Idea of the Day - A new idea each day. Some Don't Suck!

Our Latest Posts About: Tech

How Great Speaker Systems SHOULD Work

Wednesday, February 8, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Great speaker systems should have sound sensors to automatically calibrate them for your room.

You just spent over $500 on a new home theater system, but somehow it doesn't quite sound the way it should. It's not your fault. You followed all the instructions... You took it out of the box, ran a few wires, plugged in the speakers, then turned it on. What more can you do?

The real problem is that the manufacturers failed to compensate for the unique characteristics of YOUR room. Every room is different. Large rooms sound different from smaller ones. Rooms with hard floors sound different from carpeted ones, and every single item in your room, including the furniture and even your windows, doors and curtains have an impact on the sound you'll hear.

Not only that, but your... [More]

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Why are File Searches So SLOW?

Saturday, January 28, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why does it take so long to find a file... even when you know the name?

I'm a database guy, so it drives me crazy when it takes as much as 5 or 10 minutes to search for a file name on my computers. That's because most computers these days can have as many as a million or more files, and there is no real database storing all the filenames.

Because there's no built-in, always on database of filename, whenever you search for a file, the operating system needs to literally scan through each and every directory to find the file you're looking for. That's pretty crazy, considering how much larger today's hard drives are getting.

By contrast, if filenames were stored in a REAL database like SQL Server, you would be able to find any filename in a fraction of a second, even if the... [More]

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Internet Cookies... Explained

Wednesday, January 11, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

What's an Internet Cookie?

As a tech guy, people often ask me about deleting their "Cookies" because they really don't know what they are, and they often think they're harmful.

The simple answer is cookies are harmless text files placed on your computer by a website. They don't contain any programs, so they can't harm you computer. Most of the time, they only store a bunch of random looking numbers that the web site uses to know you were there.

Here's how it works.

As soon as you visit a web site for the first time, the web site asks your browser software if it has a cookie from a previous visit. If not, it generates a unique number and stores it in a Cookie file that your browser saves on your computer. It also keeps track of the number it saved in a database in... [More]

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This One Goes To Eleven?

Thursday, December 29, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Do you know how loud your TV is?

That should be an easy question, but it's not. When you use your remote to change the volume to 11, is that the same as another brand's 11? Probably not. In fact, some TV's only go to 10, while others have no number at all. Isn't that strange?

The trouble is, there is no standard for volume controls. Some brands use numbers, some don't. Some have a range of 1-10, some go to around 50, while others go to 100. Shouldn't there be a standard?

I think there should be two standards:

1. They should all use numbers, so you can adjust the volume to a specific number.

2. Numbers should reflect the relative volume produced based on the actual sound produced, so that when you compare brands, you'll know that a volume of 11 from Brand X is th... [More]

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A Quick Way to Hide Text

Saturday, December 3, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Here's a quick and easy way to hide text without using encryption.

The best way to hide something you've written is to use some kind of encryption password, but some programs don't have a way to do it.

Once you've finished writing your text, look for an option to select all the text, then go to the font menu and select a font that contains symbols instead of letters, such as "WingDings", "Dingbats" or "Symbols". That's all there is to it. Your text is no longer readable.

Next time you load the file, the text will remain hidden until to reverse the steps by selecting all the text again, then selecting a regular font.

While this isn't as secure as a real encryption password, it at least gives you a way to hide text in programs that don't have an encryption option.

... [More]

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Tech Tip. How to Use Apple's Photo Search

Friday, October 21, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

One of the coolest features of Apple's Photos App is the ability to search your Photo Library.

As Photo Libraries get larger and larger, it becomes harder and harder to find specific photos when you're looking for them. It's like finding a needle in a haystack. Thankfully, there's a search option built into Apple's Photos App, but most people have no idea how powerful it is.

All you need to do is tap the search icon to open the search box, then simply type in what you're looking for. Believe it or not, it can find just about anything, and it doesn't matter if you've taken the time to create filenames, albums, or even tag keywords. Most of the time, you can find what you're looking for by using some of the built-in search categories.

Some of the search options are pretty... [More]

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Switch From Front to Back Camera on the Same Clip

Friday, June 10, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

You can swap between the front and back camera when you use FaceTime, but they don't have an option to swap cameras while shooting video.

Wouldn't it be great to have an option to switch back and forth between the front and back camera while shooting video on the iPhone? This would be perfect for people who want to shoot a regular video, then switch back to a selfie and wave to the camera.

This biggest hurdle is the fact that the front camera still isn't 1080p HD, which means that until they eventually upgrade the front camera to full HD, the output file will likely end up being 720p. Of course, that also means that you won't be able to use some of the other more advanced back camera features like ultra slow motion, and 4K video.

UPDATE: Although you still can't do this

... [More]

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.