Automatically Adjust the Media Volume for Headphone Use on Android Devices
Javier writes in with the following tip to save you from blasting your ears whenever you switch to headphones:
Nice find Javier; we’re big fans of simple applications that solve nagging problems. This one looks like it nails the speaker/headphone differential problem. Thanks for writing in!
Use Your Computers SD Card Slot for Windows ReadyBoost
Tony writes in with the following tip about getting more mileage out of an under-utilized SD card slot:
The SD slot on a laptop practically begs for this. For readers unfamiliar with ReadyBoost but interested in giving their laptops a boost make sure to check out our previous guide to Boosting Your Netbook Speed with an SD Card & ReadyBoost.
Securely Charge Your Phone While Travelling
Bill, a frequently traveler, writes in with his tips for keeping your smartphone charged and secure:
Great tips Bill, we especially like the wall-charger idea. We’re way more comfortable with a single battery left plugged in and not the whole smartphone.
I always have a small wall charger that accepts the battery for the phone. This way I can plug in the primary or secondary battery into the wall without having to leave the phone tethered to the outlet. Nobody is going to steal a non-descript battery plugged into an out of the way outlet at the airport… where as they would definitely steal a nice smart phone.
I also keep a power-only USB cord with me. Maybe I’m paranoid but I don’t like plugging my phone into those USB charging stations that are popping up around airports. Sure the port is probably just a power port with no data connection… but I’m sure we’ll here about machines that push malicious software to the smartphones attached to them at some point in the future. By using a power-only cable (the cable only has the wires for power, not for data), I never have to worry about that.
Have a tip to share? Shoot us an email at tips@howtogeek.com and you just might see your tip on the front page.
