Tutorials

• Control your TV with your smartphone, tablet

  Using your smartphone or tablet to control your Tivo box is easy and offers a lot of flexibility in recording shows and channel surfing.

• Digitize your music

  In my lifetime, music has been delivered on vinyl, cassettes, eight-track tapes, CDs, and audio DVDs. How do I listen to it now? Usually with a PC or a smartphone, and occasionally with an MP3 or other media player. I downloaded much of that music or ripped it from CDs, but the rest of it came from LPs and cassettes.

• iPhone 4 newbies: 10 essential tips and tricks

  You soon-to-be Verizon iPhone 4 customers can learn from the experiences of others. Take it from iPhone old-timers, you're about to enter a magical world of awesome apps running on the most simplistic, addictive device on the planet.

• Keeping track of your iPhone data usage

  When users had unlimited data there was no reason to be concerned with how or where that data was being consumed. Since AT&T dropped unlimited data in favor of tiered data caps, though, users have struggled to understand data usage, and now AT&T is faced with a law suit accusing it of systematically overcharging customers.

• Smartphone security: Keep your handset safe

  Once upon a time, a phone was just a phone: It simply made and received calls. The only security you worried about was if someone had picked up in the other room to listen in.

• Overclock your smartphone, if you dare

  WARNING: Overclocking is not for the faint of heart. Do not attempt to hack your phone unless you understand and accept the risks of turning it into a useless "brick."

• BlackBerry 6: Wipe Your Smartphone, Restore Factory Settings

  Many reasons exist for why you might want or need to "security wipe" a BlackBerry, or completely erase all personal data stored on your handheld: You got a new smartphone and plan to retire the older device; you're trading in your existing BlackBerry for a new one from your wireless carrier; you and a friend are swapping devices; you loaded too many applications or media and just want to start over from scratch; etc.

• Viral video: A DIY guide

  Now that YouTube officially supports 15-minute videos, Andy Warhol's dictum that we'd all be famous for 15 minutes has proven more than a little prescient. Viral video is nothing to scoff at. There's more than just page-view bragging rights at stake--there's real money to be made. (Get popular enough, and YouTube will cut you in on ad revenue.)

• How to restore an iPhone

  QUESTION I've bought a number of apps for my Apple iPhone via iTunes and the App Store. To avoid draining the battery by downloading apps directly to the handset, I'd like to connect my iPhone to my Windows XP PC using USB and transfer them over. However, when I connect the phone its icon doesn't appear on the desktop (although it does charge up). I've tried updating iTunes, restarting the PC and using a different USB port, all to no avail.

• Copy Kindle notes and bookmarks to your PC

  If you're a Kindle owner, you've probably discovered the device's enviable ability to bookmark pages, highlight passages, and add notes (a.k.a. annotations).

• Android: A Gamer's Guide

  The Android OS: It's on your phone (and maybe even your tablet PC), and it lets you run thousands and thousands of apps -- including games. But which phones are ideal for gaming? What kind of specs do you need to play the latest and greatest? Can you use a hardware keyboard? Read on if you're looking for answers (and good games).

• 6 ways to type faster in Android

  Smartphones are meant to make our lives easier--or at least more connected to people we want to communicate with--so why does typing on them sometimes seem on a par with performing root canal surgery?

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  How to: convert your vinyl to digital

  A reader asked about re-recording his phonograph collection in digital form

• The proper care of your HDTV, phone, camera

  You have to take care of your stuff--all of it. Like your car and your house, your electronic gadgets big and small need to stay clean and protected from accidents.

• Add amazing new features to your phone and camera

  Your tech gear can do more than you think it can. Perhaps a device manufacturer has a particular user experience in mind. Or maybe you think you need a brand-new camera to get advanced shooting features. Don't worry--with a bit of time and care, you can get a lot mileage out of the goods you own.