Clean your electric range with a razor blade and cloth – CNET

Alina Bradford

You probably bought your flat-top range because it’s really easy to clean and, as long as you immediately wipe up any spill, it is. If you tend to clean up only after you’re finished cooking, spilled food can leave black crusty spots on the burners. These crusty spots can take forever to scrub away with regular kitchen cleaning tools. For a faster clean-up you need to wander down the painting supply section of your local hardware or home improvement store and pick up a scraper knife.

A scraper knife is a retractable razor blade with a handle that is typically used for scraping dried paint from windows. It works just as well for scraping dried crust off ceramic glass stove tops.

The key is to hold the blade at an angle while scraping to avoid scratching the range. Hold the blade so that the outside of your hand (the pinkie finger side) is hovering just above the range. Set the blade on the range and push it away from you, pushing downward only slightly. The blade will skim the burnt-on food right off. Wipe the blade with a cloth every now and then to make scraping easier.

What to do with a broken iPhone 6S/6S Plus screen – CNET

Whoops.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal/CNET

The iPhone 6S is made of metal and glass — mostly glass. So it’s probably only a matter of time before you drop it on the concrete and end up with a shattered screen (unless you happen to be rocking an ultra-protective Ballistic case, or something).

Assuming you don’t have month-to-month phone insurance, what do you do now? Here are your options.

Get it replaced by Apple

Getting your screen replaced by Apple is easy and surprisingly cheap — possibly even free, depending on the type of damage and whether you’re still under warranty.

Apple charges $129 (plus tax) to fix a broken iPhone 6S screen and $149 (plus tax) to fix a broken iPhone 6S Plus screen. You’ll pay $109 for a broken iPhone 6 screen and $129 for a broken iPhone 6S screen. If you can’t get to an Apple store, you can mail your device in to Apple for a shipping fee of $6.95.

If you purchased AppleCare+ ($99 for two years) for your device, you’ll only have to pay $99 for a screen repair for both the 6S and the 6S Plus. The 6 and 6 Plus will cost $79. But be warned that AppleCare+ only covers two incidents of accidental damage.

Finally, if your phone is still under warranty and the crack in your screen is just a hairline (single line) crack, Apple may replace your screen for free, because in certain cases it considers hairline cracks (without any obvious sign of drop impact) to be indicative of defective glass. You can check your warranty status on Apple’s website.

If you’re going to have someone else fix your device, Apple is probably your best choice: the repair is inexpensive and won’t void your warranty (in fact, Apple will extend your warranty from that day by 90 days). Plus, if you can get into an Apple store, you may be able to convince the Genius Bar to fix your phone for free (even if there’s more than one hairline crack). Assuming you can make a timely Genius Bar appointment, it takes Apple about an one hour to replace your screen.

The main drawback to Apple’s repair service is that if you’re not near an Apple store, you’ll need to send your phone in for service, which will take 3 to 5 days — who wants to go almost a week without their iPhone?

Get it replaced by a third party

You don’t have to go to Apple to get your screen repaired, but going anywhere else will void your warranty (and trust me, Apple can tell if a non-Apple employee has opened up your phone). But if you’re out of warranty anyway, there’s no shortage of third-party Apple repair places eager to get their hands on your shattered screen.

When you’re shopping around for a good repair company, there are a few questions you’ll want to ask before handing over your device:

• How much will it cost?
• How long will it take?
• What type of warranty do you offer?

Because this third-party company will be voiding your Apple warranty, you want to make sure they’ll stand behind their work and parts — the last thing you want is a crack-free but defective screen.

Now that Apple is replacing screens for under $150, it’s difficult for third-party vendors to compete, price-wise. I called a few local repair stores around Los Angeles and got quotes ranging from $100 to $250 for a broken iPhone 6S screen. The main benefit of going to a third party is time. Many will be able to repair your phone in under an hour, and some will even come to your home or office to pick up the device.

Replace it yourself

If you’re short on cash but not on confidence, you can replace your broken screen yourself. Glass replacement kits cost between $10 and $25 online and include everything you need to replace your screen, including new glass, a suction cup tool for removing your screen, pentalobe and Phillips-head screwdrivers, and prying tools. If this sounds too good to be true, that’s because it probably is — glass replacement kits only replace the glass, not the entire LCD touchscreen. Replacing the glass is much more difficult than replacing the entire touchscreen, because you will need to separate the glass from the touchscreen and then glue the new piece of glass onto the old touchscreen.

Meanwhile, a touchscreen replacement kit will cost you between $100 and $150 (here’s one for $145), so it may not be worth it unless you’re keen on taking your phone apart.

There are plenty of videos that will show you how to remove the broken screen, move all the parts (ear piece, home button, digitizer) to the new screen, and then pop the new screen in, all in under 5 minutes, assuming you’re really good at performing touchscreen replacements. If this is your first time replacing a touchscreen, expect to spend a lot longer than 5 minutes.

Of course, the drawback with the DIY approach is that you will void your warranty and you’ll have nobody but yourself to blame if something goes wrong. On the other hand, it’s a $25, 15-minute screen repair! (Or a $100, 5-minute screen repair.) That said, I don’t recommend you go either of these routes — replacing the glass is extremely difficult. According to microsoldering expert Jessa Burdett of iPad Rehab, “one could sooner learn to microsolder components smaller than a human hair on an iPhone motherboard than successfully complete a glass-only screen replacement on an iPhone 6.” Replacing the screen will cost you as much, if not more, than simply taking your device to the Apple store.

Deal with it

If you’re really short on cash, and taking apart your iPhone 6S scares you, you can also just opt to…live with a broken screen. It won’t look pretty, but you don’t need to replace your screen when it cracks, especially if the cracks are around the edges of the screen and don’t interfere with actually using the phone. If you have one or two large cracks that run across the screen, I suggest looking into a glass screen protector such as Tech Armor’s Edge to Edge HD Clear Ballistic Glass screen protector ($20) or Zagg’s glass screen protector ($40) so you don’t cut your fingers as you swipe. (If your screen is absolutely shattered, a glass screen protector will keep you from getting cut, but your phone may still be unusable.)

Editors’ note: This was originally published on March 24, 2015, and has been updated to reflect repair pricing and details for the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.

SanDisk Extreme 900 Portable SSD review – CNET

The Good The SanDisk Extreme 900 Portable SSD is super fast, and includes both a USB-C cable and a regular USB cable, so it’ll work with all USB ports for the foreseeable future.

The Bad The drive is large and slightly more expensive compared to competing drives. The three-year warranty is too short.

The Bottom Line Rugged, fast and capacious, the SanDisk Extreme 900 Portable SSD is an excellent portable drive.

The new SanDisk Extreme 900 Portable SSD is a much larger, slightly more expensive version of the Samsung Portable SSD T3. It’s extremely fast, supports USB 3.1 and includes a USB-C port. And with two included USB cables (one for USB-C and one for the regular USB port) it’s ready to work with existing and future host devices.

It’s a capacious portable drive that’s a bit bulkier than other SSDs, but is worthy of its current asking price of $300 (around AU$395, £210 converted), $500 ($AU655, £350) or $800 (AU$1050, £550) for 480GB, 960GB or 1.92TB, respectively.

For excellent alternatives, check out the top portable drives on the market.

View full gallery

The Sandisk Extreme 900 Portable SSD comes with one pure USB-C cable and one compatible UBC cable.

Josh Miller/CNET

The Extreme 900 Portable SSD is not exactly huge, sitting around about the size of a standard portable drive like the WD My Passport. However, it’s about four times the size of the Samsung T3. Despite the surplus in physical size, the Sandisk has slightly less storage space topping at 1.92TB (the Samsung caps at 2TB.)

Similar to the T3, the Extreme 900 is protected by a shock-resistant aluminum and rubber casing. I actually tried tossing it around a bit on a carpet floor and it continued to work fine. Still, like all storage devices, it’s recommended that you handle with care. Speaking of care, keep in mind that the Sandisk includes a three-year warranty, which I find really short for a premium device.

The Sandisk drive comes preformatted in the exFAT file system (so it will work right away with both Windows and Mac computers) and preloaded with security software. Once installed, the software can protect data stored on the drive with 128-bit AES encryption. Keep in mind, however, that if you turn on the protection and somehow forget the password, you will permanently lose access to your data.

SanDisk Extreme 900 Portable SSD specs

The Extreme 9000 has one USB-C port on one side and it supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 which has a top speed of 10Gbps (on paper, at least). The drive also includes two USB cables: one pure USB-C cable (one that has USB-C connectors on both ends) for USB-C ready computers like the new Macbook and another USB-C to USB-A cable, compatible with all existing USB ports. (For more about USB-C, check out this post.)

Samsung debuts the Galaxy Amp Prime on Cricket Wireless

Cricket Wireless has announced the U.S. carrier will sell the 4G LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Amp Prime. The 5-inch smartphone running Android 6.0 Marshmallow will make its debut for $149.99 and is targeted at those who live on social media and enjoy hunting down a bargain. Touting a premium S-AMOLED display for rich colors and sharp images, there are ample features packed into this smartphone to make it an absolute steal.

As well as the Amp Prime, Cricket will also launch the Galaxy Amp 2, an entry-level handset with 4G LTE connectivity. This more affordable option will come with a 4.5-inch S-AMOLED display and will be made available from April 15 for just $99.99. Those interested in the Galaxy Amp Prime should be able to head to their local store and pick one up today.

Google Calculator arrives in the Play Store as a standalone app

While the standard Calculator Android app from Google is usually included with any Android device, it has never been released in the Google Play Store. That has now changed as the Calculator is now available in the store as a standalone app.

This development means that the Calculator app can be updated with more features on a faster basis rather than having to wait for an Android firmware update. While the app is basically the same one that’s already on smartphones and tablets, the new 6.0 version does include support for Android Wear. This means smartwatches with the OS can perform simple calculations with the app from now on.

You can download the standalone version of the Google Calculator in the Google Play Store.

Thanks to Matthew for the tip!

Bring some geometric beauty to your phone this Wallpaper Wednesday

Don’t let your home screen fall into a rut — switch out your wallpaper!

You don’t have to pull out a complex new theme like our custom Deadpool kit to bring a breath of fresh air to your home screen. A new wallpaper can do wonders, and launchers like Action Launcher can re-theme your entire home screen around a good wallpaper. In our effort to help brighten your device — and maybe your day — we’re compiling some wallpapers for you to try out.

If you’ve got a wallpaper you use everywhere, share it in the comments below! We’re always looking for something new. Now get your wallpaper picker ready and see what’s in store this week.

Fractal Portal

There’s something mesmerizing about a good fractal. This one conjures up a few different scenes, be it an alchemist circle from Fullmetal Alchemist or a portal to another dimension. This geometric beauty features soothing cool tones and it’s ready to grace your phone, tablet, or computer. Just be sure to tell us if it leads you through space and time, okay?

Fractal Portal

Diviner’s Orb by ZMasta94

This wallpaper balances the cold emptiness of space with the bright warmth of the sun, a fiery inferno with the beauty of nature, and the seeming chaos of space with the interconnections of the universe. It’s a wallpaper that reminds us to find that own balance within our lives, and to summon our own inner power.

Diviner’s Orb by ZMasta94

Morning Burst by twinx85

The fractal flower is blooming just in time for spring, and offers a burst of color for your screen. The cascades of of light and the light grids on the edges of the boom draw the eye and softer focus helps play with a few of the fractal’s light effects. The water droplets scattering the scene also make us wonder if this is morning dew or a morning shower.

Morning Burst by twinx85

Macro Galaxy by zy0rg

This may not a view any of us will ever see in our lifetime, but why can’t we dream of a beautiful spacescape like this out on the edges of a distant spiral galaxy? This green galaxy’s gold and blue highlights sing out throughout the wallpaper, and blurring lights along the galaxy’s wrap-around stars make us wonder what fantastic worlds would circle those suns…

Macro Galaxy by zy0rg

Cosmic Roulette by Prelkia

I’m not sure if these infinitely repeating seals are levels of some super-secure lockdown or just the repetitions of a time-travel rune as you go back to stop some impending doom, but I’d love to find out. The red seals scattered throughout the scene pop, and the beautiful symmetry of this powerful wallpaper make me wanna get the Stargate crew together and see where we’re off to this week.

Cosmic Roulette by Prelkia

Snag an unlocked Xperia Z3 for $250 from B&H

If you are in the market for an unlocked smartphone, you may want to check out this deal from B&H on Sony’s Xperia Z3. The water and dust-resistant phone is priced at just $250 right now, a savings of $200. Featuring a 5.2-inch IPS display, the Xperia Z3 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801 processor that is paired with 3GB of RAM and 16GB of on-board storage.

Being unlocked, you will be able to pop the SIM card from a GSM carrier into the phone and use it without issues. This deal is only good for today, March 30, so don’t wait too long before picking one up if you are interested in the $200 savings.

See at B&H(.cta .shop}

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: What’s the rumoured difference?

HTC launched its One M9 flagship at Mobile World Congress 2015, but the Taiwanese company chose not to use this year’s show to announce its successor. Instead, HTC unveiled a few mid-range handsets in Barcelona and left Samsung and LG to steal the headlines with their 2016 flagships.

It’s almost time for HTC to step back into the limelight though, with the debut of its next flagship set for 12 April. The new handset has been the subject of rumours for several months and it has various unofficial names from HTC One M10 and Perfume to HTC 10.

The rumours haven’t just surrounded the name though, they have also given us an idea on what kind of specs we might be able to expect, as well as what it could look like. How might HTC’s next flagship compare to Samsung’s Galaxy S7? Read on to find out, based on the rumours.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Design

The HTC 10 is rumoured to be coming with an all metal design, offering the same measurements as its predecessor at 144.6 x 69.7 x 9.6mm. Based on the leaked images, it looks as though the new device will sport the headphone jack at the top, USB Type-C at the bottom and a serrated standby button the side.

Rumour has it HTC will offer some degree of waterproofing for the new flagship and a fingerprint sensor appears to be on the front, flanked by capacitive buttons like the company’s One A9 mid-range device.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 has a metal body with a glass rear and it measures 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm, which would make it smaller and slimmer than the HTC 10 if its rumoured measurements are accurate.

The Galaxy S7 also places its fingerprint sensor on the front of the handset, it officially offers a waterproof rating of IP68 and it opts for Micro-USB over USB Type-C. The Galaxy S7 weighs 152g but whether this will be lighter or heavier than the HTC 10 is currently unclear.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Display

The HTC 10 has had mixed rumours when it comes to its display. Some have claimed it will be 5.1-inches, while others have said 5.2-inches. There have also been contradicting reports when it comes to the display technology, with some suggesting HTC will opt for AMOLED like the One A9 and others claiming the company will stick to Super LCD like its previous flagships.

The one thing the leaks do manage to agree on is the resolution, with Quad HD expected. If HTC opts for a 5.1-inch display, the HTC 10 would arrive with a pixel density of 577ppi, while a 5.2-inch display would put it with 565ppi.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 features a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display, also with a Quad HD resolution for a pixel density of 577ppi. AMOLED displays tend to offer brighter and more vibrant colours than LCD, but they can also be a little unrealistic. The Galaxy 7 has a fabulous display but HTC has been known to offer excellent screens in the past too so chances are there won’t be much in it between these two handsets, no matter what size or technology the HTC 10 ends up offering.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Camera

Like its display, mixed reports have also been circulating regarding the HTC 10’s camera. There have been claims of a 23-megapixel rear sensor, as well as suggestions of a 12-megapixel rear snapper with an aperture of f/1.9. Rumours have suggested the 12-megapixel sensor could be the same as the Nexus 6P with 1.55µm pixels, alongside features including laser-assisted phase detection AF, optical image stabilisation and a dual tone flash.

Less has been said about the front-facing camera of the HTC 10. There was a report of a 5-megapixel sensor, but this would suggest HTC is walking away from the UltraPixel front-facing snapper that worked well on the One M9.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 has been praised for its camera capabilities so whatever the HTC 10 arrives with, it has some tough competition on its hands. The Galaxy S7 offers a 12-megapixel rear camera with 1.4µm pixels and an f/1.7 aperture. It comes with OIS, phase detection AF and an LED flash. The front camera is 5-megapixels and also features an f/1.7 aperture.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Hardware

The HTC 10 is claimed to be coming with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. As we mentioned previously, USB Type-C is expected based on the leaked images, which would mean faster charging and data transfer and microSD for expandable storage is also expected. The battery capacity has been touted at 3000mAh.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 comes in two models, one of which features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and the other has an octa-core Exynos chip under the hood. Both come with 4GB of RAM and the S7 comes in 32GB and 64GB storage options, both of which have microSD for storage expansion. The S7 also offers a 3000mAh battery capacity, like the HTC 10 is claimed to be coming with.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Software

The HTC 10 is expected to launch with Android Marshmallow with HTC’s Sense software over the top. The One A9 arrived with Marshmallow and a stripped down version of Sense, and the HTC 10 is expected to follow this pattern.

It is believed the new HTC flagship will come with Android Marshmallow and the best of Sense, which is being dubbed Sense 8.0_GP. It means users will get a close to raw Android experience, with a few additional extras.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 also comes with Android Marshmallow along with Samsung’s TouchWiz software over the top. If the rumours are true regarding the HTC 10, it is likely HTC’s new flagship will offer a more refined software experience with less duplication.

HTC 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a brilliant device. It might not be as pretty as its dual-edge sibling but it is a cracking smartphone. Luckily for HTC, it looks as though its new flagship will do a good job at competition against it.

Based on the speculation, the HTC 10 looks like it will come with a great design, a display that is on par with the Galaxy S7 and hardware that is on par with the Galaxy S7. Whether HTC will be able to match the camera capabilities of the S7 with its new flagship have yet to be seen but the rumours certainly suggest it will be doing its best.

The claims suggest there won’t be much in it between these two devices based on the specs but claims is the key word here. This is all speculation at the moment. We will update this feature as the official specs are announced. For now, you can read our HTC 10 rumour round up piece for more information on HTC’s next flagship, or head to our Samsung Galaxy S7 review to read all about our thoughts on Samsung’s new flagship.

Learn to make the apps people love with BaseRails Ruby on Rails Training

Ride the cutting edge of app-building prowess as you build a strong foundation in Ruby on Rails, an essential tool for any aspiring web developer, with this great new offer from Pocket-lint Deals.

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Train to master the MCSE exam with 5-course Business Intelligence Training

There’s no overstating the confidence, security and increased profitability that extra certifications in your industry can provide in helping your career along.

Depending on the industry you work in, you might need additional certifications beyond the B.A. or B.S. to land your desired position. For IT professionals the Microsoft Certified Solutions Engineer exam is one of them.

Yes, standardized testing lives on after college, believe it or not. But leading E-learning course provider iCollege is making prepping for it a lot easier with its MCSE Business Intelligence 5-Course Training, which comes equipped with unlimited access to expert video instruction and the tools you need to pass.

Within the courses, you’ll do the following:

• Engage with proven learning methodologies and the latest technology
• Learn with the advanced self-study format and enhanced user controls
• Query and administer Microsoft SQL servers
• Implement a data warehouse with Microsoft SQL
• Create data models and reports
• Design business intelligence solutions

Passing this exam establishes you at a globally-recognized benchmark for IT professionals, which validates your knowledge of database servers and business intelligence software, and tells potential employers that you are at the top in your field.

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