How to Use Your Phone to Detect Hidden Surveillance Cameras at Home | Dramel Notes

If you have reason to be suspicious of a partner or employer, or they have reason (good or bad) to be suspicious of you, and you fear they might be filming you with a hidden surveillance camera, what can you do about it, other than use some futuristic, James Bond-style camera detection device?

Well, you could use a modern day, smartphone-style camera detection device.

You Are Being Watched

Someone is watching you. This is pretty much irrefutable in the post-Snowden era. But digital surveillance of emails and telephone records is a little less hair-raising than someone actually observing your movements via a hidden surveillance camera.

It’s unlikely that you have never been filmed out in public, either on CCTV or in the distance on a TV news report, and as a society we’ve become more accepting of closed circuit cameras, security cameras, and so on (rightly or wrongly).

But what about closer to home? What about in the office, development room, bathrooms and dressing rooms, or any number of places where you wouldn’t normally expect to find a camera watching your every move?

Without being made aware of such surveillance in advance, you could find yourself being recorded, your movements and actions tracked, judged, no doubt misinterpreted. This intrusion might be performed using professionally manufactured security cameras, or custom built ones, perhaps using a webcam with an old PC, or a Raspberry Pi.

It might even be an old smartphone or tablet, re-purposed for hidden observation.

What can you do about this?

Smartphones Can Detect Hidden Surveillance Cameras!

While it might seem like something straight out of a James Bond movie, it is possible to use your smartphone to detect hidden cameras, as well as other 007 devices. In general, two common methods are used to achieve this.

The first is by using the smartphone hardware to detect electromagnetic fields. With the installation of a single app, you can move your phone around the area you suspect a camera to be hidden, and if a strong field is detected, you can be sure there is a camera secreted within the wall or object.

Another way that smartphones can be used is by detecting light reflecting from a lens. While this method isn’t quite as reliable, it is still worth having such an app, if only to find small objects dropped on a carpet!

Using Android or iOS to Find a Hidden Camera

You’ll find apps for both major smartphone platforms available in the respective app stores. For iPhone, the $4.99 Hidden Camera Detector is the best option, while Android users should spend some time looking at Hidden Camera Detector. You can also check out Glint Finder for visible lens detection.

Remember that other options are available. If you have access to an infrared camera, for instance, this should detect a hidden camera, while low-cost devices using wireless networking may well appear in the list of nearby Wi-Fi devices in your home.

If you’re particularly concerned, you might also consider a $130 piece of RF detection hardware, capable of reading the signals broadcast by traditional wireless cameras, as demonstrated here:

Use Android to Find a Hidden Surveillance Camera

Hidden Camera Detector for Android is a well-regarded app, and is free to download and install. With the app running on your device, finding the hidden camera should be straightforward, thanks to the radiation detection. This algorithm is constructed to reduce noise from other electromagnetic radiation, such as from cellphone towers, non-camera hardware, and even the Earth itself.

Ready to use when you load the app, the detector software will display a red glow when the smartphone is in the proximity of a camera. However, it will also glow when near other types of hardware, so keep an eye on the number displayed in the middle of the screen, as this will exceed 100 when a camera is detected.

For added camera detection magic, Hidden Camera Detector also features an IR mode (limited to portrait orientation) with which you can find cameras that have so far eluded you. This is done by pointing the smartphone at an area where a camera might be hidden and looking for a bright white disc. The disc indicates the presence of a hidden camera.

What to Do When You Find a Hidden Camera

It’s all very well knowing that a hidden surveillance camera is watching you, supposedly without your knowledge. But what should you do about it? Well, you could always take it to a higher authority, but in the meantime, you might wish to take action.

Note, however, that the problem with this is as soon as you do this, you may well alert the observer to your realization.

However, if you’re determined to be seen, you should employ things like masking tape or adhesive putty to cover the lens, or conduct affairs beyond the camera’s viewing angle. For cameras possibly hidden high up, in lightbulbs or smoke detectors, staying out of sight can be difficult.

Do you suspect unauthorized surveillance of your movements? Have you been filmed without your knowledge? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Image credits: alice-photo via Shutterstock.com

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How to Pair Your Smartphone to Your Amazon Echo | Dramel Notes

The Amazon Echo is a more than capable speaker with room-filling sound; as such it only makes sense to pair your smartphone, tablet, or other Bluetooth-enabled device to it in order to super charge your smartphone’s sound system.

Why Do I Want To Do This?

Although the Echo does a fantastic job with Amazon’s native Prime Music service as well as the available additional services such as Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn, there are some popular services currently left out in the cold like Spotify, and so on.

Even though the Echo can’t natively play all the services out there that doesn’t mean you can’t use the Echo for playback. Thanks to Bluetooth integration you can pair the Echo with your mobile device just like you would pair it with a plain old Bluetooth speaker.

Once paired it operates exactly like a regular Bluetooth speaker with, of course, the addition of the handy voice commands for volume adjustment, starting and stopping playback, and so on.

It is worth noting there is one feature missing from the Echo that is commonly found on larger table-top style Bluetooth speakers: there’s no mechanism for using it is a speakerphone and if you make or receive calls with your smartphone while paired with the Echo the calls will not be transferred over to the speaker. Likewise text messages can’t be read to the Echo nor will on-device notifications be passed to the Echo.

Pairing Your Device Via Voice Commands

The biggest draw of the Amazon Echo is the voice control so it’s only natural that you can initiate the pairing process with your voice. Before you proceed make sure you have the device you wish to pair on hand and that you know where the Bluetooth settings menu is for your device. We’ll be pairing an iPhone with the Echo so if you have an iPhone or iPad you can follow directly along, otherwise adjust them to fit your device.

To start the pairing process make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your mobile device and then issue the following command:

Alexa, pair.

Alexa will respond by telling you that she is ready to pair and that you should go look at the Bluetooth settings on your device. On the iPhone you’ll find the settings in Settings -> Bluetooth. There you’ll see an entry for the Echo like so:

Select the entry to complete the pairing process.

Pairing Your Device Via The Alexa App

In addition to initiating the pairing process via voice command you can also open up the Amazon Alexa application on your smartphone and initiate the pairing process.

Tap on the menu icon in the upper left corner of the application and then, from the slide out menu, select “Settings”. Select the entry for your Amazon Echo.

Within the settings menu for the Echo select, as seen above, the Bluetooth entry.

Here you can select “Pairing Mode” to begin the pairing process or, if you need to remove devices from the Echo then select “Clear” to wipe the Bluetooth pairing roster.

Once you’ve selected “Pairing Mode” you will need to confirm the pairing, like in the previous section of the tutorial, in the Bluetooth settings menu of your device.

Using And Reconnecting Your Paired Device

After you’ve paired your device you can immediately being using the Echo as a Bluetooth speaker for any streaming service, podcast, etc. on your mobile device. When you leave the area your device and the Echo will disconnect. When you return to the speaker in the future it will recall your pairing and you may reconnect your device with the command:

Alexa, connect.

The command always reconnects the Echo with the most recently paired device; if your Echo is not pairing with the device you’re currently using you may need to repair it with your Echo to resolve any connectivity issues.

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Have a pressing question about your Echo? Shoot us an email at ask@howtogeek.com and we’ll do our best to answer it.

 

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How to Improve Battery Life on Android 6.0 Marshmallow | Dramel Notes

Smartphone battery life can be difficult to gauge. There are limitless variables affecting it, and while Android has some built-in battery management features, you can still improve your battery life with a few tricks.

For instance, Android 6.0 Marshmallow features Doze mode, which puts your device into a state of reduced battery use after an hour. But some users have found this a little inadequate — after all, why should we wait for an hour for Doze to kick in?

As a result, the developer of Greenify has introduced a tool in the beta version of the app that forces Doze to start as soon as your phone goes into standby. Let’s take a look at how to set this up.

Get Greenify Beta Program Access

To get started with this, ensure that your rooted Android device is running Marshmallow (that’s Android version 6.x) and if your phone isn’t rooted, that you have a USB data cable and PC close to hand.

You should then join the Greenify Beta Program. It doesn’t matter if you have the app installed or not at this stage — just head to this URL and click BECOME A TESTER.

If you already have Greenify installed, wait a few hours for an update; otherwise, head to the Greenify page on Google Play to install. Again, you might need to wait a while for the Beta update to be made available to you.

If you end up waiting several days (not unheard of), you might try downloading it from APK Mirror and manually installing (with Unknown Sources enabled).

Enable Aggressive Doze Mode

With the beta version of Greenify now installed, all you need to do is launch the app and open the menu to switch to the Experimental features… view, and check the box for Aggressive Doze (6.0+).

Once this is enabled, Doze mode will put your battery into a very low-use state whenever your phone is laid flat with the screen off. This has the potential to seriously reduce your battery use, so if you have a rooted Android 6.0 device, this is a great feature to activate with Greenify.

Of course, Greenify has various other power saving features, which we previously looked at in more detail.

Not Rooted? How to Enable Aggressive Doze

Perhaps root isn’t available yet for your recently upgraded Android Marshmallow device. Worry not — you can use the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to send a command to your phone to enable Greenify’s Aggressive Doze mode. To begin, make sure you have all of the correct USB drivers for your phone installed on your computer, and that you have ADB installed.

If the idea of using ADB fills you with fear, or you’ve previously dabbled with it and found that it either doesn’t install or doesn’t work, it’s worth taking a look at Justin Dennis’ guide to ADB-Helper, which makes everything about ADB a whole lot simpler.

With your phone connected, and ADB debugging enabled (Settings > Developer Options > USB Debugging), run ADB, and in the command prompt, enter:

adb devices

A string of letters and numbers should appear — your phone is detected! You can now proceed with the command to enable Greenify’s Aggressive Doze function on your unrooted phone:

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.DUMP

You can now disconnect your phone, open Greenify, and enable Aggressive Doze, just as if you were using a rooted device.

Other Ways to Improve Battery Life

Improving battery life has become a sort of Holy Grail for smartphone owners, particular those of us with Android devices. Fortunately, various other options are available to us to help extend battery performance.

For instance, people are more aware of wakelocks, and the art of charging your smartphone battery to 70-80% instead of a full charge for longterm battery health is becoming more widely appreciated. Tweaks can also be made to Android 6.0 for improved battery performance.

Android’s power saving mode (or third party tools), using black lockscreens and backgrounds on devices with AMOLED displays, disabling vibration and many other tips are outlined in Guy McDowell’s collection of 9 tips to extend your Android’s battery life.

Does Greenify’s Aggressive Doze work for you? Do you have other methods of saving battery life on Marshmallow? Tell us in the comments.

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How to Switch to a Sony Xperia Using Xperia Transfer | Dramel Notes

The end is nigh for your old smartphone. Your upgrade came, and it’s a Sony Xperia, perhaps one of last year’s models, or even the 2015 Sony Xperia Z5.

You’re bracing yourself for the time intensive and often frustrating task of copying your data and contacts from your old smartphone (Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone) to your new one. And then you discover Xperia Transfer, and all is right with the world once more.

Which Method Should You Use?

Sony provides two Android apps designed to manage your migration from your old phone to a new Sony Xperia — one mobile and one desktop. The former is Xperia Transfer Mobile, which works wirelessly; the latter is Xperia Transfer Desktop, which sends the data via a client app on a PC or Mac.

But which method should you use? Well, in simple terms, if you’re using Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or later, then using the Xperia Transfer Mobile app will be fine.

However, for those wanting to transfer data from an old Android device (below Android 4.0), a Nokia (running Symbian), a BlackBerry, a Windows Phone, or an iPhone, then your best bet is to use the desktop method, outlined below.

First, we’ll look at the mobile app.

The Mobile Method

To get started, check your Sony Xperia for the Xperia Transfer Mobile app, which should be listed in the App Drawer. If not, open the Play Store and install it. When you’ve done that, install it on your old Android as well.

Next, launch the app on both devices. Select Wireless connection, and choose PIN or NFC (near field communication) to establish a relationship. Using a PIN is quicker (NFC naturally requires you to activate this feature, which for security reasons should be left disabled), so choose this on your old phone, then again on your new phone.

Xperia Transfer Mobile will then display a PIN on the new phone that you must enter on the old one. You will then see a notification informing you of an Invitation to Connect — click Accept on the new phone.

It’s almost time to start transferring data. All you need to do first is confirm what exactly you want to migrate, using the check boxes.

Once you tap Transfer, the new phone will confirm that you want to give Xperia Transfer Mobile permission to access and move the selected data. The app will then transfer the data, and as long as you have enough space on your new phone, you’ll soon have everything moved over.

The Desktop Method

Migrating from an old Android device (running a version prior to Android 4.0), one with problematic wireless networking, or one that runs BlackBerry, iOS, or Windows Phone/Mobile is just as simple, but it requires you to first install a desktop client. You’ll find this on the Sony Mobile website; choose the link for PC Companion or Mac Bridge. We’ll continue with this guide focusing on PC Companion (a 29MB download), but the options on both apps are more or less identical.

After installation, connect your Xperia via USB cable to prompt for the drivers to be installed; check your phone’s display to complete installation. The desktop app is multi-purpose and also provides any information you need concerning updates, so it is worth leaving it installed (assuming it doesn’t interfere with your other apps).

With the software installed, the PC Companion feature opens, so click Start and work through the setup wizard until you click Finish. Once this is done, find Xperia Transfer on the main app window, click Start, and wait as the component is installed.

Prepare Your Old Phone

While this is happening, on your old phone, which should be disconnected from your PC, install the Xperia Transfer Desktop application. When this is done, run the app (which installs as) and follow the wizard to extract your data.

On your computer, you will be presented with a menu, where you can select your data source. Each selection you make will display the type of data that can be transferred on the right. When you’re happy with your selection, once again click Start.

You’ll be given the chance to review the data that will be transferred, including the opportunity to add or drop contacts, or manually merge them if you have duplicates.

If you’re using the Xperia Transfer Desktop app on your old Android device, now is the time to connect it via USB. Make sure you have the USB connection type set to MTP — you should be able to change this in your notifications once it’s connected.

For transferring via iPad or iPhone, first make a backup either to iCloud or to your desktop using iTunes. You can then proceed with Xperia Transfer Desktop to migrate the data to your new Xperia device. If you’re moving from Blackberry, the Sony transfer software will take everything across to your new Xperia.

Windows Phone or Windows Mobile users should choose the final option in the list above, after first ensuring their contacts are synced via Outlook or Windows. Content will need to be manually transferred, or else you’ll need to sync to OneDrive and use the Android OneDrive app.

Transfer Your Data

When the data is ready to be transferred to your Xperia, and you have connected the device, simply click Transfer to complete the process.

Sit back as the data moves from the old device to the new one, relatively effortlessly.

What Do You Think?

This is a great way to keep hold of your contacts and those much-loved photos, although don’t overlook cloud solutions when it comes to digital keepsakes you don’t want to lose! Keeping everything backed up this time around could mean an even easier switch next time.

Do you have a Sony Xperia phone or tablet? Have you used the Xperia Transfer software, or perhaps run into trouble with it? Tell us in the comments.

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Geek Trivia: Google Images Was Inspired By Millions Of People Searching For Photos Of? | Dramel Notes

Answer: Jennifer Lopez’s Dress

Google Images, like its parent service Google, has been with us so long it’s hard to imagine a time when you couldn’t just hop over to it and search for everything from new wallpaper for your smartphone to images from current events around the world.

Once upon a time, however, Google was but a fledgling search engine without a robust image search feature. Back then when you searched for an image of something, you’d just get regular text links to web sites that had the image you described much like you’d get results based on search keywords. That all changed when millions of Internet users started slamming the service with a query that would best be answered with the image itself and not necessarily by directing the user, via text links, to the hosting website.

What caused such a flurry of searching that Google took note? The dress that singer Jennifer Lopez wore to the February 2000 Grammy Awards. The very revealing green Versace dress led to millions of inquiries as curious people searched for images of Lopez wearing it the day after the awards ceremony. Google engineers noticed the huge volume of searches related to the dress (which was, at that time, the most popular search query they’d had to date) and realized a dedicated image search tool would better serve their customers when it came to such queries. Thus, Google Images was born.

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What is a “Smart Washer”, and Do I Need One? | Dramel Notes

Just like many of the other Internet of Things appliances that have been slowly trickling into our homes over the past several years, smart washers are a new class of device that can hook up to your smartphone or tablet via an app, and transmit vital data about their daily operation to you in realtime.

But how do they work, and do you really need to drop all that extra coin for just a few added features?

What is a “Smart” Washer?

First off, it helps to know what distinguishes a regular digital clothes washer/dryer combo from a “smart” washer.

While many of the latest washers you’ll find at your local Sears or Best Buy will have full-color touchscreens that you can use to acutely customize your laundry cycle, only a select few also contain the option to hook themselves up to your home’s WiFi network for additional capability. By linking either with the Nest thermostat or their own proprietary iOS and Android apps, smart washers can do everything from alerting you when a load is finished and needs to be transferred over, to using “smart tumble” features which will keep your clothes wrinkle-and-mildew free until you get back home.

One of the biggest problems that most people have with doing laundry from their home is that for the most part; they can’t leave until it’s totally done. If you leave a set of wet clothing in a washer more than an hour past when the cycle completes, you run the risk of your clothes starting to take on a mildew musk, which sort of defeats the purpose of washing them in the first place. Similarly, if you leave your clothes in the dryer too long after it’s done, everything inside will wrinkle, leaving you with another half of a day ironing out every last garment until the process is finally done.

Smart washers are able to notify you via an app as soon as the load is done, and at your command, will lightly tumble the clothes every couple of minutes to be sure they have enough air flowing through until you have the opportunity to intervene. The same bonuses can be applied to the dry cycle as well, lightly moving the clothes around indefinitely until the dryer detects you’ve come back home via your link to the local WiFi.

Last, if your smart washer is one of the few that fall under the “Works With Nest” moniker, the two can actually talk to each other without your intervention needed at all. The thermostat, which tracks whether or not you’re in the home automatically, will tell the washer whether or not anyone is around to move things over. If not, the air-tumble cycles will be automatically initiated, giving you as much time as you need to run to the store, drop the kids off at soccer practice, and still make it back in time to avoid any laundry from stinking up the joint or putting your iron to work.

Do You Need One?

Not really. Sure, if you’re someone who finds yourself doing laundry while also running errands on a Sunday, then having the knowledge of when each load is done and needs to be moved over can be the difference between a fresh-smelling set of sheets and a mildewy pile of clothes that needs to be run through twice.

But you could just set a reminder on your phone, or even ask Siri to do it for you. Just tell Siri “Remind me to change the wash in 45 minutes”. You’ve just saved a ton of money over buying a smart washer.

According to the manufacturers, the adoption of smart washers hasn’t been nearly as rapid as they may have hoped. According to a statement from appliance giant Whirlpool, the company has been struggling to convince consumers of the value that smart washers have over traditional setups.

One of the biggest problems is that smart washers can often be multitudes more expensive than their standard counterparts, with most topping over $1,500 just for the individual washer or dryer. Not only that, but the company’s own “WashSquad” app – which just debuted at last year’s CES, has already been pulled from the app store due to a lack of user interest and a number of reported issues getting it to connect properly in the first place.

Comparatively, you should only expect to pay about $1,000 for a solid machine with almost all of the same features – just a lack of WiFi connectivity. Why a chip or two costs an extra $500 at the least is still up for debate, but many believe it’s the companies themselves simply trying to upsell a product that looks like it’s a luxury, when it could just end up being another gimmick that’s hooked itself onto the Internet of Things train in the hopes that the consumer wouldn’t notice.

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So then, it seems at least in the case of smart washers, the level of convenience you get out of them is not exactly worth the initial cost of entry. Sure, it’s a neat idea to have a pair of appliances that text you whenever you need to pay attention to them, but the price difference is enough to scare off all but the most IoT obsessed among us.

Image Credits: Whirlpool 1, 2, Samsung

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How to Control Your Philips Hue Lights with the Hue Dimmer Switch | Dramel Notes

The Philips Hue lighting system is really awesome and easy to control entirely from your smartphone but people love physical switches. The new Hue Dimmer Switch is the perfect way to add a wall switch into your Hue lighting system. Let’s take a look at how it works now.

Why Do I Want To Do This?

Smart lights are great (and we’re huge fans of our Philips Hue system) but there is something to be said, a big something, for having a physical switch to control your light system. When you just want to turn the lights on when exiting and entering a room nothing beats a physical switch on the wall to do so.

Initially Philips addressed this need with the Hue Tap switch. To say the switch was poorly received would be an understatement. The mechanical buttons were very difficult to press (the design of the switch actually relied on the mechanical movement of the switches to generate energy to operate) and it was loud in a mechanical-keyboard-kind-of-way.

The worst thing about the Tap was that the interface was totally unintuitive (the buttons were labeled with dots instead of standard icons or lettering) which really defeated one of the big benefits of having a physical switch: ease of use for people in your home who weren’t familiar with smart lighting and/or didn’t have the companion smartphone app. The only thing the Tap really had going for it was multiple light/scene selection from a single physical interface.

Fortunately Philips went back to the drawing board and created the Hue Dimmer Switch which fixed oversights in their previous design. It’s battery operated (so no annoying hard-to-press buttons). The buttons are clearly labeled On and Off with obvious brighten/dim icon-labeled buttons in between. It’s a traditional switch shape with a wall-mount plate. It’s easily removable via magnetic mount. Really the Dimmer Switch is the switch they should have released in the first place.

Further, and this is a really neat feature, you can use the Dimmer Switch independently of the Hue control hub. While most users will have the whole Hue setup with a hub and bulbs (and it certainly most economical to buy your bulbs in such a fashion) it does offer a way for people to dip their toes in the smartbulb market before making the larger investment for a full starter kit.

The best feature, as far as we’re concerned though, is the price. The Tap switch still retails for nearly $60 but you can pick up the Hue Dimmer Switch for a very reasonable $25 and a dimmer kit (for that aforementioned stand-alone functionality) that includes one bulb for only $35.

Having sung the praises of the new design and highlighted how useful it is to have a physical switch for your smart light system, let’s take a look at how to set it up.

Unpacking and Installing the Dimmer Switch

Physical installation is a breeze thanks to the included magnetic plate and the adhesive backing. After unpacking the switch and peeling all the shrink wrap off (go ahead and leave the little pull tab for the battery in the switch for now as pulling it out automatically powers up the switch and starts the process) your biggest task is deciding where you want to mount the wall switch.

You can mount the switch one of two ways. The first is the no-tool method: just peel the paper off the adhesive strips on the back of the switch and press it on the wall where you want it mounted. That’s the method we used when we added the switch to the master bedroom, as seen in the photo above.

The second mounting method requires screws and drywall anchors (or appropriate anchors for the medium on which you’re mounting it). If you flip the plate over there are mounting holes and little tabs you can push in with a small screwdriver to separate the backing from the front of the plate. Then you can mount the back plate in a more traditional fashion with screws. Honestly that degree of mounting is probably unnecessary unless members of your household are very rough on things and you’re sure the adhesive won’t stand up to their antics.

Remember, while you’re putting the mount plate in a permanent position (more or less) by adhering it to the wall or screwing it down, the switch itself is actually more like a remote control and you can remove it from its magnetic mount in order to take it to the nightstand or temporarily relocate it.

Linking the Dimmer Switch to Your Hue System

If you’ve added items into your Hue system before the whole process of adding in the Hue Dimmer Switch should feel like second nature.

To add it in open up the Hue application on your smart phone and tap on the menu icon in the upper left corner.  Select “Settings”.

Within the Settings menu select “My Devices”.

Select “Connect new devices” from the menu. You’ll be prompted to select, with handy visual aides, which device you want to add: the Hue Tap Switch or the Hue Dimmer Switch. You know what to do: select Hue Dimmer Switch.

Next you’ll be prompted to pull the battery tab out of the Dimmer Switch and confirm that the orange light is blinking. If it is blinking, click “Orange Blinking” at the bottom of the screen. If it isn’t; poke the little tiny setup button on the back with a paperclip to restart the setup process.

Once the switch is detected you’ll be asked if want Option 1 or Option 2. Option 1 is for a brand new setup where the switch has never been used with or linked to lights. Option 2 is for configuring a switch that has already been used with Hue lights in the past (or that came in the starter pack with its own bulbs).

The Hue app will search for the lights and pair the Dimmer Switch to them.

Once you see the switch appear in your list of devices, the last step is to link what scene or set of bulbs you wish to control to the switch. Do so by selecting the name of your dimmer switch.

The switch has four buttons: on, off, brighten, and dim. Whether you pick a scene or handpick individual bulbs to include in the roster, the buttons will only toggle the scene/set on and off or brighten and dim it. Since you can’t change the scenes here we’d suggest you pick the most frequently used scene. In our case we selected the “Full Bright” scene for the master bedroom so that the Hue bulbs would match the brightness of our standard overhead fixture (controlled by the regular wall switch right next to the new Hue Dimmer Switch). This way if you hit both switches you get light that is the same brightness/warmth.

At this point you’re done with the configuration (but you can return to the menu above at any time to change things around if you find you want a new scene or set of lights to be linked with the physical switch).

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Have a pressing question about your smart lighting system or smart home gear in general? Shoot us an email at ask@howtogeek.com and we’ll do our best to answer it.

 

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13 Tips to Quickly Improve Your Photos | Dramel Notes

It doesn’t matter whether you’re shooting with the latest and greatest DSLR or a three year old smartphone, what results is still a photograph. Good photos and bad photos aren’t determined by cameras but by photographers.

The difference between a bad photo and a good photo — or a good photo and a great photo — can be very slim. Subtle changes may be all that’s required to close the gap. With that in mind, here are 13 tips that will quickly improve your photos.

Post-Process Your Images

The single biggest thing you can do to improve the quality of your images is post-process them. You can use Photoshop, Lightroom, or any other app you like. There’s no need to make dramatic changes; simply adjusting the exposure, contrast, and color tone is enough to take an okay image and make it special.

The problem is that film photography had a look. Each individual film stock had certain characteristics and no two were the same. This is what Instagram filters try to replicate. Some films were contrasty while others emphasised green tones. Straight out of camera, film images have basically been edited.

Digital images, however, are designed to be neutral representations of the scene. Straight out of camera they are flat and lifeless; they have no character. Post processing them brings them to the same point that a film image is at.

Shoot Raw

You should always shoot RAW image files if you can — no matter what Bryan says. RAW files save a lot more data than JPGs so you have a lot more flexibility to edit your images after you shoot. This means that you’ve more chance of nailing the shot and creating a great image.

The only time you shouldn’t is when your camera doesn’t support it.

Instagram Doesn’t Count as Editing

Most of Instagram’s filters are great but they’ve become much too recognizable. Slapping an Instagram filter on top of your image might make it look kind of cool but it won’t make it a better photo. If you want to edit using a mobile app, try VSCO Cam instead.

Go Easy on the “X”

It doesn’t matter whether “X” is contrast, HDR, a vignette, or color toning, go easy with it.

Plenty of great images are ruined by photographers being too heavy handed while they edit. Unless there is a strong artistic reason to push an image hard in one direction it’s best to be subtle. As a rule of thumb, dial every effect you add to an image back from 100% to 70%.

Avoid Clichéd Photos

Selective color images—where one thing is a bright color and the rest of the picture is in black and white—aren’t cool, kids. They’re just one of many kinds of clichéd photos. This video from DigitalRevTV provides a great overview of 25 photo clichés. I don’t agree with all of them but for the most part they’re spot on. Avoid clichés like the plague.

Don’t Use a Massive Watermark

Nothing ruins a good image faster than an obnoxious watermark.

A small subtle logo in one corner is fine but your name in bold across the centre of the image not only stops people from stealing it, it stops people from looking at it. If you’re going to put your images online, you need to accept the risk that some people may share them or pass them off as their own.

Use the Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a simple compositional rule that leads to stronger photos.

According to the rule of thirds, you should divide your image into both horizontal and vertical thirds. The intersection points of the thirds is where you should place your subject for the strongest image.

While it’s not true in all situations, for most things it’s a quick and easy way to guarantee a strong composition.

Watch the Edges of Your Frame

Real life doesn’t have borders but photos do. It’s easy to forget this when you’re photographing.

The border of an image is a compositional element. If something is placed too close to the edge it creates tension in the image. This can be a good thing or a bad thing.

In general, if someone is looking or moving in one direction, they should be placed on the opposite edge of the frame so they appear to have some photo to move into.

Don’t Chop Limbs Off

Similar to the point above, watch where the edges intersect with your subject.

You should avoid cropping a portrait so that it chops half way through a persons limbs; it looks strange. The best places to crop a portrait are at the subject’s neck, arm pits, waist, just above the knee, or not at all. Be careful that things like hands aren’t accidentally cut off even if you crop at one of those points.

Avoid Compression Effects

While humans have depth perception, cameras don’t. What we see as a 3D scene they render as a 2D image. This means that some things that appear to have no relation in real life have a relationship created by the compression to two dimensions. The classic example is a subject standing in front of a tree or lamppost. While you see the scene normally when you’re shooting, in the final image the tree appears to grow out of the model’s head!

To create stronger images look at what your subject is standing in front of and think how it will be translated to two dimensions. If you thing it might not look good, change up the shot.

There’s No Such Thing as Bad Light

There’s no such thing as bad light, but certain kinds of light suits some subjects better.

Harsh midday light is one of the hardest to use effectively. If you plan on shooting a glamorous portrait in it you’re going to have a very difficult time. It’s far easier to shoot portraits when the sun is lower in the sky.

On the other hand, if you want to shoot some high contrast cityscapes, the midday sun may be exactly what you want. Don’t try and force photographs in less than ideal circumstances, instead use the strengths of what you have to work with.

Shoot Portraits in the Shade or With Window Light

If you’re shooting portraits without artificial lights, the two most flattering places to do it are in the shade outdoors on an overcast day or inside by the light of a window. Both situations create wonderfully flat light that is easy to work with.

Don’t Use Flash

When you’re shooting in low light it can be tempting to use the pop up flash on your camera. Don’t do it!

Unless you have something like a bounce card to make it a softer light source, it won’t lead to good photos. It’s far better to increase your ISO or tighten your aperture.

What Tips Do You Have?

That’s 13 tips that I’ve found are quick ways to improve your photos. Learning each and every one of these has made every image I’ve taken since better.

This, however, is hardly a complete list! If you’ve any great tips to quickly improve the quality of your photos, please let me know in the comments.

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Help Feed Hungry Children With This Easy-to-Use Mobile App | Dramel Notes

Did you know that smartphone users outnumber hungry children by 20-to-1? That makes one wonder: if there was something that all smartphone users could do to help feed the hungry children of the world, wouldn’t that be great?

As it turns out, there is in the form of an app called ShareTheMeal. This app allows users to tap a button on their screen and donate as little as $0.50 to help feed a single child for a day. And it’s run by the United Nations, so you know you can trust that your donation won’t be snatched by a scammer.

To use the app, download it from Google Play or the App Store. From there, you can choose to connect it with Facebook (entirely optional) or you can just click Done on the top of the screen.

In the middle of the screen, you’ll see a button labeled Share The Meal. Click that and you’ll be taken to a screen where you can choose how much you want to donate and enter your payment info (PayPal is a valid option).

Presumably, the UN does this to avoid a portion of the donations going to Apple or Google through in-app purchases, thus allowing more money to actually go towards feeding the kids in need.

Outside of actually making donations, you’ll also find info on how many meals have been provided with the app, the goal, and some info about the organization and what they do. It’s all super easy to use, and it’ll make you feel good to know you did something nice around the holidays, even if a single $0.50 donation is all you can afford.

Are you going to donate through this app, or do you have any other awesome charities to recommend? Share in the comments!

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How to Enable Wi-Fi Calling on an Android Phone | Dramel Notes

Wi-Fi calling allows your smartphone to place and receive phone calls, as well as send and receive SMS messages over Wi-Fi instead of the cellular network. Your phone will seamlessly hand off to the cellular network when you move out of Wi-FI range.

Android phones have supported this for longer than the iPhone has, but often just with customized Android devices purchased from the cellular carrier itself. There are also other Wi-Fi calling solutions you can use, including Google Hangouts, Google Voice, and Skype.

Enable Android’s Wi-Fi Calling Support

This feature is now integrated into the latest versions of Android in a more standard way. One day, you’ll hopefully be able to get any Android phone and enable Wi-Fi calling on any cellular carrier’s network if that carrier supports it, just as you can with iPhones.

If Wi-Fi calling is an option, you should find it in a standard place. Open the Settings app on your Android phone and tap the “More” or “More Settings” button under Wireless & network.

You’ll see a “Wi-Fi Calling” option here — activate it to enable the feature. If you don’t want to use Wi-FI calling, you can disable it from here, too.

This option won’t appear unless you’re using a phone with Wi-Fi calling support and are connected to a cellular network that works with it. But this is a quick way to check if you can currently use Wi-Fi calling. This option should hopefully become more standardized and widely available in the future.

As this is Android, it’s possible that your cellular carrier’s customizations — or the manufacturer’s customizations — have put a “Wi-Fi calling” option in a different place in the interface. You may need to search for the name of your smartphone, “Wi-FI calling”, and possibly the name of your cellular carrier.

 

Use an App Instead

Don’t see the “Wi-Fi calling” option there? Your cellular carrier may not offer this feature, or it may not work with your specific device. But there are other solutions you can use it you want to call and text from Wi-Fi.

Google’s Hangouts Dialer app will allow you to place phone calls from a Wi-Fi network. Most calls to the US and Canada are free, so this is an easy way to  place calls to the US and Canada from a Wi-Fi network. If you don’t have a Google Voice account, the recipient will see one of Google’s seemingly random phone numbers appear on their caller ID.

If you’re in the US, you might want to sign up for Google Voice. This will give you a dedicated phone number, and you can receive and place phone calls and participate in SMS conversations over Wi-Fi using it. Unlike some competitors, this is completely free — as long as you’re communicating with someone in the US or Canada.

Other solutions include Microsoft’s Skype app. It can be used for traditional phone calls and SMS messages all over the world, although that will cost you some money. It’s not free in the USA, as Google Voice is.

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Of course, for communication, other apps that let you place audio calls and send text messages without relying on traditional phone numbers can also work. For example, you could have audio and text conversations with Google Hangouts, Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and others. These all natively work over Wi-Fi or a cellular data connection, so you can use them even when you don’t have a cellular signal. The above solutions are only really necessary if you want to send and receive phone calls and text messages from phone numbers.

Image Credit: Karlis Dambrans on Flickr

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