10 Tech Hacks Any Self-Respecting Geek Should Know

Published on March 2, 2017

Think you have mastered every tech hack on the internet today?

That’s very unlikely, for even the most effective life hacks are not printed on a stone.

They are born from an undiluted combination of experience and innovative minds.

Luckily, for you, we’ve gathered the very best tech hacks that will give you a proven shortcut, while minimizing some annoyance you experience on a daily basis on the web, or with your computer.

1. Use your phone to check whether your remote control is working

Not sure whether your remote control is working? You can use your phone’s camera to check whether it need fresh batteries in these 3 simple steps:

1. Launch your smartphone’s camera app.

2. Switch to the self-facing (selfie) camera

3. Point the remote at the camera and press any button on the remote.

You should see a flicker of light from the remote pointer (IR blaster). If you don’t see the flicker, you should probably change the batteries.

If you don’t see the light flicker even after changing the batteries, you should consider buying another remote.

2. No internet, no problem. Play a game

When your internet connection is interrupted, and Google Chrome displays the “No internet connection” page, pressing the spacebar will start a T-Rex game.

At least this should keep you busy until you get online again.

3. Download any YouTube video directly without use of a downloader software

YouTube doesn’t have a download button, which makes downloading of videos extremely hard unless you have a third party software such as WinX YouTube downloader.

However, there are some tech hacks you can apply to download videos directly from the site.

Simply add “ss” before the URL of the video you want to download.

For example, https://www.ssyoutube.com/watch?v=M_m5aDMAb2c&t=6262s

4. Convert YouTube video to Gif

Want to convert a YouTube video to Gif, simply add “gif” before “Youtube.com”

For example, https://www.gifyoutube.com/watch?v=DBzli4xSviA

You’ll be directed to a page where you can set the start and end time, as well as add any video effects.

5. Cheap tech hacks to prevent your laptop from overheating

Irritated by your laptop’s overheating problem?

Place two identical forks underneath it.

You can also cool it down fast by placing it on top of an egg carton

6. Display phone notifications on your computer

Tired of switching between devices every time, use pushbullet.com.

This service connects all your devices, making them feel like one, so you can read all your texts, WhatsApp messages, and even see phone calls on your computer.

PushBullet also lets you receive and send texts from your computer.

7. Charge you phone faster by putting it on Airplane mode

Want your phone to charge faster?

Put it in airplane mode.

Airplane mode turns off all radio frequencies on your phone allowing the battery to charge faster in that disengaged state.

8. Use Midomi to get a song title

If you can’t remember the title of a song, and you know the lyrics, you can use Midomi to get the title.

Just launch the app, click the search icon, sing or hum the song for at least 10 seconds and Midomi will get the title for you.

9. Get a quick notepad in your browser

Want to quickly jot down some notes and you don’t have a pen? Do it in your browser.

Type “data:text/html,” in your browsers address bar.

It will open a temporary notepad that you can use to put down some notes. Check also the 11 hidden Chrome features you probably didn’t know about.

10. Use Project Naptha to translate text in images

You have seen a funny meme but you can’t decipher the meaning, Project Naptha can help you with that.

This browser based extension uses computer vision algorithm to select, copy, erase, modify, and translate text in images.

You can even use it to erase and edit text in your own words.

Conclusion

Tech hacks have become so engrained in our digital lives that there are sites specifically designed to share these hacks.

No one can resist the power of a life-simplifying secret, especially one that has to do with the gadgets we use on daily basis.

So love them or hate them, tech hacks are here to stay, and they get better each and every day.

We hope the above hacks will make your tech life a whole lot easier.

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