but the first high profile removal shows exactly why this effort will backfire.
Chumby rises from the dead: smart alarm clock relaunches with 1,000 apps
Remember Chumby, the fat little alarm clock with weird apps you could download to it that preceded the iPhone? Well, it disappeared for awhile and is back now. It’s slim, you get 1,000 apps for a few bucks a month, and very few people likely care anymore. But it is a fun toy for tinkerers.
OnePlus One Review: An Unbelievably Fantastic Smartphone
Apparently The OnePlus One Android phone, hyped to the ends of the earth, is just as amazing as the company claims. It brings all the great bits of Cyanogenmod in great—albeit oversized—hardware. At least, that’s the consensus thus far. Only so many people have gotten their hands on it.
Microsoft wearable rumors suggest more fitness tracker, less smartwatch
Microsoft appears to be following the trends and creating a fitness tracker/smartwatch of its own.

This week's episode was sponsored by the good folks at Codeship (use code SUPERCHARGED for 20% off ANY plan).

8: An Accessory for the Tablet in Your Pants Jun 26, 2014

Show notes

This week on Supercharged we’re talking about the new Google this, that, and that other thing. We’re also answering your questions about Chromebooks, the best set top boxes, and moving to a new city.

Links for this episode:

Android L Preview
Google previewed the next version of Android and its new design. Aside from just looks, the upcoming release features a better notification system, user authentication via wearables, a new paradigm for multitasking, and some great battery-saving features both for developers and users.
Chrome OS Will Run Android Apps
An upcoming release of Chrome OS, likely alongside Android L, will run Android apps natively and integrate more closely with your phone.
Google Docs Can Now Edit Microsoft Office Files Natively
Thank you, Google!
Android Wear Smartwatches Available for Preorder
We knew about Google’s wearable operating system for a little while now, but hadn’t yet seen it in full operation. Anyone can now pre-order the LG G and Samsung Galaxy Live smartwatches, featuring the specialized version of Android, which offers a deeper integration with the Android operating system and all-day battery life—supposedly.
Google Fit Helps Developers Create Better Health Tracking Devices
With new APIs, developers will be able to create tools to track your vitals and more. This is already is in play in new Android Wear devices.
Android TV Becomes Google’s New Play for the Living Room
Google TV didn’t exactly work out, since many people found it a little convoluted and expensive. Google decided to simplify and make their new play for the living room an extension of Android. The new television platform can exist as a set top box but will also be built into TVs from a few manufacturers (such as Sony). You’ll be able to watch shows, stream content, and play games. Google even created reference hardware that looks an awful lot like the Amazon Fire TV.
Android Auto Helps You Use Your Smartphone Safely in the Car
While the safest option is simply not using your smartphone at all, Android Auto attempts to integrate common tasks into your car’s dashboard so you can send text messages, get directions, and more while on the road. It doesn’t do much so far, but it has the upside of helping you not die.
iPhone or Android: it's time to choose your religion
Starting this fall, it'll be much harder to switch between Android and iOS.
How to Strip the DRM from Your Kindle Ebooks for Cross-Device Enjoyment and Archiving
You’re not a Jolly Roger flying pirate, you’re just somebody that wants to backup the ebooks they paid for and read them on the devices they want to read them on. Follow along as we show you how to liberate your Kindle books.
How To Use Calibre To Correctly Order Your Ebook Series
Trying to remember, based on the titles alone, what order a series of books goes in can be quite frustrating. Read on as we show you how to annotate and sort your book titles as they’re transferred to your ebook reader for frustration-free reading.
How to Buy Ebooks From Anywhere and Still Read Them All in One Place
Most ebook sellers try to lock you into a particular ecosystem. If you don't mind buying from the same company every time, this isn't too bad, but you lose the ability to comparison shop, as well as making it difficult to switch apps. Fortunately, there's a way around this problem.

Today's episode was sponsored by Codeship! You get 20% off with code SUPERCHARGED, so don't forget it if you sign up. Thanks!

7: Non-Playable Sex Objects Jun 19, 2014

Show notes

This week on Supercharged we’re talking about the Amazon smartphone everyone knew was coming, the demise and rebirth of IkeaHackers, and the role of women in video games. We’re also answering your questions about kitchen organization, the neverending problem of weak Wi-Fi signals, and dealing with a smelly room.

Links for this episode:

Amazon Announces Fire Smartphone
It should come as a surprise to no one that Amazon announced their own smartphone on Wednesday, featuring decent specs and a few cool features. Notably, Firefly offers users the ability direct access to the camera through a button and allows quick scanning of all kinds of information. For example, you can point the camera at a product, movie, phone number, web link, and more to get relevant information or use the text you scanned. Additionally, dynamic view brings 3D effects like Apple's parallax view on steroids, you can interact with the phone in several ways by tilting it, the Mayday feature on Kindle Fire HDX tablets gives you instant support when you need it, and any early buyers get a year of Amazon Prime for free.
Adobe Announces Major New Update to Creative Cloud
Adobe made their mid-year major-ish update to their Creative Cloud platform, bringing a variety of new features to most apps in the suite. The most interesting feature might be the ability to quickly select in-focus objects from a photo and discard or alter the out-of-focus information. But is that enough to pay a monthly fee for Photoshop?
Yelp Now Lets You Message Your Grievances Directly to Businesses
In a wonderfully horrible, or horribly wonderful move, Yelp now allows you to contact businesses directly through their pages to complain or compliment. So now businesses can expect pranks, death threats, and other fun stuff off the troll’s game shelf. Hopefully some people will use it for good, too.
IkeaHackers Shutting Down and Becoming a Non-Ikea Site
IKEA waited eight years to strike, but it finally decided it didn’t want IkeaHackers posting about making its furniture better and selling ads on the content. Ikea’s gripe is that they don’t want their brand associated with random ads, but should the site owner not advertise and operate at their expense, the site can continue to run. Because that’s not financially viable due to its popularity, the site will rebrand and relaunch under another name. In the meantime, Gizmodo has posted a fantastic overview of some of the best hacks created over the last eight years.
Tropes vs. Women: Women as Background Decoration, Part 1
Women haven't received the best treatment in video games, often depicted as sex objects, prizes, or both.
Why Assassin’s Creed Killed Off All Its Women
Ubisoft left out playable female characters in the upcoming game Assassin's Creed Unity, creating an uproar. They claimed they couldn't spare the development hours it would take to add female animations to the game as well. Former Ubisoft animator Jonathan Cooper took to Twitter to argue that, in "[his] educated opinion, I would estimate this to be a day or two's work."
We’re losing all our Strong Female Characters to Trinity Syndrome
Nowadays, strong female characters in entertainment tend to serve two purposes: acknowledge the importance that they're needed and resort back to useless prizes after making an appearance.

This week's episode was sponsored by Codeship! You get 20% off with code SUPERCHARGED, so don't forget it if you sign up.

6: Amazon Clears the Low Bar Again Jun 12, 2014

Show notes

This week on Supercharged we’re talking about building your own Super Mario game, how much physical activity you need every day to live longer, and Amazon’s new Prime Music streaming service. We’re also answering your questions about streaming the World Cup, budgeting as a couple, and learning Mac keyboard shortcuts.

Links for this episode:

Nintendo will let you build your own Super Mario Bros. game
If you’ve ever wanted to make your own Super Mario Bros. course, you can sometime in the indefinite future. Probably sometime in 2015. Nintendo announced Mario Maker for the Wii U and it looks pretty cool. You can build courses in both the retro and new style of the game, but it's apparently pretty tough to master. Whether or not this will actually get anyone to buy a Wii U remains to be seen, but it certainly is nice for those of us who still struggle with the choice of having sunk $300 into the system back when it was released.
Sony Announces Playstation TV
Sony decided to enter the set top box market and charge a bit more than everyone else. For $139, you get a streaming box that lets you stream PS4 games if you have a PS4, PS3 games from the cloud, and play downloadable titles for PSOne, PS Vita, and PSP. (What about PS2??) It’s unclear what streaming services will be available when it launches in Fall 2014, but they seem to be hinting at Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and maybe even HBO Go.
How Much Physical Activity Do You Really Need?
A study from Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes found that those who performed moderate levels of exercise for a total of just 15 minutes per day were 14% less likely to die in the follow-up period than those who were inactive, and had a life expectancy on average three years longer. The study also found that additional exercise brought additional benefits, but with diminishing returns.
Facebook Is Now Sharing Your Browsing History With Advertisers
Facebook is just doing more of what you probably already thought it was doing anyway: sharing your browsing history with advertisers. This will give advertisers more control over those targeted ads. You can opt out of this when it rolls out in a couple of weeks via Facebook, but you can’t opt out via the Do Not Track setting on your browser. One of the major upsides is that you will be able to remove brands from your “ad interests,” via a new drop down menu, if you don’t want to see them. (As an aside, Microsoft promises they’re not going to do anything like this.) If you need help turning it off, Gizmodo has a guide.
Amazon Prime Music
Amazon launched its music streaming service today, adding a catalog of one million songs to any Prime subscriber’s library. Most songs are over six months old, but you can stream them from Android, iOS, and obviously Amazon’s Kindle platform. The notable missing label from Prime Music is Universal. Lots of indie labels signed on, along with Warner and Sony. If there’s a song you’re missing and you really want, you can, of course, just buy it from Amazon.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac Desktop
Flash cards to help you learn shortcuts on the Mac.
Shortcuts for Mac
Mac shortcut reference, but no teaching mechanism.
Lifehacker's Mac Shortcut Tag Page
Lots of articles and videos demonstrating the best shortcuts in OS X.
TunnelBear
A very simple proxy to access content restricted to the UK or the US.
You Need a Budget (YNAB)
A simple budgeting tool that many prefer to Mint.
Lifehacker's Five Best Personal Finance Tools
The hive five roundup of the reader favorites.
Apple Refurbished and Clearance Store
The place to go to get a good deal on a 2013 MacBook Air (among other things).
ASUS VivoBook V400CA-DB31T 14-Inch Touchscreen Ultrabook
Larger, cheaper MacBook Air alternative that's also a bit slower and offers less battery life.
ASUS VivoBook X202E-DH31T 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop
The 11.6" version of Asus' VivoBook, with the same pros and cons as the 14" version.
The Always Up-to-Date Guide to Streaming Blocked Content Overseas
Regardless of which end of whatever pond you're on, region blocked content is annoying. Whether you're an ex-pat looking to watch reruns of The Wonder Years, or you're hankering for a dose of Dr. Who, here's the best (and easiest) way to get that content.
Unblock Us
Stop Facebook and Other Companies from Using Your Web History for Ads
We already knew that Facebook is tracking our every move on the web, just like everyone else is, but now the social network says it's going to use data from the other sites we visit and the apps we use to deliver more relevant ads. If you want to opt out of this enhanced behavioral targeting, there's a form for that.

This week's episode was sponsored by Codeship! You get 20% off with code SUPERCHARGED, so don't forget it if you sign up.

5: Wait for It Jun 05, 2014

Show notes

This week we’re discussing all of Apple’s big announcements, from iOS 8 to OS X Yosemite—plus Amazon’s crazy 3D smartphone. We’re also answering your questions about making a personalized news feed, crafting the perfect home theater PC, and why you should bother jailbreaking your iPhone.

Guests: Bryan Crow (WonderHowTo) and Thorin Klosowski (Lifehacker)

Links for this episode:

Amazon's 3D Smartphone Is Coming June 18
Amazon is definitely making a big push into hardware, and they’ve done a pretty good job with their ereaders, tablets, and now set top box. Naturally, a phone was on the way. But why 3D?
All the New Stuff in iOS 8
Apple announced the latest version of their mobile operating system, iOS 8. It comes with a few handy features like Health/HealthKit for health tracking and home automation control, but the biggest feature is unquestionably Continuity, which makes it seamless to transition between iOS devices and OS X computers.
All the New Stuff in OS X 10.10 "Yosemite"
Apple took the wraps off of OS X at the WorldWide Developer's Conference today, dubbed "Yosemite." It'll feature a new interface with elements of iOS 7's "flat" design and color scheme, new interface, updates to iCloud and Mail, features to sync iOS and OS X devices, and more.
The Swift effect: Apple's new programming language means way more iPhone developers and apps
Along with a very long list of awesome developer tools, Apple also announced a new programming language for iOS and OS X called Swift. It takes the staples of Objective C but offers a much simpler format that’s more in-line with ECMA-based languages like JavaScript and ActionScript. Basically, Swift is a much easier language for modern-day developers to understand and new developers to learn. This means we’ll see plenty of new developers, but is this necessarily a good thing?

This week's episode was sponsored by Codeship! You get 20% off with code SUPERCHARGED, so don't forget it if you sign up.

4: A Notebook for Your Face May 29, 2014

Show notes

This week on Supercharged we're talking about a handful of Apple rumors, Microsoft's new Skype translator, Springpad's demise, and more. We're also answering your questions about renting an apartment, choosing the right web host, and getting a good deal on broadband internet in the US (if that's even possible). Plus tips and downloads, of course!

Links for this episode:

Apple Buys Beats for $3 Billion
Apple, with their (very) poor track record in audio gear, decided to buy Beats for $3 billion. While this likely won't do much to improve the included EarPods you get with your iPhone, Apple looks to gain from their acquisition through Beats' music service. With iTunes trending more towards apps purchases and away from music (in terms of sales), Beats may have a lot to offer to a company that doesn't really need that $3 billion.
iPhone 6 Rumor Roundup
The next iPhone is expected to have a larger screen of 4.7” and perhaps 5.5” in the future. The new design will look more like an iPad Air or mini, with a smooth back and with almost no bezel around the screen. As usual there will be processor and camera updates.
Microsoft's Skype Translator will translate voice calls on the fly
It’s not quite a Babelfish, but Microsoft’s on the verge of finishing an on-the-fly translator for Skype that can translate your speech into another language so the person on the other line can understand you (and vice-versa). Given Microsoft’s work with Cortana, the voice inside Windows Phone, they’ve begun a pretty good track record with this stuff. This could be a major first step in making speech recognition not suck.
Google designs new self-driving vehicles that lose the steering wheel and pedals
Google started with creating self-driving cars that had steering wheels and brakes so passengers could override the computer if need be. Now, Google has created vehicles with those items removed. Now you just sit and hope you get to your destination alive. But according to a select few beta testers, the experience is wonderful and very safe—at least on Google’s pre-tested routes. It’ll be awhile before the project becomes consumer-ready, but will consumers want to take part? Jason certainly does.
Facebook gives up on automatically posting everything you do online
Facebook is trying to cut down on clutter in your news feed so you’ll actually want to read it. To do so, the company has decided you’ll now see fewer posts from automated apps, such as Instagram likes. This seems like a pretty good move. If only they’d stop showing us when someone likes Walgreens, we’d be in really good shape.
Import Springpad Items Into Pocket or Evernote Before It Shuts Down
Springpad, the sort-of Evernote alternative, is shutting down. Fortunately, you can import your stuff into the free tools Pocket and Evernote so your data can live on.
Congratulations To Comcast, Your 2014 Worst Company In America!
If you have a choice, you probably should avoid Comcast for your internet provider.
Dreamhost
Collectively, our favorite web host.
Infographic: How Content Goes Viral
While you can't really control what does and doesn't "go viral," this infographic breaks down the common elements in the content that manages to obtain that status.

This week's episode is sponsored by the nice folks at MailChimp.

3: Data Is the New Mood Ring May 22, 2014

Show notes

This week on Supercharged we're talking about Microsoft's new Surface Pro 3, a porn star who took on web payments and won, and Apple's crackdown on virtual weed farms. We're also answering your questions about gaming laptops, Android in Arabic, and where you should go to college.

Links for this episode:

Microsoft Announces The Surface Pro 3 With A 12? Screen, $799 Starting Price Tag
Microsoft released another Surface tablet that’s designed to take on the laptop. It’s got a 12” screen, up to a Core i7 processor, and a pretty cheap price tag. For $800 you only get a Core i3 processor, however, and you have to pay upwards of $100 for an actual keyboard. Accessories are supposed to be better, including a fancy new pen with a thin tip. Microsoft compared the Surface 3 as a better alternative to the MacBook Air often in their presentation, but it’s highly debatable whether that’s a fair conclusion to draw.
Sex, power, and money: how a porn star took on web payments and won
Eden Alexander, a porn actress, needed to raise money to pay for a medical treatment she couldn’t afford. She used WePay to accept donations, but because those donations were “related to pornography” WePay shut her down. She was able to go to a more open payment processor, but there was an uproar on the internet. WePay eventually apologized and placed the blame on their backend processor. A lot of newer web services operate with backend partners. Should we be concerned about what the backend processor might do? When we look at services, should we consider who else they’re doing business with before signing up?
IFTTT now automates tasks based on your Fitbit activity
You can now hook your FitBit up to the web service IFTTT (If This Then That). For example, you can save your sleep stats to a Google Spreadsheet automatically. Jawbone and Pebble already have support for their wearables, so Fitbit is joining the party a little late.
Google Now Starts Reminding You to Pay Bills Based on Your Email
We can never be sure what Google’s doing with access to our email, but at least they’re trying to help with a new feature from Google Now. Google can tell when you get a bill, and if you’re using Google Now you’ll be reminded to pay it. That’s pretty helpful.
Virtual weed farms and the sticky state of Apple's App Store restrictions
Apple pulls yet another popular app from the app store, this time because it involves growing fake marijuana. How ridiculous is this getting?
Why do some Email Messages have the Letter ‘J’ in them?
You may have received email messages in the past that have the capital letter ‘J’ in them (see above screenshot). The letter mostly appears at the end of a paragraph but sometimes you may also also find this ‘J’ in the middle of a sentence.
You've Started Self-Tracking. Now What?
According to figures published recently by Pew Internet Research, only 46% of people who track some aspect of their health say that it has changed their overall approach to maintaining their health. This is a startlingly low number. If less than half of self-trackers are able to find any actionable benefits, what on earth are the rest self-tracking for?
Make Your Own Hide-a-Key With an Old Medicine Bottle
If you want a hide-a-key option for your house, and you want something that will blend in well with your yard, weblog Factory Direct Craft has a simple solution. All you need is an old prescription pill bottle.
Lux Lite
The original custom auto brightness solution for Android.
Loggr - Graph Your Life
Here is a chance to actually log and track your life. It's simple and quick to do and it actually becomes a bit addictive. You’ll start to really enjoy watching how you progress through things and it helps you stay motivated to meet your own goals. So what can you track and log with this app? Just about anything.
ShutterCount
ShutterCount displays the number of shutter actuations (the shutter count) of your Canon EOS digital camera - click “...More” for the complete list of supported cameras. The shutter count is read directly from a USB-connected camera, and thus provides accurate numbers that are not attainable with simple EXIF-based methods.

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