“Articles” collection
Access a diverse collection of expert-led technology reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and insightful commentary on the intersection of modern tech and family life. This hub serves as the primary source for hands-on evaluations and practical advice designed to help you navigate the digital world with confidence.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →February 8, 2013
Can You Have a Love Affair with a Gadget?
"I'm in love with the iPad Mini" I proclaimed proudly to my wife. I didn't expect the response (well, I did in a way). "You cannot be in love with a gadget." That was that. End of discussion. I had been hoping to start a conversation about why I like the iPad Mini so much or why it is better…
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February 5, 2013
How To Change Your iOS Device’s Root & Mobile User Password After Jailbreak and OpenSSH Install
As many of you may know, the latest untethered jailbreak tool for iOS called Envisi0n was released to the general public yesterday (2/4/13). As a consequence, the Cydia installer which manages all of the repositories for 3rd party app that you can install on your jailbroken iOS device was pretty much hammered. Things are coming back to normal now (but…
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January 31, 2013
Tired of Coordinating Arrival Times or Notifying If You’ll Be Early or Late? Use Twist! App Walkthrough & CEO Interview
As a parent in a busy family of 5 with 3 kid schedules to coordinate, activities galore and timing managed literally down to the minute, I have often felt a bit overwhelmed trying to let everyone know when I would arrive for a pickup or where I was en route to a variety of destinations. You can't text while you…
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January 30, 2013
Passionate about Volvo? The 2013 XC60 and S60 Won’t Let You Down!
My family seems to be quite passionate about the Volvo's that I test drive. My wife always asks as to when we might get another one and my kids really had a great time when we went "top down" in the 2012 Volvo C70 convertible. And, a few months ago, I spent some time behind the wheels of both the…
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January 28, 2013
Apple Posts iOS 6.1 Release – Here’s What’s New & How to Update!
After releasing iOS 6.1 beta 5 to developers this past weekend, Apple released iOS 6.1 to the public today (Monday Jan 28, 2013). Updates can be obtained directly via your iOS update or via iTunes. You can also download the .ipsw directly from Apple. Details on these processes are below. So what is new in this iOS release? Honestly, there…
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January 28, 2013
How To Back Up Your WordPress Blog The Hard and Easy Way (DIY vs. blogVault)
If you are a blogger, probably one of the worst things that can happen to you apart from writer's block is having your blog crash or the server that it is on get corrupted in some way. Technology is imperfect and Murphy's Law always manages to find us one way or another. If suddenly all of your writing and your…
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January 27, 2013
Are You Ready For Some Football and the Next Episode of the Cast of Dads Podcast?
I simply love this time of year, that of the football playoffs and the biggest game of the year, the Super Bowl! While I don' t have that much time to really follow sports, I have spent the past 35 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and consequently am a San Francisco 49ers fan (and SF Giants as well…
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January 23, 2013
Holy Crap, I’m 45 Today! And Toasting with a Glass of Water
I have no qualms about telling my age. In fact, most of the time I can't remember how old I actually am. I have to plug in my birthdate into some sort of age calculator. Is that a sign of old age? Today I turn...uh...wait, right! 45. I'm five years over the hump. 40 is the hump right? Or is…
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January 11, 2013
How To Disable Java in Chrome, Firefox, Safari & Internet Explorer on Mac OS or Windows to Prevent 0-Day Exploit
If you have been reading any of the Technical publications online, you will probably know that there is currently an exploit in Java that affects most internet browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer on systems that have Java installed. This is being called a zero-day or 0-day exploit which essentially means that there is a security vulnerability in…
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January 10, 2013
A New Respect for Plumbers, Learning from Trade Professionals and The Zen of Snaking Out a Sewage Line
I have a bit of a "crappy" story to tell. Literally. And it doesn't have to do with technology, it involves sewage. I believe that the house that I own has plumbing possessed by Mother Nature. Ever since we have owned our home, there is an annual tradition (sometimes more than once a year) where we have to call out…
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January 9, 2013
iOS Apps & Backups are Hogging Up Your Hard Drive – How To Easily Free Up Disk Space
I don't know about you but I am always looking for ways to clear up my laptop's precious free hard drive space. I have tools that clean caches, temporary files, language files, logs and files in my trash. But I never seem to get ahead of the game. I probably never will but a periodic cleaning is always an important…
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January 7, 2013
Jumping Into January – What I’m Missing & What I’m Not and Why It’s Relevant
Who would have believed what a busy month January 2013 would be. As is customary for me, I can barely see the end of my nose, the end of the day or the end of an article. How the heck can I look through a month and plan ahead? Honestly, I wish that I had actually planned ahead a bit…
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